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Grape Varieties
Pinot Gris 🥂  * Photo by Andrew Fogg on Wikimedia Commons * Pinot Gris is a natural color mutation of the famous red wine grape, Pinot Noir. They are genetically identical, except Pinot Gris has a pinki...
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Behind the Cork™ Reviews
 When a local grape harvester showed up at with six tons of Zinfandel grapes that he was willing to give away, Tobin “Toby” James, a young assistant winemaker at the time, asked if he could have ...
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Grape Varieties
Pinot Blanc 🥂  * Photo by The Mighty Quill on Wikimedia Commons * Pinot Blanc (pee-noh blahnk) originated centuries ago in Burgundy, France. It is not a separate grape species, but a natural, white-ski...
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Behind the Cork™ Reviews
Zaca Mesa Winery & Vineyards was founded in 1973 by John Cushman and five friends, who purchased the property the year prior. As the third winery established in Santa Barbara County, experimentation was an integral part of Zaca Mesa’s early days. S...
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Grape Varieties
Petite Sirah 🍷  * Image Courtesy of Noble Roots Nursery * Petite Sirah (peh-teet-sear-ah) was created by French botanist Dr. François Durif in the mid-1860s in an attempt to develop a vine resistant ...
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Behind the Cork™ Reviews
Bodegas Faustino Rivero Ulecia is part of a five-generation winemaking family that started back in 1899. The winery was founded in 1899 by Olegario Rivero. It operated locally for decades selling bulk wine. Then, in the 1940s, the winery, known as...
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