Wine Tasting Flight Menus
We currently have two delicious wine tasting options available for visitors–our Traditional Tasting Flight and our Elevated Tasting Flight! We recommend first time visitors try a tasting flight to get a feel for what McGrail wines are all about. Our tasting menus include detailed descriptions of each wine, as well as bottle pricing, in case you’d like to get something to go!
Traditional Tasting Flight
$20/person -OR- complimentary for wine club members*
*up to 4 complimentary tastings per wine club membership
INCLUDES: 2019 Kylie Ryan Rosé, 2019 Peyton Paige Sauvignon Blanc, 2017 Sláinte Red Blend, & 2016 McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
2019 Kylie Ryan Rosé
Our 2019 Kylie Ryan Rosé is a bleed-off of 1/3 Merlot, 1/3 Malbec, and 1/3 Cabernet Sauvignon. Ten percent of this refreshing dry Rosé was fermented in experienced red wine barrels, while the remaining wine was fermented in stainless steel. This wine has a bit of rose petal and an abundance of fruit on the nose, including strawberry, banana, cherry, and white peach. On the palate there is a round mouthfeel with hints of vanilla, honeysuckle, citrus, and bubblegum. Pair this wine with a spicy Thai food or a grapefruit and burrata salad.
BOTTLE: $25 – retail | $21.25 – 15% discount | $20 – 20% discount
2019 Peyton Paige Sauvignon Blanc
Our Peyton Paige Sauvignon Blanc is slightly effervescent and a lovely pale gold. The 2019 vintage is the first to have ever been sourced exclusively from our Lucky 8 Vineyard on Tesla Road in Livermore. The grapes were hand-sorted, and whole-cluster-pressed, with 90% fermenting in a stainless steel tank and 10% fermenting in experienced French oak barrels. The bouquet has notes of honeysuckle, honeydew melon, pineapple, vanilla, gooseberry, and just a touch of white pine and jalapeño. The flavors on the palate are complex, with grapefruit, lychee, red apple, pear, mango, white peach, lemon, lime, and a hint of fresh-cut basil. The finish leaves you with a bit of a zingy, lingering lemon peel, but an unexpected creamy mouthfeel. Pair this wine with a delicious mango salsa, mushroom risotto, or yellow Thai curry.
BOTTLE: $25 – retail | $21.25 – 15% discount | $20 – 20% discount
2017 Sláinte Red Blend
Our 2017 Sláinte Red Blend is a blend of Spanish, Portuguese, and French varieties from our Lucky 8 Vineyard on Tesla Road in Livermore. Slainte, which means “cheers to good health” in Gaelic, tends to be one of our favorite easy-drinking wines, with its balanced acidity and elegant body. It opens up with tons of fruit, herbs, and white pepper on the nose and lots of cherry, vanilla, and clove on the palate. Hints of cherry pie and smooth, soft tannins linger on and on. Pair this wine with pork sausage or classic meatballs and spaghetti.
BOTTLE: $39 – retail | $33.15 – 15% discount | $31.20 – 20% discount
2016 McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Our 2016 McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is our flagship wine and the very first wine we ever made. When we first started making wine, we promised ourselves we would perfect this wine before we started producing anything else. In 2012, the 2008 vintage won the Red Sweepstakes at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, essentially stating it as being the best red wine in the United States that year. Since then, we’ve won at least a gold medal for every prior vintage of this wine at that competition, which makes us think we’ve done a pretty good job at perfecting this wine. Our winemaker believes in using a “spice rack” to create this complex Cabernet, as we blend together different barrels (about 1/3 of each French, American, and Hungarian oak), after this Cab has been aged for about 33 months. Approximately 70% of the oak is new each vintage, but every single vintage has been composed of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon clones 8 and 15 from our estate vineyard. This opulent wine opens with spicy clove, dark cherry, coffee, caramel, and toasty vanilla. The palate is equally impressive with density, great structure, and notes of blackberry, anise, and a hint of tobacco. Bold tannins frame the full-bodied mouthfeel of this classic Cabernet, leaving a lingering impression of fruit and spice.
BOTTLE: $48 – retail | $40.80 – 15% discount | $38.40 – 20% discount
Elevated Tasting Flight
$35/person -OR- $15/wine club member*
*up to 4 tastings per wine club membership at member price
INCLUDES: 2017 Patriot Cabernet Sauvignon, 2017 A Jo Elet – The Good Life Cabernet Sauvignon, 2017 James Vincent Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2017 McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon from our Estate Vineyard
All four wines on our elevated tasting menu are grown on our Estate Property and barrel aged in different oak types, thus allowing a few commonalities between each wine.
Our McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon on the Estate property was planted in 1999. This unique flight allows you to taste the same grapes with only one major difference, the oak aging process. We ferment the fruit together and then put the wine into oak barrels from 29-36 months. Each oak barrel adds something different to these amazing wines, taste them side by side to see which type of oak you prefer.
2017 Patriot Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2017 Patriot Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% Cabernet aged in 100% new American oak and supports our Fallen Heroes. Dark in color with beautiful garnet edges, this wine bursts with aromas of dark berries, cassis, toasty vanilla, anise, and cocoa. Allow the wine to open and it will become even more complex with aromatics of black cherry, caramelized marshmallow, dark cocoa, and graham crackers. This full-bodied Cabernet has lush tannins and the finish lingers.
$52 Retail
2017 A Jó Élet – “The Good Life” Cabernet Sauvignon
This bold Cabernet comes from our estate vineyard and was aged in new Hungarian Oak. This classic Cabernet has a bouquet of dark cherry, cassis, spicy clove, and nutmeg. Secondary aromas include blackberry, fig, plum, cinnamon, oregano, white pepper, jasmine green tea, and rose petal. On the palate, this wine is rich and full-bodied with notes of cocoa, raspberry, dark cherry, vanilla, and, of course, baking spice. The finish lingers along with the elegant tannins and balanced acidity.
$59 Retail
2017 James Vincent Cabernet Sauvignon
Each year our winemaker and the McGrail Family taste through all our French oak barrels and pick the very best barrels to blend together and create the James Vincent. Year after year, this wine continues to be one of our favorite wines with jammy fruit on the front and soft, lingering tannins on the finish. The initial aromas are cherry, cassis, spicy clove, vanilla, and nutmeg. As you taste this luscious wine, intense dark cherry, chamomile, toasty coconut, and dark cocoa flavors take charge and become more rich and tannic as the wine hits all parts of your palate. The finish is elegant and velvety.
$79 Retail
2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Our Cabernet Reserve is a blend of all three oak barrels. This is our “original” formula at McGrail and is the flagship we are known for. This opulent wine opens with spicy clove, dark cherry, coffee, caramel, and toasty vanilla. The palate is equally impressive with density, great structure, and notes of blackberry, anise, and a hint of tobacco. Bold tannins frame the full-bodied mouthfeel of this classic Cabernet, leaving a
lingering impression of fruit and spice.
$48 Retail
