By Bruce Neyers

Friday 19th December, 2025

The 2022 Sage Canyon Red

We enjoyed two consecutive colder than normal growing seasons in 2021 and 2022, and the Sage Canyon Red we produced from 2022 is a wine of superb color, structure, and flavor. The 2022 harvest of the Jessie’s Grove Carignan began on September 6, compared to September 7 in 2021, for example. The Lomo del Rio Cinsault was picked on October 14 in 2022, compared to October 18 in 2021. Yields were almost identical in both years as well, with the 2022 Lomo del Rio Cinsault crop at 11.6 tons, compared to 11.7 tons in 2021. Still, there will be differences between the two wines, and at this stage the 2022 Sage Canyon Red is definitely attractive. I look forward to watching the two wines continue to develop over the next few years.

All of the grapes were hand-picked at night into ½-ton bins, then driven to the winery at first light to keep them as cold as practical. Upon delivery, Tadeo transferred them directly into open-top, stainless-steel fermentation tanks, retaining 100% of the stems. We fermented these grapes using the indigenous, native yeast trapped on the grape skins by the ‘bloom’ – a waxy, substance created as the grapes ripen — and during the first 20 days of fermenting, an intern walked barefoot on the cap twice daily, each time for 30 minutes or so. This process — called pigeage in France — prevents the retained stems from being broken during the color extraction process. For the final stage of fermentation, the cap can’t support a person, so we ‘punch-down’ the cap, using a pneumatically operated disc that slides above the tanks on a supporting I-beam. After 45 days on the skins, the tanks are drained and pressed, and the new wine is racked to neutral 60-gallon French oak barrels. These allow the wine to age for a year or so without the addition of oak flavor.

The 2022 Sage Canyon Red is a beauty. The color is bright, and the aroma is attention-grabbing, combining the exotic perfume of pit fruits, like peach and apricot, with wild cherry. There are traces of mineral and earth – a charming, rustic component from the stems. The flavors are complex, a mix of allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg, with a lovely cherry-like finish. When I worked at Mayacamas Winery in the early 1970’s, there were several old cherry trees that grew along the main access road. The cherries ripened in late spring and were historically left to the birds. Barbara began making pies from these wild cherries when we moved there, and that was always an additional bright spot to our spring. It’s nice to encounter that flavor again.

White Bean Soup with Corn and Fresh Poblano Peppers

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked Rancho Gordo white beans – I use Ayocote Blanco beans
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ onion minced
• 3 ears of corn, kernels removed
• 1 fresh poblano pepper, roasted, skin removed, sliced into strips
• 1 tablespoon oregano or Rancho Gordo Oregano Indio
• 3 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• Minced cilantro
• Lime wedges

Preparation

1. In a medium size pot over low heat, sauté the onion in olive oil until soft and clear in color.
2. Add corn, poblano pepper strips, oregano, beans, and chicken or vegetable stock. Stir to mix the ingredients together.
3. Raise the heat to medium and continue cooking until the corn is tender, stirring occasionally.
4. Season with salt and pepper and serve in bowls garnished with minced cilantro.
5. Serve lime wedges on the side.