Drew 'The Field Blend' Mendocino Ridge GSM Blend 2023

Winemaking

Drew Wines focuses on Rhône-style blends from California's cooler regions, embracing the GSM tradition with a commitment to balanced, food-friendly wines. The winemaker sources from Mendocino Ridge's best vineyard sites and allows the terroir to guide the blend rather than imposing a rigid formula—each vintage's field blend reflects what the vineyard produced that year.

Tasting Notes

This field blend opens with bright red and dark fruit aromas—cherry and plum—punctuated by white pepper spice and hints of garrigue that anchor the blend's Rhône character. On the palate, it's medium-bodied and supple, with ripe red cherry and plum flavors woven through a subtle savory herb thread and balanced tannin structure. The acidity is crisp and present, lifting the wine through a clean, persistent finish that suggests both immediate appeal and a few years of aging potential.

Producer

Drew Wines is a small producer dedicated to crafting expressive wines from Mendocino Ridge, one of California's most underappreciated cool-climate regions. The estate works closely with carefully selected vineyard partners, focusing on low-intervention winemaking that highlights varietal character and site definition rather than oak or extraction.

Terroir

Mendocino Ridge sits along the California coast at elevation, where cool fog and coastal breezes create conditions remarkably similar to the Rhône Valley. The volcanic and alluvial soils here drain well and stress the vines just enough to concentrate fruit while maintaining the bright acidity and mineral tension that make GSM blends sing. This is serious cool-climate country, where Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre reach full maturity with elegance rather than overripeness.

Food Pairings

Try this with herb-roasted chicken or a Mediterranean pasta with tomato and olive tapenade—the wine's savory undertones and balanced structure make it a natural bridge between poultry and light red-meat dishes. For something more composed, pair it with pan-seared duck breast with a cherry gastrique, or lamb meatballs with mint and feta. On a casual evening, it's equally at home with a charcuterie board built around cured meats and aged cheeses.