Wine of the week: Graziano Family of Wines, 2017 Carignane, Mendocino County

With the Fourth of July in the offing, the countdown is on to find the best burger reds to complement those juicy pucks of beef that will be sizzling on Webers on back patios across America.

In the recent Press Democrat blind tasting, the best burger wine — stripped of its bag — was revealed to be the Graziano Family of Wines, 2017 Carignane, Mendocino County, 14.5%, $22. Full-bodied, with generous fruit, this carignane is the perfect burger red. It’s a touch earthy, with tangy layered flavors of raspberry, pomegranate and plum. Balanced, it’s buoyed with bright acid and finishes crisp. Its high-toned fruit and bright acid stand up to a juicy burger.

A red grape of Spanish origin, carignane is commonly found in French wine but also is widely planted throughout the western Mediterranean and around the globe.

“Carignane has a very long history in California and especially in Mendocino County,” said Gregory Graziano, vintner and winemaker of his namesake brand. “We have some of the largest plantings and oldest vines in the state. Every year, small plots are being pulled up because of low production or lack of a good selling price, which is not a problem with our vineyard. But it makes our vineyard even more rare.”

The grapes in the winning carignane hail from a vineyard planted eight decades ago, Graziano said.

“This Vincenzo Vineyard — planted by my grandfather, my father and my uncle — has been in my family for over 104 years,” he said. “It’s grown in very special rocky and/or sandy white-clay loam soils, somewhat unique to Mendocino County. These head-trained old vines produce special wines with lots of fruit, terroir, tannins and acidity.”

The vintner said he embraces the Old World style, so he endeavors to grow the strongest vines that are balanced with vigor and crop load. Because of the high acidity in these grapes, they typically need three years of aging in neutral oak to soften, he added.

A specialist with carignane, Graziano said he grew up with the varietal.

“My family has had as much as 100 acres of it since 1918, and I’m very familiar with the weak and strong points of this grape,” he said.

Growing up in the vineyards, Graziano said, clued him in on his fate.

“I knew at a young age that the wine business was my destiny,” he said. “Going to Italy for the first time in 1982, visiting my family in Piemonte and seeing their winery and vineyards was an experience I could not forget, which helped determine my destiny.”

The lifestyle of a vintner appealed to Graziano, too, and he continues to bask in the agrarian cycle of the grape, from the vineyard to the cellar. Graziano and his wife, Trudi, founded Graziano Family of Wines in 1988 and now produce four labels. In addition to the Graziano brand, they craft Saint Gregory, Monte Volpe and Enotria.

“I love the culture, hard work and the taste of food and wine,” Graziano said. “I live every day for the pleasure of a great dinner and a great bottle of wine with my family.”

Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5310.