A Visit to the Pierce Ranch Tasting Room

In October I found myself wondering Cannery Row in Monterey with my family, killing time before my cousin's wedding, when I stumbled across the Pierce Ranch Vineyard tasting room. After spending an hour plus gawking at the amazing otters and seals splashing just offshore in the Monterey Bay while dodging hordes of tourists, I was happy to find a low key and relaxing spot to taste some wines away from the crowds.

Pierce's downtown Monterey tasting room is a perfect respite as it is located in a beautiful little house with a fantastic garden just a few blocks off Cannery Row.

It was actually the beautiful flowers in the garden that first caught my eye. With a closer look I noticed the house was actually a tasting room so we decided to pop in and see what they were pouring.

Pierce serves up an impressively diverse and eclectic catalog of estate grown wines from grape varietals of French, Spanish and Portuguese origin.

Amy was our host that afternoon as we settled in for a delicious and interesting tasting.

As the ladies were more interested in relaxing and eating the complementary bread, olive oil with delicious wine flavored salt than actually tasting wine we decided to share one tasting between us.

We started with the 2017 Verdelho, a Portuguese varietal, which had really nice stone fruit flavors and a delicious light oak finish. It was a solid white wine that had unique flavors.

Next Amy poured us the non-vintage Tourbillon, Spanish, that was very herbaceous and earthy while maintaining a good balance of red berry flavors. I instantly thought of pairing it with a nice homemade paella recipe that we have made while camping a few times as it was a traditional Spanish tasting wine. I found it to be very tasty and a great deal at $15.

The very eclectic 2016 Cosecheiro red blend was next on the menu. It is a blend of Tempranillo (Spanish), Touriga (Portuguese), Malbec (French), Petit Verdot (French), and Souzão (Portuguese) grape juices! I have never tasted such a diverse ensemble of grape varietals before. It was a very smooth and complex wine. I thought it would pair nicely with baked Brie or with some other light appetizers before dinner.

Next we tried the balanced 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon. It was very fruity on the nose and had a smokey oak finish. This was Alena's favorite of the day.

Last on the regular tasting flight was a 2014 Petite Sirah. I was getting some earthy and mushroom smells mixed with blackberry. My sister heard me say mushroom and looked at me like I was a crazy person, to each their own smells I guess. It was a vibrant wine with spicy notes and high acidity.

Amy was kind enough to let us try 3 additional wines as well. First she shared the 2016 Malbec after I mention that last year I had made my own batch of Malbec with my roommate as our second vintage of winemaking. The Pierce Malbec was full of dark fruits and slight vanilla from the oak, as well as hints of lavender and herb de Provence. The finish was musky and it reminded me of being in a cave filled with aging wine barrels.

Next we tried my favorite of the day, the 2014 Claret. Claret is a British term for a Bordeaux style red blend wine. The Pierce Claret had an amazing smell with the perfect blend of oak, red current, slight strawberry and a bit of meatiness or umami.

It had well balanced tannins and acidity and was a true delight to drink! I thought is was a good buy at $28.

The last wine of the day was fittingly a 2007 Vinho Doce, a red dessert wine from a Portuguese varietal of grapes. It is a port style wine and tasted as such. As expected, it tasted like classic red dessert wine and I did not find it to be syrupy or overly sweet. It had lots of candied orange peel flavor with a nice oak finish.

I really enjoyed tasting the wines at Pierce Valley Vineyards' tasting room. Our favorites of the day were the Tourbillon, the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Claret.

I would recommend stopping in for a tasting or to pick up a bottle or two if you find yourself visiting Monterey anytime soon. I look forward to opening up a bottle of the Tourbillon we purchased with some homemade paella this winter!

The Pierce tasting room is located at 499 Wave Street in Monterey, California. Go visit them or better yet take a trip out to the actual winery; it's definitely on my list of places to go next time I'm in Monterey!

P.S Here is our adorable wedding pic from the weekend!

Cheers!