The Magician California Red Blend

Wine should be entertaining, personable, polished and mysterious. Red blends are far more unique, interesting and complex than varietal wines. Everyone can make a Cabernet Sauvignon and they do. Only we make The Magician. We expect this wine to be the best choice you can make when selecting a California Red. Enjoy it with dinner or before. Our guarantee to you is that you will not be disappointed. You may also have the pleasure of tasting grapes, and certainly a wine that you have never tasted before.

Mastering The Great Trick of Blending

Ripe black cherries mingle with traditional dark red fruits, smoky oak and exquisite spices. This wine is complex. Its flavors will linger and yet it is crisp, surprisingly fresh and easy to drink. Drink it now, but it will taste great for many months to come.

The Grapes

Cabernet Dorsa, Maxime Rouge, Drunkenfelder, Petite Sirah, Shiraz, Petite Verdot

The Package

After years of study, the findings conclude that the Stelvin closure is as good as, if not better than cork. We know one thing - it is easier to open.

The Painting

The painting "The Magician" is by our winemaker, Ricardo d. His paintings can also be found on Stratton Lummis labels. For a funny story see the About section on the Stratton Lummis page.

The Birth of The Magician

Our National Sales Manager, Craig Boggs, in heated conversation with Row Eleven winemaker Ricardo d. challenged, "Do you really think you can make a sophisticated red wine, as good as the top red wines in California, and make it for less than $15 per bottle? If you can do that, you really would be a magician."
"Not only can I do it," Ricardo d. answered, "I’ll even paint you the label."
The Magician is in the bottle. You be the judge.

A Quick Comment About Red Blends

The red blend is nothing new. They have been around since the beginning of wine, because blends are always more complex, exciting and interesting. Chateau Margaux is a blend as are Chateau LaTour, Chateau Lafite Rothschild, the wines from the Cote-Rotie, Chateaneuf-du-Pape, Cotes du Rhones and the Super Tuscans. It is odd that most Americans think red blends are inferior to varietals.

A Quick Comment About Vintage

The Magician, a California red blend, like Stratton Lummis’s “The Riddler” (a Napa red blend), is multi-vintage because our winemaker thinks that creates far more interesting wines with multiple layers of flavors and sophistication. It increases uniqueness. The wine just tastes better. The most luxurious wine in the world, Champagne, is also multi-vintaged.

"There is no magic. There is only knowledge, more or less hidden."

- Gene Wolfe, Book of the New Sun

We are leaving behind yesterday’s ideas of what a wine has to be.

For information regarding distribution in your area, please call the winery at 415-259-2770

Buy The Magician California Red Blend