On a bright August day, I had the pleasure of meeting Cherie and Carl Lyle, owners of Deer Ridge Winery.  My husband and I had mistakenly believed the winery was enjoying their grand opening on the day we arrived….we were wrong.  Cherie and Carl were, in fact, knee deep in preparations for the upcoming opening of the winery.  Rather than giving my hubby and I the old Benny Hill pat on the head and sending us on our merry ways, Cherie took us on a tour of the as yet unfinished winery.  In her hot pink sun hat, and casual work clothes, Cherie did not embody what I perceived to be the owner of a winery.  Rather than employing others to take care of the little details, Cherie was literally knee deep in the trenches, assisting the landscapers in the placement of the plantings of the grasses and shrubs that will grace the winery’s grounds.

Carl, in the meantime, was showing a young couple (who like my husband and I had just dropped in unannounced) around the winery.  They were interested in perhaps holding their upcoming nuptials at this beautiful location.  As my husband and I were preparing to leave, Carl called out and I received my introduction to this most interesting man.  Carl is of Scottish ancestry and being born in Glasgow, Scotland, an instant bond was formed.  Before you could say “Craig Ferguson is the funniest late night talk show host on t.v.), my husband Bobby and I were being treated to an impromptu wine tasting in the winery’s beautiful tasting room.  Let me start by saying, I am by no manner of means a trained wine connoisseur, but Carl explained that he enjoys hearing what the untrained pallets have to say about his wines.  To my delight, Carl extended an invitation to join in a technical wine tasting the following week, which I accepted. 

Surrounded by three wine professionals, I participated in my very first “technical” wine tasting.  The purpose of this tasting is to determine which wines meet the winery’s standards for sale.  I must confess to feeling more than a little intimidated at first (after all it’s more than a little odd spitting wine into cups in front of people you have just met), but Carl, Kirsten and John made me feel at ease in no time.   Our tastings concentrated on the reds, ranging from ’03 Merlot and Zinfandels, ’04 Meritage, Cabernet Savignon and Syrahs to ’05 Merlot and Syrahs. 

Of the ‘03’s, my favorite was the Merlot, which, while earthy, had a berry undertone.  It reminded me of blackberry picking as a child in Scotland.  A close second in the ‘03’s was the Zinfandel, whose grapes hail from Deer Ridge Winery’s Napa location.  This was a very smooth wine, with a very pleasant bouquet.  I think this would be a great wine on a nice cold night with some homemade oxtail soup. 

Of the ‘04’s the Cabernet Savignon was my favorite.  My first impression of this wine was its outstanding color, much like the Scottish heather.  This wine would be a wonderful compliment to lamb, steak or for that matter a nice steak and kidney pie.  The ’04 Meritage had more of a complex taste.  At first taste this wine had more of an alcohol flavor, but after about my third taste it grew on me, very earthy, but with a licorice or anise taste.  There is a candy in Scotland which is a favorite among the young called licorice sherbet.  This is just what it sounds like…sherbet with a stick of licorice, which you would dip into the sherbet over and over until you couldn’t stand it any more and just wolfed down the licorice.  The ’04 Meritage was my grown up licorice sherbet.

Of the ‘05’s, my favorite was the Merlot.  I remember calling this an “all seasons wine.”  It is a light, fruity wine….great with cheese or fruit.  

As a young girl in Scotland, I never dreamed I would one day be sitting gazing over the vine strewn Livermore hills, while sipping wine with the laird of the winery.  I have adopted Deer Ridge Winery as my own “wee winery”, and would invite others to enjoy the informal and friendly atmosphere provided by Cherie and Carl. 

By Angela Parliament