Every year the owner of Kick Ranch Vineyards Dick Keenan hosts a wine tasting for all the winemakers who make wine from Kick Ranch fruit.  It’s an opportunity for everyone to taste each others different blends from grapes grown a few rows away, discuss wine making techniques and in general celebrate the fruits of our labor. 

This year for the first time Dick hosted a four course family style dinner for 40 people on a long table underneath a tent right in the middle of Kick ranch.  The evening started at the entrance of the property where everyone enjoyed different roses, Viogniers and Sauvignon Blanc’s.  We then got a tour and talk about the small organic vegetable farm located on the property.  The dinner was the most farm to table dinner we’ve ever been to, as all the vegetables on the menu were grown on the property. 

Here’s a photo of the menu:

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As we all tried each others white wines we started to notice how the fruit from Kick ranch has it’s own flavor.  All the wines are made in different styles and taste very different from one another, however there is always the bold flavor of Kick Ranch present in every sip.  This is true terroir; a unique taste or flavor from one specific area or vineyard.  Kick Ranch has it’s own terroir and we are very excited to make wine from this vineyard.  This was most apparent in the Syrah and Petit Syrah varietals we tasted.

As the night grew on, we laughed, drank and discussed wine making in its true California form in the vineyard with people who enjoy their craft and wish to perfect it.  Dick Keenan is doing an amazing job of curating an interesting group of winemakers who use Kick Ranch fruit.  It’s a humble, professional and hilarious group of people.  As summer rolls forward we look to this years harvest with confidence that this will be our best year yet.  Cheers.

Dick Keenan in the cowboy hat and Chris Loxton.

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Our Grenache grapes at Kick Ranch, they’re not quite ready.

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