2008 Ridge Vineyards, Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains, California, USA

The most famous red wine grape in the world and one of the most widely planted.

The Santa Cruz Mountains, a wine region in Northern California spanning Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and San Mateo counties, is renowned for its high-quality, cool-climate wines. Influenced by the Pacific Ocean, the diverse microclimate favours the cultivation of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and other varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon.

Ridge Vineyards makes wines that compete in terms of quality and desirability with Bordeaux First Growths and Grand Cru White Burgundies. Winemaker Paul Draper has crafted 43 vintages at Ridge and his practical, hands-off approach to winemaking has resulted in an exceptional and highly sought-after range of wines. Although a vineyard was first planted near the top of Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains in 1885, it lay abandoned until four Stanford Research Institute engineers bought it in 1959. Ridge Vineyards was formed in 1962 and Paul Draper was appointed as winemaker in 1969. After stunning the world by their triumph in the 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting, Ridge Vineyards shot to fame and gained cult status almost overnight.