If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes greater than great, as is the case with today’s wine from Lost Canyon.

New Feature Alert!: You are visiting our site on our first Sonoma County Tuesday. Be sure to visit us each Tuesday, when we will be featuring a fantastic Sonoma County wine each week.

Mission Codename: Sonoma, meet Oakland…

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Investigate the growing

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Lost Canyon Winery

Wine Subject: 2005 Alegria Syrah

Winemakers: Jack States and Randy Keyworth

Backgrounder: Greate wine can spring from the most unexpected places. Today we send Agent Red to investigate a winery in, of all places, Oakland, California. Read his mission report below for his report on today’s wine, a gem made from Sonoma County grapes – in the heart of Oakland.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Dark cherry jello, with a deep red-violet heart, clear edges and thin, widely-spaced legs

Smell – Giant blackberry and blueberry, with smoky leather, earthen spice and a hint of cherry

Feel – wet and smooth, then immediately more sharp as the medium tannins bite into the entire surface of the tongue and dry the inside of the lips

Taste – Layered with flavors of smoked blackberry, tart cherry, mineral, tart plum and hints of spiced red apple and black tea

Finish – Tannins dig in and lock in the sweetness and the smoked tartness of the fruit character of the wine, providing a lingering finish

Conclusion – If you are surprised to hear of a winery in Oakland, California, you’ll be even more surprised by this wine. This delicious example from Lost Canyon Winery has incredible pedigree; Made of grapes from the famous Alegria Vineyard in the Sonoma County town of Healdsburg, winemakers Jack States and Randy Keyworth have created a wine of character, complexity and richness. I enjoyed a glass on its own, and later with a fresh pasta primavera and pan seared baby artichokes with lemon. In both cases, the wine was perfect. Its richness and layered flavors with big aromatics make it just exactly the type of Syrah I enjoy best.

Mission Report:

You have been reading my mission reports long enough to know that I try to never let misconceptions or preconceived notions color my judgment. At least when it comes to great wine finds.

Since becoming a Wine Spy I have traveled far and wide and I have discovered some great wines in some pretty unlikely places; I have found wines that were incredible in Isreal, tantalizing in Turkey, perfect in Paraguay, brilliant in Bangladesh and magnificent in Madagascar.

What I never expected to find, was Outstanding in Oakland!

It happened one day while on a side mission in San Francisco. I finished up early and was famished so I called Agent Sparkle and asked for her recommendation. Knowing of my love for the unusual, she pointed my toward Asia de Cuba restaurant on nearby Geary Street.

The place was great and the atmosphere was fun yet quite civilized. Forgoing a drink order, I ordered their Thai Beef Saled, which was a brilliantly presented mix of beef carpaccio, shredded coconut, avocado and spicy watercress.

After digging in, I asked to see their wine list. As always, I asked my waiter what his personal favorite was. He recommended a glass of 2005 Lost Canyon Alegria Syrah. I recognized the Alegria Vineyard as a vineyard of great repute, but had not heard about the winery – so asked to see the bottle. To my mild surprise (remember, great wines come from everywhere!), I noted that the winery was in Oakland.

I ordered up a bottle and a bunch of extra glasses and then went back to work on my lunch.

The wine arrived and I poured a few glasses and offered them around to neighboring tables, and to the wait staff, asking for opinions – and saying noting about the wine. I took my time with the wine, sniffing and swirling until I finally took a sip. Not only was this one stupendous Syrah, it paired perfectly with my meal. The general consensus was overwhelmingly positive. When I revealed the origin of the wine, I was met with happy disbelief.

Wrapping up lunch and saying my good-byes to the happy people at the restaurant, I hopped in the spy car and headed straight over the Bay Bridge, bound for Oakland, to pick place the winery under close surveillance.

I return from my impromptu mission having met with the fine people that comprise the Lost Canyon staff. With their immaculate and warm facility, the winery folk here are shining examples of how get it right in the wine business.

If you really love what you do, as they do, you’ll make magic happen regardless of were you are. Thanks for reinforcing this belief, Lost Canyon, and thanks for this great wine!