07 Oct Vezer Family Vineyard
Vezer Family Vineyard
2522 Mankas Corner Rd Fairfield, Ca. 94534
www.Vezer.com
Owner: Frank Vezer
Winemaker: Daniel Benton
About: Vezer Family Vineyard is Frank Vezér’s family winery in Suisun Valley, a short drive east of Napa, where he started making wine in 2001 and released the first vintage in 2003. The estate is built around Petite Sirah and Zinfandel, led by La Salette, a Petite Sirah named for his mother. Guests taste small-lot, handcrafted wines at three properties: Mankas Gardens, the historic Blue Victorian, and the Estate Ranch.
What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Charbono, it is the one almost nobody orders by name. California has only about 80 acres left, a holdover from old Napa plantings that never caught on, and it still shows up in small Suisun Valley lots, including ours at the Blue Victorian. It gives you deep color and a plummy, minty red that stays lighter and fresher than Petite Sirah, which is exactly why it stays under the radar.
What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? The first time I met Charbono, someone poured it blind, and I called it a light Petite Sirah that had learned some manners. I was wrong on the grape and right on the feeling, and I have been chasing that inky, minty surprise ever since.
What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? What I love most is that nobody has decided yet what an undiscovered grape is supposed to be. You get to taste it without a reputation in the way, and sometimes the oddball in the corner is the bottle people remember.
