An old friend

I remember back in the late 90s I used to live in Silicon Valley (Palo Alto) and high above the valley floor was a system of hills separating the valley from the ocean that we used to drive up to every now and again, the views were glorious. The climate was also a little cooler up there and ever since the 1880s Italian immigrants were growing grapes among the giant redwoods on the hills above the valley. One such vineyard is called "Ridge" and is famed for a wine called "Monte Bello" a Cabernet Sauvignon based red wine that won 6th place in the famous "Judgement of Paris" tasting in 1976 and first in the 30th anniversary tasting of the same wines, it's a classy drink and hugely expensive these days. 

Fortunately Ridge is big enough to produce several wines at different price points, these include several Zinfandel blends as well as more classic Cabernet based Bordeaux blends, I believe they also have a Chardonnay which I haven't tried yet. Luckily for us we were in London on Saturday and having dinner with the kids at a pub/restaurant called "Parakeet" in Kentish Town and they had a Ridge on their list (pretty unusual for a gastro-pub) I snagged a bottle and it was delicious, it was only their "Estate Cabernet" but even so it's made in the style of the great Monte Bello and was just the job with a massive pork chop cooked over an open fire/BBQ and shared with the table, a great evening.