When I began taking the online UC Davis course in 2009, the Introductory Course came with a packet of DVDs which featured Prof. Carole Meredith. Prof. Meredith's field is grape plant genetics and she is reknown for DNA typing Zinfandel and relating it to the Croatian grape, Crljanek Kastelanski (pronounced tsurl-yenak kas-tel-yanskee).
Just before signing up for the course, my husband and I decided that we needed to take a cross country trip from Connecticut to California and all stops in between. The DVDs came a few days before our estimated departure date so we were able to listen to the DVDs in the car and saw the video portion on our stays at various inns, motels, hotels, adobe homes and with relatives.
At the end of the DVD, Prof. Meredith says: If you're ever in California, come and visit us. So, in May, 2010, when we were out at UC Davis to attend a Small Vineyard Management course, we contacted Prof. Meredith and set up a time to visit her. Did I mention that her vineyard is located on the slope of Mt. Veeder? We had a midsized rental Hyundai and the poor little car, huffed and puffed all the way up to the vineyard. Once we were there, we were warmly greeted by Carole Meredith and Stephen Lagier. We sat on their porch looking at a magnificent view of Napa Valley, tasting their Syrah and making small talk. As small talk goes, we eventually discovered that Stephen Lagier's best friend in high school was a friend of ours and that our children was babysitter to his best friend's children and that at one time, I commuted to Yale with his best friend's wife. How is that for a small world.
We bought some of their Rosé of Syrah and their Syrah and it was delicious. This blog was prompted because in cleaning our home the other day, I came across a Jan-Feb 2003 Wine Spectator that said the following of the 2000 Lagier Meredith Syrah Mount Veeder:
(93, $50) The second release from this husband-and-wife team; it reveals vibrant mineral and blackberry notes and tannins that are typical of mountain-grown fruit.
To learn more about the winery and vineyard, click here: Lagier Meredith.
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