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It is a well-known fact that women make more than 70% of the wine buying decisions—and it’s a fair bet that most of those women would gladly grab a wine called Gr8 [read: Great] Ass. Made by a woman winemaker, this 2007 Paso Robles, California Cabernet not only offers an enticing name that both women and men can appreciate, but also has great assets to back it up: it recently earned a score of 90 points from Wine Enthusiast (due to be printed in the October 2009 edition).
Winemaker Signe Zoller of Kendall Jackson, Cambria and Meridian fame has produced nearly 30 acclaimed wine labels for clients of her custom winemaking business Zoller Wine Styling (zollerwinestyling.com) in Paso Robles, California, but this is the first vintage of wine that she can truly call her own. And she earned that right; during a sleepless 36-hour winemaking frenzy, Zoller delivered 488 cases of the 2007 Gr8 Ass Cabernet vintage for a bottling run that included 8 other lots of wine. “It’s like making nine elaborate dinners at the same time!” laughs Zoller.
This feast for the wine enthusiast’s taste buds was made with 75% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, the majority of which were grown on Zoller’s Star View Acres vineyard, which Zoller jokingly calls “Starving Acres” vineyard for its moderate yield. The vines produce intense, high colored and well-structured wines. About 1% of the cabernet component comes from another east-side Paso Robles vineyard whose acreage is surrounded by eucalyptus trees, infusing the juice with a fresh mint characteristic. She rounded out the Gr8 Ass Cabernet with equal parts Syrah, Petit Sirah, and Merlot.
Barrel-aged for 16 months in 30% new, 70% seasoned Hungarian and American oak barrels, the Cab (retailing for $26) contains rich notes of cassis with a hint of mint and chocolate, as well as “8 gr8 assets” which describe the wine’s profile as well as that of Zoller’s business partner Kyle Grasso to whom the vintage was dedicated: “elegant, trendsetter, world class, polished, refined, sophisticated, happening, big city hunk in small town Paso.” Having already won over judges in 2008 at the LA County Fair and Central Coast Competition where it earned Bronze awards, Zoller says Gr8 Ass Cab is only getting greater by the hour.
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