The Jeriko estate vineyard is in southern Mendocino County, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of San Franciso. This area near the Russian River is home to some great champagne-style wines. The producer plants 1210 vines per acre (about 3 vines per 10 square meters). This high-density spacing is meant to force the roots deeper into the gravelly loam soil. When the roots have it easy the wine usually suffers. By the way, Jeriko is the Latin spelling in contrast to the more familiar Greek spelling of Jericho. Do you think it's a way of getting attention?

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed: The San Francisco Wine Press Syrah 2006 DOC 13.8% alcohol about $17

Let's start by quoting the marketing materials. Description: This organically grown Syrah earned a Silver Medal at the 2009 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Our Quality Assurance Laboratory has determined that this wine contains 13 mg/L of free sulphur. Tasting Note: We can highly recommend the 2006 Syrah, which had a gamey flavor and a depth that belied its price. (Blair Campbell, at the eastbayexpress website, April 15, 2009) And now for my review.

When first tasted without any food the wine was mouth filling, dark tasting, and yet there was some bubblegum. The initial pairing was with a purchased shepherd's pie. This Syrah was very present and yet short. I tasted oak and light tannins. I added quite a bit of cayenne pepper sauce and the wine became darker and showed pleasant acidity.

The next meal was simply box of vegetarian lasagna to which I added lots and lots of grated Parmesan cheese. The Syrah was solid and well balanced with good oak and some tobacco. It worked well with the lasagna's tomatoes.

My final meal was a broiled steak (London Broil) covered with a ketchup and mustard sauce that was heavy on the garlic. The wine was oaky and quite long with dark cherries. It had great balance between the acidity and tannins. In the presence of potatoes roasted in chicken fat, the wine was as before but the chocolate intensified. Sliced eggplant roasted in lots of garlic and oil brought out harshness. The wine was somewhat sweet and the chocolate remained.

I paired this wine with schmaltz herring packed in oil. The Syrah was round with caramel. When it met yellow cheddar cheese this wine was very round with oaky dark fruit. In the presence of Swiss cheese this wine was powerful, oaky, deep, and dark.

Final verdict. I really liked this wine. Because I am tasting two wines at once I often have some wine left over after all the tastings. Believe me, not one drop of this wine went down the sink.