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One of the most fascinating aspects of wine is the geographical influence of the place where it's grown. No matter what part of the world you visit, its wine country will be divided into regions whose varying soils and climates confer different grape characters, a phenomenon known as terroir. California, in particular, is noted for diverse winegrowing environments — a fact gloriously illustrated by the Ravenswood County Series.
These wines begin life the same way that our higher-priced vineyard designates do. We visit their sites throughout the year, making sure that growing practices meet our high standards, guaranteeing that the grapes will express their whereabouts to the greatest extent possible. After the fruit gets picked in the fall, it's vinified by Old World methods, with native yeasts in open fermenters punched down by hand. Throughout a subsequent period of aging in French oak barrels, the wine is monitored and tasted regularly; if it doesn't meet a requisite level of intensity, it's "declassified" to our Vintners Blend program and combined with other wines that fit a similar calling. If, on the other hand, it exhibits forceful, coherent character over several successive vintages, it might become a vineyard designate on its own merits. Many Ravenswood wines have followed this path over the past fifteen years.
Several excellent vineyards, however, fall into a middle category: they produce fine, compelling wines, but they aren't well-rounded enough to stand alone as separate bottlings. After further trials to identify aspects that work well together, we blend these worthy examples with others we've made from the same district. In the mix, different wines from a distinct locality fuse to fill each other's blind spots, creating a complex, harmonious whole.
As a result of all these factors, we think our County Series of wines may represent the best value that Ravenswood has to offer. Often they're as delicious and ageworthy as our more expensive wines; they're just not as rare. Because they come from several vineyards instead of only one, they're available in some quantity — less than our Vintners Blend, much of which arises from outside sources, but more than our strictly limited, tightly allocated single-vineyard designates. Moreover, since the county wines display regional styles (as opposed to the idiosyncrasies of isolated properties), they present a marvelous opportunity to explore California's varied terroir via classically crafted wines at reasonable prices.
The sports-world equivalent of the Ravenswood County Series might be said to be the Oakland Athletics, who are known for developing topnotch players through their own farm system. They might not be loaded with expensive names, but they're scouted and managed so expertly that, thanks to team chemistry, they compete head-to-head with the game's highest rollers. While eventually the most gifted performers will probably move on to the Yankees (sigh), you can always be sure that this year's lineup will boast an array of exciting prospects, big-time talent, and sheer fun.
Come to think of it, our vineyard designates might not appreciate comparison to the Yankees. Okay, so maybe that's not the best analogy — but you get the point.
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