Wine Tasting Flight Menus- with Elevated being Vertical of…
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: 2013 McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, 2014 McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, 2016 McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, & 2017 McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
All four wines on our elevated tasting menu are various vintages of our McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon, thus allowing a few commonalities between each wine.
Our 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.
2017 McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
If there is such a thing as a “normal” vintage, 2017 was it. We had average rainfall, spring was warm-ish and the summer was warm-to-hot. Heat in the summer can actually slow down the ripening as the vines want to shut down to conserve water that is respiring faster than it can uptake. Yields continued in the normal range and fruit quality continued to be exceptional. The 2017 vintage of this garnet wine opens with cherry, cassis, spicy clove, dark mocha chocolate, and toasty vanilla. The palate matches the nose, but supplements it with density, great structure, and notes of plum, lavender, and remnants of the tobacco you’d find in an old Cuban cigar box. Bold, but smooth tannins frame the full-bodied mouthfeel of this classic Cabernet, leaving a lingering impression of fruit and spice. Pair this wine with an all-American burger, Italian oxtail, or a hearty, rosemary-crusted prime rib.
BOTTLE: $48 – retail | $40.80 – 15% discount | $38.40 – 20% discount
2016 McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
We welcomed an extra large dose of precipitation in 2016, which was a relief after several years of drought. This precipitation helped refill our reservoirs and flushed out our soils. The vines responded with normal yields and incredible flavors. Spring was very wet and warm. Summer was hot and dry, making for an almost perfect growing season. After several drought vintages, it was refreshing to get back to “normal”. The growing season continued its trend of harvesting on the early side of the year. The light yield led to fruit ripening early and our Cabernet was ready to pick by late September. We picked our entire vineyard between September 29th and October 2nd. The 2016 vintage of 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. Hearty 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
2014 McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Drought really set in in 2014 and the vines responded with lower yields. Spring was warm and dry as we prayed for significant precipitation that was not to be. Summer was relatively hot and of course dry which sped along the ripening process. Due to the drought we increased our irrigation lightly to maintain the canopy and the fruit ripened in late September. Although our yields were lower, our quality remained exceptional. Tannins were a little smoother and the wines a bit more approachable early.
BOTTLE: $68 – retail | $57.80 – 15% discount | $54.40 – 20% discount
2013 McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Though 2012 was a stellar vintage, 2013 may have been even better. The warm, dry spring brought early bud break and created ideal conditions for the rest of the growing season. The warm days and cool nights in June and July allowed the fruit to ripen quickly and we harvested 3 weeks earlier than in years past. We honed our farming technique and pushed the envelope on deficit irrigating, forcing our vines to work harder to concentrate the flavors in the fruit. 2013 was an exceptional vintage!
BOTTLE: $78 – retail | $66.30 – 15% discount | $62.40 – 20% discount
