Staysail Grenache Wines
I discovered super small Sonoma County Staysail at the silent auction for the Garagiste Festival in Sonoma…or Glendale! I bid on the lot of six wines– two Grenache Blanc plus two of two vintages of Grenache Noir thinking even then that it would make a great Grenache Day post if I won the lot– which I did! Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to stop at his table to meet winemaker Matt McDermaid — or taste his wines– until I got home, and Sue and I tasted the wines for Grenache Day paired with oysters, a grilled Peach Burrata Salad, and Butter Lamb Curry with turban squash chickpeas. yum! Scroll down for all the details! And happy Grenache Day!
While Grenache is one of the top wine grapes grown around the world, there’s less than 4,500 acres of it grown in California– down from 20,000 acres in the 1970s when it was grown in the Central Valley and used for bulk wine. Compare that number to Cabernet Sauvignon in California which has 95,000 acres right now in the Golden State according to 2021 USDA data and which made up 15% of the 2022 crush.
World wide, plantings of Grenache are also down from 2000 when it was the world’s second-most-planted grape. Today it is the seventh most planted wine grape in the world, fifth among the red grapes. If you’ve enjoyed wines from Spain, from southern France, or from Australia, it is likely you’ve enjoyed the Grenache grape blended in with Syrah and Mourvedre, and didn’t even know it!
Vineyards for Grenache Blanc
There’s even less of Grenache Blanc in California than Grenache Noir. If one acre makes about 250 cases of wine, then there’s less than 2k cases a year possible for Grenache Blanc. But since Grenache Blanc is so often blended with other rare Rhone whites like Marsanne and Roussanne, that means finding Grenache Blanc unblended is even more rare.
The Story of Staysail
The Story of Staysail
“After a year of learning everything from planting grape vines, to repairing irrigation lines, and how to rack a barrel of wine, I was hooked,” says Staysail winemaker Matt McDermaid. Born and raised in Huntington Beach CA where he started sailing at 8 years old, Matt attended college on the east coast on a sailing scholarship, graduating in 2017 with a BA in Business Management. He headed back to the west coast for a one year internship at his aunt and uncle’s winery, GlenLyon Vineyards & Winery in Glen Ellen, CA.
And that was it: he knew what he wanted to do with his life, learning more in graduate school at Sonoma State University where in 2020 he earned an MBA in Wine Business. While in graduate school, he began working in the cellar and tasting room at Meeker in Healdsburg, where he still works today while making Staysail wines on the side, and continuing his education at UC Davis in their winemaking program.
As you may have guessed, the name Staysail refers to Matt’s background in sailing. A staysail is a particular type of sail, often triangular as depicted on the label where it says a “staysail is a modern refinement of traditional rigging that stabilizes and expands the stability of a boat. It represents the ideal relationship between the contemporary and historic; when the new lifts up and honors the old.” According to Wikipedia, a “staysail can be used to modify a ship’s sail plan to be more efficient in different types of weather”– a pretty handy way to think about winemaking which is so dependent on weather amid concerns of climate change!
Staysail Grenache Wines
- 2021 Staysail Grenache Blanc, Ceja Vineyards, Sonoma Coast
- 2021 Staysail Grenache Caelesta Vineyard, Templeton Gap, Paso Robles
- 2020 Staysail Grenache Hollyhock Vineyard, Templeton Gap, Paso Robles
Grenache Day Menu
- Raw Oysters
- Grilled Peach and Burrata Salad
- Indian Butter Curry Lamb with Turban Squash and Chickpeas on a bed of rice
- Super simple and satisfying midweek dinner: I found butter curry sauce at Grocery Outlet, and Sue Hill cut up lamb shoulder and squash to add to it along with a can of chickpeas then served on rice.
2021 Staysail Grenache Blanc, Ceja Vineyards, Sonoma Coast
2021 Staysail Grenache Blanc, Ceja Vineyards, Sonoma Coast
ABV: 11.8%
SRP: $35
Grapes: Grenache Blanc
Appearance: Pale lemon, platinum rim
Aroma: Rose geranium, asphalt, grassiness, meadow, chamomile, dried rose, sage
Palate: Very tart, fresh, bold acidity, full bodied, nice minerality, lemon, lemon peel, petrol, mint
Pairing: The luscious ocean water from the oyster loves this tart bright wine. The rich creamy burrata and the bright fresh grilled fruit goes perfectly with the wine, and could be served as either a first salad course or a last salad cheese dessert. The wine loves the spices in the butter lamb, and the dish brings out a sweetness in the wine that is absent without food; the richness in the food tames the acidity. Very nice pairing.
2021 Staysail Grenache Caelesta Vineyard, Templeton Gap, Paso Robles
2021 Staysail Grenache Caelesta Vineyard, Templeton Gap, Paso Robles
ABV: 14.9%
SRP: $40? not released yet?
Grapes: Grenache
Appearance: Medium density, ruby with coppery highlights, translucent, golden rim, you could mistake it for a Pinot Noir
Aroma: Florals and baking spices, candied apple, red hots cinnamon, clove, roses, carnation
Palate: Surprisingly tart, red delicious apple, raspberry, cherry, tart jolly rancher cherry, dry a bit on the chalky side, very present tannins, cherry phosphate
Pairing: The rich spicy butter lamb pairs so nicely with the wine, the wine livens the dish, and the food brings out beautiful fruit in the wine and tames the bright acidity that is there. This was a very satisfying pairing and would please a wide audience.
2020 Staysail Grenache Hollyhock Vineyard, Templeton Gap, Paso Robles
2020 Staysail Grenache Hollyhock Vineyard, Templeton Gap, Paso Robles
ABV: 14.9%
SRP: $40
Grapes: Grenache
Appearance: Medium to pale density, quite translucent, raspberry, corral rim, very pale rim,
Aroma: Raspberry, baking spiced, dried rose petals, sage, dried white sage, raspberry koolaid,
Palate: Tart raspberry, raspberry danish, baked apple blossoms, cinnamon bark, black pepper, this wine is light and bright and full of flavor,
Pairing: The luscious ripe tart fruit in the wine is beautiful with the dish, the dish and the wine become almost candied together, everything becomes so rich together, and the beautiful spices are enhanced.
More Grenache love!
So how are YOU celebrating Grenache Day? Cheers!
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 