Black cherry, red cherry, cedar, velvety tannins and a long finish. Relicuas is a blended wine made from grapes from two of their own vineyards in St. Helena, and each year it expresses its own characteristics. Grace Family Vineyards is a winery founded by Dick and Ann Grace. In 1976, they started planting grapes on a portion of land (1 acre) they purchased as a family hobby north of St. Helena. The first harvest was in 1978, and when they showed it to their friend and neighbor, Charlie Wagner, founder of Caymus, he said it was of excellent quality and made wine at Caymus. That wine was Caymus Vinayrds Grace Family Vineyard. They started brewing as the Grace Family in 1983, and their successive winemakers have included Randy Dunn and Heidi Barrett, all famous winemakers. Helen Keplinger, who was also named Winemaker of the Year by Food & Wine magazine, is currently in charge of the winemaking. Grace Family Estate is less than three acres in size and is divided into two blocks about 1.5m apart. Despite such a small amount of land, the diversity of soil between and even within the blocks is astounding. The upper blocks are composed of red volcanic soil, which forms the structure of the wine, while the lower blocks are made of overlapping layers of volcanic ash and clay, which bring brilliance and freshness. Cornelius Grove has old vines over 70 years old, and the metamorphic, volcanic and sedimentary rocks express a variety of diverse terroirs like a patchwork. It took nearly 10 years to create a single-vineyard wine that expresses the essence of this unique land. In 2019, Grace Family Vineyards, which celebrated its 40th anniversary, decided to hand over management of the winery to Kate Green, who had contact with winemaker Keplinger. While the Graces will continue to live on the property and be involved with the winery, the Green family will now take the helm and ensure that the Grace family's great legacy is maintained while focusing on sustainable grape growing and world-class winemaking.
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