Jordan Vineyards or Losing My Cabernet Virginity

Maybe you read Roger’s piece First Love…What Wine did you share? Some of you have asked, when did I fall in love with red wine?  Roger wrote that our first trip to Napa was in 1987, but after some additional reminiscing, Roger and I have realized that we first visited Jordan Winery (where I fell in love with California Cabernet) in 1983 not 1987.  We were traveling with another couple, John and Jennifer, who were a few years older than us and were already fans of Jordan’s wines.

Entrance to Jordan Winery

I was young and not very knowledge about wines.  Jordan was the first winery we visited that was not a fledgling mom and pop operation (ok, I now know that it is indeed owned by the Jordan family, but it was no mom and pop operation) Jordan was then and remains a beautiful and state of the art winery and Chateau.  I loved the tour.

By that time, I had left Mateus Rose and Liebframilch behind; even so I never allowed red wine to pass my lips. In every tasting room we visited, I sampled each and every white wine offered but boldly put my hand over my tasting glass when red wines appeared.  Back at the Bed and Breakfast that evening, everyone sat in the living room exchanging winery tales and sampling the day’s wine purchases before heading out to dinner.  John had purchased a case of Jordan Cabernet at the winery and kept insisting that I at least give it a little sip.  I resisted as long as I could and finally under extreme duress, tasted.

I immediately fell in love with Jordan, a red wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon!  John and Roger hopped into the Lincoln Continental whose trunk, loaded with cases of wine, was already riding only about foot off the asphalt and headed back to Jordan Vineyards.  As they drove up the long drive, a car coming down stopped and told them that the winery was closed.  Roger pleaded his case and told how I’d lost my Cabernet virginity with Jordan. The winery graciously opened long enough for him to complete his purchase and send me down the road to ruin.

Original Oak Fermentation Tanks

So on our recent trip to the Sonoma wine country, Jordan was a must visit for me.  Once again I was in awe of the  beautiful property and loved the informative yet light hearted tour.  Fond memories of that trip 27 years ago came rushing back, especially when I again saw the enormous and elegant wood fermentation tanks.

When we were seated in the dining room for our tasting, I did not stop at the white wines but made sure to taste and savor all the red wines, too.  It was great to be back in the place that made me fall in love with red wine. The 2003 Cabernet that was served was wonderful. If I was once again a cabernet virgin, and why would I want to be, I would again lose my heart to Jordan.