Paige 23 Wines

It is not easy to find good, quality, well made California wines at what may be considered value price points, but I may have just found another good brand to add to the Rad Grapes portfolio. Sometimes you just get lucky…I have not added any California wines to our book in well over 2 years, simply because the market was in the process of changing more towards value pricing both at the retail and restaurant level and most well made California wines are not what we could consider “value” priced. That’s where the wines from Paige 23 come in…

I recently received some samples from the winery looking to make a change in the NY market. The wines do have a little NY presence, but not enough according to what I tasted from the bottle. Very good wines and a good price should be relatively easy to sell if you present them to enough of the right customers. That’s our job anyway…Tasting through the 2007 Santa Barbara releases from Paige 23 wines,  was surprisingly pleasant experience. These are not fruitbombs…The Chardonnay was very crisp and elegant, with some good mid-palate structure and a refreshingly long finish with some great acidity; The Pinot Noir was soft and sophisticated, showing some traditional Santa Barbara terroir with soft berry fruit and spice and the Syrah was bold, deep, dark and luscious – up there with some of the most balanced and structured Syrah’s I’ve had from the Central Coast.

Paige 23 Wines 2007 Santa Barbara Syrah, Pinot and Chard....rather yummy...

If all works out well, we should have the Paige as part of the Rad Grapes portfolio by March or April.  I will keep you posted to further developments with this new brand. Cheers…