Media Kit
Contact: Alan Goldfarb
https://allmediawinerysolutions.com/
415.806.4243
ISABELLA GOLD by LA REINA CORDIALS
Isabella Gold, the first label of La Reina Cordials, is made of Chardonnay grapes from a single estate, the 125-acre JL Wood Ranch Vineyard in the Chardonnay-centric AVA of Arroyo Seco on California’s Central Coast, Monterey County.
Owner and winemaker Paul Morrison initially proposed making a sweet Chardonnay. It’s a belief that wine drinkers are ready for innovation and that a sweet wine would further demonstrate the tremendous range of Chardonnay. And he was sure it would be an interesting challenge in the winery.
So, why only Chardonnay? Paul explains: “There are few dedicated vine-to-bottle specialists of Chardonnay in California. We utilize what we believe are outstanding Chardonnay clones: 4 & 17. They are ideal for our microclimate and they are complementary to each other in the winemaking process.”
Paul notes that the inspiration for the Isabella Gold’s profile was very logical for La Reina. He enjoys tasting partially fermented wine after crush. Says Paul: “It’s nothing short of delightful. Very fresh. Lots of fruit. We decided that we wanted something that reminded us of those moments.”
Isabella is a unique sweet Chardonnay, produced by utilizing the team’s experience and winemaking skills to amplify Chardonnay’s natural flavors. A lot of trials were done to arrive at our current formulation, and “we feel it will be a winner. It is designed to be more than just another wine; it’s a separate experience that stands alone and can be used in wine cocktails as well.”
Paul believes Isabella Gold is on target to appeal to younger drinkers. “Younger drinkers grew up on sweetened beverages. When they look at their choices for alcoholic beverages, they initially gravitate to sweeter drinks, and you can see that in the craft cocktail trend”.
Isabella Gold in the Marketplace
There is no doubt that Isabella Gold is a departure from the usual expectations of a Chardonnay. As noted above, developing a product for younger drinkers, particularly women, was one of the team’s highest priorities. And like other popular drinks, the “drinkability” and “desire for more” were critical requirements.
So, the decision was made to design the marketing to do the following: highlight Isabella as a unique “RTD” product that defies easy categorization, a product appropriate for special life moments, such as social events and clubbing, and position Isabella as a bar essential for wine cocktails. Its relatively low level of alcohol, around 11.1% AVB, makes it ideal to be part of bar recipes. It is both robust on a stand-alone basis, and complementary to other additions.
As part of La Reina’s market strategizing, Southern California-based designer Darren Walker noted significant trends in the younger market and highlighted the growth of romance fantasy. It was a natural to connect to devotees to that genre. And the decision was made to position Isabella Gold as a major element of a romance-fantasy short novel series and related imagery.
Darren designed a visually sophisticated label, based on the romance fantasy theme, on the backdrop of a cobalt blue Bordeaux style lightweight bottle with a gold-colored screw cap. The completed bottle is an eye magnet on the shelf, bar or table.
Long-term plans include releasing additional novels, related new imagery, and gift boxes.
Isabella Gold Technical Profile
Harvest Date: September 26, 2024
Source: JL Wood Ranch, block 1b
Brix at harvest: 22 degrees
Barrel regimen: Stainless Steel only
Free SO2: 40 mg/L
TA (titratable acidity): 7.3 g/L
pH: 3.4
Glucose + Fructose: 55 g/L (naturally provided from the same Chardonnay grapes used in the winemaking; no added sugars)
CAROL & PAUL MORRISON – Proprietor
Carol and Paul Morrison grew up together in the Salinas Valley. Paul’s family were pioneers in the fresh vegetable business, developed during the 1920s and ‘30s, while Carol’s family were long-term ranchers and farmers in the Arroyo Seco Cone (a conical-shaped alluvial plain) area since 1905. Carol’s family grew grains, stone fruit such as apricots, and raised sheep on the hilly areas of their property.
Paul and Carol graduated from the Business School at UC Berkeley. They vividly remember tasting wine at nearby Napa Valley wineries during that time. Free wine tastings were the norm in those days and the only way for cash-poor students to appreciate better wines.
As Carol notes: “If you had the money for gas, you could easily visit two or three wineries in an afternoon and, at that time, they warmly welcomed drop-ins, even students.”
Paul was particularly intrigued by the sweet versions of wines offered by some wineries. For example, for a long while, he had a thing for the Muscat Canelli produced by Sonoma based SIMI Winery. He notes that sweet wines were, and still are, out of style with many wine drinkers. However, he was entranced by not only his attraction to them but how they could be part of cocktails and attractive to younger drinkers.
After Berkeley, both Carol and Paul attended the Parsons School of Design in New York City. Paul later completed the winemaking and wine marketing program for professionals at UC Davis.
Paul and Carol worked for several large corporations and frequently traveled on business. Paul made it a routine to always try local wines regardless of whether he was in Europe or Asia and learned about different wine styles and food pairings in that way.
Paul laughs at the memory of those times. He was an “ABC” type of guy, and routinely ordered “Anything But Chardonnay” wines, usually relying upon local [European] proprietors to recommend their favorites. The offered wines, usually locally made, were not on the official wine lists and were specifically tailored to the palates of locals. They were frequently in un-labeled bottles and described as “house” wines.
Since learning how versatile and tasty Chardonnay can be in the right hands, he’s all-in with it.
The couple began taking over the family ranch in 1993 and bought out the interests of her siblings by 2015. Carol’s father had initiated the planting of Clones 4 and 17 Chardonnay on the ranch.
The Morrisons then embarked on a series of changes that have improved the quality of the grapes by implementing sustainable farming practices such as permanent cover cropping, pruning designed for premium grape production, and changes to irrigation and pest management. The vineyards of the JL Wood Ranch are certified as sustainable by the CSWA.
In 2020, Paul and Carol became independently permitted co-proprietors at a large winemaking facility in Oakville, just north of the city of Napa, where they make their wines as Windswept Wines LLC and under its alternate operating name, La Reina Cordials.
Vineyard Practices and Facts
Certifications: CSWA Certified
Ecological Protocols: Reduced tractor passes, no tilling, cover cropping to provide natural sources of nutrients and increased water retention, minimal pesticide use, wild areas between and adjacent to the blocks (for native mountain lion, bobcat, raccoons, foxes, and roadrunners), utilization of sheep for seasonal grazing, and a high number of owl/hawk box placements for pest control. Local wildlife are considered to be co-tenants of their land, except for the wild roaming invasive hybrid species of wild hogs that can wreak havoc in the vineyard blocks during drought years.
The focus has been to demonstrate the qualitative improvements in grape growing at its ranch and to emphasis the attributes of its terroir by creating a range of single-estate Chardonnay wines.
The vineyard manager is ably McKenna Jeffries. She does not allow the use of Roundup. Jeffries also ensures that the vineyard’s growing procedures will qualify and successfully pass certification requirements of the Wine Institute’s CSWA program. Over the years, JLWR has deployed regenerative farming techniques and continues to expand their usage.
The team’s growing activities have been centered around achieving the best results in the winery. It doesn’t follow the conventions that many growers and wineries use. The La Reina team lets nature be the guide. The fruit lets everyone know when it’s ready. The benefit of this approach is that it allows La Reina to keep winemaking procedures to a minimum and reduces interventions to improve the wine.
Managing the vines to produce great fruit is the overarching objective. Harvest yields and total tonnage are secondary. This vine-to-bottle approach gives Isabella a distinct competitive advantage.
PLANTED: 1997-99/2023
TOTAL PLANTED: 125 acres
WIND: From 1 p.m. on, strong north winds cool grapes and close stomata on leaves,which shuts vines down and slows ripening; and which results in cool-climate Chardonnays and enduring hangtime. The vineyard experiences from 15-20 inches of rainfall annually.
ARROYO SECO AVA
The Arroyo Seco AVA encompasses a large growing area south of Soledad and includes Greenfield in the central part of Monterey County. In the rural, western extremes of these townships, the Santa Lucia Mountains rise dramatically, creating the western boundary of the Salinas Valley. It is in this landscape that a transverse waterway from the mountains carved the geography and geology, and ultimately converges with the maritime influences of the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean 40 miles north at Monterey Bay.
Granted federal AVA status in 1983, the Arroyo Seco appellation – California’s 15th — is steeped in wine growing history and rooted in the geographic features of a waterway named “Arroyo Seco”. This now seasonal creek brings rainwater and snowmelt from the Santa Lucia Mountains and the Los Padres National Forest. Over the millennia the pressure of this natural water-release dumped rocks which can be found in the JL Wood Ranch Vineyard. Below the surface, the Arroyo Seco annually recharges the relatively shallow water aquifers. Within the AVA’s boundaries, the first commercial vineyard, Mission Ranch, was propagated by the Mirassou family in 1961.
Consisting of 18,240 acres the AVA is one of the smallest in California. (Santa Cruz Mountains, 408,000 acres; Russian River Valley, 96,000; Santa Rita Hills AVA, 30,720; and the Santa Lucia Highlands, 22,000).
TALE OF THE TAPE
7k acres planted
1st commercial plantings: ‘61
Region 1 (40 miles from Monterey Bay)
Annual Rainfall: 13 inches
Arroyo Seco Chardonnay Producers: JL Wood, Wente, J Lohr, Kendall Jackson, Chesebro
Note: La Reina’s affiliate brand is JL WOOD, which specializes in producing varied styles of Chardonnay. Both are brands of the TTB/California permitted wine producer, Windswept Wines LLC
Isabella Sweet Chardonnay Tasting Notes
Velvety and seductive, Isabella Gold opens with hints of lush tropical fruit, honeyed pear, and fresh apple, wrapped in a silken whisper of wild blossoms. The palate is rich yet graceful-sweet without cloying-finishing in a lingering kiss of citrus. Each sip shimmers with enchantment and the anticipation for things to come.
Isabella Gold, a Sweet Chardonnay
750mL | 11.1% Alc/Vol