Recently, we had the pleasure to visit Ink Grade Winery and
experience their ‘senses’ wine tasting.
Ink
Grade has a rich history starting in 1873 when Theron Ink planted the first
vines on Howell Mountain. In 1989 Heitz Cellars purchased Ink Grade.
In
2018 Gaylon Lawrence Jr. purchased Heitz that included Ink Grade. He appointed
Carelton McCoy Jr. as President and COO. Carelton became a Master Sommelier at
28 years old in 2013 and the second African American to earn this prestigious
title.
In
2020 McCoy and Lawrence Wine Estates launched Ink Grade as a stand-alone
project led by winemaker Matt Taylor.
Today
the wines include Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Napa Valley
Sauvignon Blanc.
We
enjoyed these great wines at their ‘senses wine tasting experience’.
From
the web site, “Senses by Ink Grade is the first immersive wine tasting
experience in the world that fuses art, nature and cinematic storytelling to
present our collection of single- estate wines.”
Our
knowledgeable host Balkis navigated us through this unique cinematic wine
tasting experience. The tasting was based on elevation. The first wine was 2021
Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc with grapes grown at 700 feet. The organic process
produced wine crisp and smooth to the palate.
The
second wine was 2019 Ink Grade Napa Valley with grapes grown at 800 to 1200
feet high. The 2020 Ink Grade Cabernet Sauvignon was made with grapes grown
over 1200 feet high. Finally, the 2019 Howell Mountain Ink Grade Cabernet
Sauvignon were from grapes grown at 2200 feet elevation. All of the wines were
great.
The
latest news is that Ink Grade will build a new winery with awesome views of
Howell Mountain. The groundbreaking will begin this spring with a goal to open
in 2025. We would highly recommend visiting this unique winery producing world-class
wines.
For
more information and to schedule a wine tasting go to:
https://inkgrade.com/about/
