French Clonal Tasting Held at the Esquire Grill during Unified Week
Sunridge Nurseries held a private tasting of French clones at the Esquire Grill on Wednesday evening, January 28, 2009, during the annual Unified Symposium in Sacramento. Sunridge collaborated with their partners at IFV (Institut Francais de la Vigne et du Vin) of France in presenting to their invited guests various ENTAV-INRA® wine clones for individual tasting. The General Manager of IFV, Jean-Pierre Van Ruyskenvelde and Engineer/Department Head, Laurent Audeguin, were available to answer questions and explain the nuances of each clone.
Some of the clones poured were Viognier Clone 642 and 1042; Cabernet Franc Clones 214, 394, and 395; Cot Clone 598; Merlot Clone 181; and Petit Verdot Clone 1058. For the first time, guests had the opportunity to taste the new Sunridge exclusive INRA varietals such as Arinarnoa (cross between Tannat and Cabernet Sauvignon); Caladoc (cross between Grenanche and Cot) and Marselan (cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache).
Sunridge has a large diversity of clonal material that comes directly from the ENTAV repositories in Domaine de l’Espiguette in France. Each year during Unified, a variety of clones are brought to educate winemakers and vineyard managers about the extensive clonal selections offered by Sunridge.
The room at the Esquire Grill was crowded with animated conversation and diligent note taking by tasters. The always wonderful food prepared by the Esquire Grill was delightfully consumed as well as domestic wines representative of our special guests.
Sunridge and IFV thank all of you who attended and we hope that you left with newly acquired information about the many French clonal selections available at Sunridge Nurseries.
Tags: clone, clones, ENTAV-INRA®, entav-®, French Clonal, information, Inra, merlot, nurseries, nursery, sunridge, varietal, vineyards, wine, winemaking