California Wine For A Softer Palate At Monterey’s I. Brand & Family Winery
Some California wine regions have big wines (big, bold, chewy) and some winery areas are known for their subtleties (softer tannins, more fruit flavor.) Monterey Country winemaker Ian Brand falls into the latter camp. His wines are softer. They may not be your favorite if you like the big chewy cabs of Napa & Paso but you’ll enjoy his style of wines and creations.
Monterey County’s contribution to California wine grows in four distinct zones spread throughout the county. There are 15 wineries in the Salinas Valley, 23 wineries in Carmel Valley, six wineries in the town of Monterey and 14 wineries in Carmel.
It’s known for cool growth vine. The Salinas Valley is known as a salad bowl of American crops like tomatoes, strawberries to every type of lettuce you can imagine. And of course one of those crops is California wine grape: think Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
I. Brand & Family winery shares their wines in a leafy retail strip mall on the main street running through Carmel Valley.
Ian Brand shapes Chardonnay and Pinot Noir into tasty wines like other winemakers in the region but also creates Rhône blends while dabbling with Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah from outside Monterey.
He also believes wine pricing should be more accessible. His most expensive wine is $85. But that belies the lower-priced wines ranging from $19 to an average of $32. In fact, his Paysan label (meaning peasant) is available at Whole Foods.
What did we taste?
2022 Payson Sauvignon Blanc $24 ✰+
2022 Paysan Rose $19 ✰+
2021 Chardonnay $36 ✰+
2021 Cabernet Franc $36 ✰+
2021 Paysan Le P’Tit Pape (GSM) $25 ✰++ 92 Pts
2021 Cabernet Pfeffer $36 ✰++ 90 pts.
2021 Cabernet Franc $36 ✰++ 91 pts.
2022 Cabernet Sauvignon (Fellom Ranch) $85 ✰+
One of the interesting wines is Cabernet Pfeffer. Of course we’ve never heard of it because it’s a rare grafted vine of Trousseau Pfeffer and Cabernet Sauvignon. There are allegedly only 10 acres planted in the United States. This grape is from San Benito County near Grass Valley. Five acres of it exist in the Gimelli ranch and Brand accessed it’s harvest.
It’s an intriguing wine. Wine host Angie described it as a ’contradiction in a glass.’ She is right.
We’re still trying to get our taste buds around this wine. It starts out looking like a Grenache, smelling like Grenache in finishing like a peppery Cabernet Sauvignon. We brought a bottle home. We’ll see what how it measures up.
The San Francisco Chronicle anointed Brand with the California State Winemaker of the Year. He was honored in 2018 for creating approachable price points under $25 and for, “Saving historic vineyards and for revitalizing the Monterey Bay region’s wine industry” according the the paper.
You’ll find I. Brand & Family Winery on E. Carmel Valley Rd. in Monterey’s Carmel Valley. Their tasting fees is $30.
Bill & Erin Hodge write about California Wine, the estates & winemakers producing them and educational information about Vino. Living in California Wine Country provides a front row seat to the places you want to visit the most here in the Golden State.
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When you see -✰/✰+ with a slash, it means we disagree.
