Ghost Pines … Strange Name but Great Wnes

Whats in a name? We havent got the foggiest idea, but we do know when we see the name Martini on a label we know we are going to be in for a treat. The Martini winery has been around for over 100 years and could be considered one of the founders of the California wine industry.
The reason for the use of the Ghost Pines name is because the Martini label is mostly associated with Napa Valley wine, while for this wine, there are grapes used from other counties. This is not a sign of a lesser wine. Quite the contrary, it is a sign the Martini winemakers searched out grapes to make a wine that complimented the Martini name while presenting a slightly different style which Ghost Pines does admirably.

Ghost Pines 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon ($23). The weather conditions for the 2008 vintage were picture perfect and there were few, if any, problems in the vineyards. Ghost Pines vintners started with superb grapes and let their imagination fly in the production of what they consider to be one of their best efforts to date. They produced a truly “old fashioned” style of wine, deep in color and heavy in fruit and just the right amount of tannin. The result of all of this work is a truly regal wine resplendent with the flavors of black current fruit and berries enhanced by an undertone of vanilla and oak. It is a wine that can be enjoyed now or set away for as long as five years for further development.

Ghost Pines 2007 Merlot ($20). The gods of weather were exceptionally kind to the merlot crop during the 2007 growing season. In fact the vintners all over the California grape growing districts reported that it was the best vintage in a very, very long time. The wine they made had the brilliant amethyst color of a classical merlot and a full, almost overpowering varietal flavor and aroma. It has a bold blackberry flavor with a background of black currants and oak. This wine will cover a broad spectrum of foods. It will go well with any meat from the darkest to the lightest, as well as the full flavored grilled sea foods and cheese of every description.

Ghost Pines 2007 Chardonnay ($20).Ghost Pines vintners started out to make a typical, albeit high quality, California chardonnay. At this endeavor, they failed dramatically. As the grapes for the 2007 vintage came to the winery, the wine makers realized that they were working with grapes of remarkable flavor intensity. The Ghost Pines 2007 Chardonnay is an almost perfect combination of the French and the American style for chardonnay. The wine has a heavy apple/pear, oaky aroma, and a lemony under flavor with a long aftertaste in the French style. The California contribution is the intense tropical fruit flavor, a hint of butterscotch and a buttery feel in the mouth. To sum it all up, the wine is nothing but great.

Ghost Pines 2008 Zinfandel ($20). Please do not look at this wine as just another red Zinfandel; it’s not. While it has all of the joys and delights that make for a great Zinfandel, there is the added attraction of the Martini touch that makes for a better than average wine. What resulted is a perfectly delightful wine. The dominant flavor is raspberry, and there is plenty of that to be found in this zinfandel. Surrounding the raspberry are the flavors of black cherry and black currents. There is also just an element of oak to add further interest and complexity along with just the right amount of tannin to make sure that the wine will age well over the next few years. There is, as an added attraction a long, fruity and multifaceted finish to this wine. We found this wine to be one of the best of the vintage that we have tasted to date.