Ledgewood Creek Winery & Vineyards

Admittedly, this is my first shot at a wine from Suisun Valley – situated in Solano County, about an hour northeast of San Francisco. Pronounced sue-SOON, the area is one valley southeast of the Napa Valley. Ledgewood Creek itself resides on the northern border of the appellation, with a 400-acre vineyard with views of Twin Sisters Peak to the west, the Blue Ridge range to the north and Mt. Diablo to the south. The valley just escapes the Bay Area's lingering summertime fog, and the vineyards get cool afternoon breezes out of nearby San Pablo and Grizzly bays.

Ledgewood Creek owners, Bunny and Dean Frisbie, bought a pear orchard in the valley in 1985. By ‘89 the pears had been replaced with vineyards. In the late fall of ‘02, with quality under control and the vineyards at peak production, Ledgewood Creek released its first wines from the ‘01 harvest.

In spite of this being my maiden voyage with this little-known AVA, I was trying to keep an open mind, while being excited at trying something new.

The nose is a bit closed now, but one can tell there’s some nice, earthy fruit to emerge. The structure is tight as well, but there are good black cherry flavors with minerality, tar, and some bitterness on the finish. One would be advised to hold it for a year and drink it over the ensuing half-dozen.

Winemaker Larry Langbehn aged the wine for 15 months in 50 percent French and 50 percent American oak barrels. The listed alcohol is 14.5 percent.

Reviewed August 7, 2006 by Alan Goldfarb.