An Email Out of the Blue
I once talked the family into a backpacking trip. I told them it was just past one of our usual haunts, Enchanted Pools. “A little further,” I said. “About three and a half miles total.”
About halfway in, Rockbound Pass came into view. I stopped, pointed, and said, “That’s our campsite.” You could feel the mood shift instantly. They thought we were almost there. Turns out, we were only halfway.
I first found Rockbound Pass, and more specifically Doris Lake, during a Search and Rescue training. We hiked from Emerald Bay east to Wrights Lake, crossing through Desolation Wilderness. Granite everywhere. Clear, cold water. Wildflowers pushing through wherever they can. It stuck with me. To the point that when I’m somewhere I don’t want to be, like a dentist chair, that’s where my mind goes. Rockbound Pass. Doris Lake. Quiet, open, peaceful.
That name stayed with us.
So when we needed one for a wine… it wasn’t a hard decision.
A few days ago, we got an email that made us stop what we were doing.
No subject line hype. No pitch. Just… a note.
It was from Mike Dunne.
“Hello, Josh and Carrie:
Just had this splendid wine with dinner. Polished and balanced, with a fitting minerality, the suggestion of granite perfect with the name. Couldn’t find a vintage, so I am assuming it is a blend of harvests. Need to get back up there one of these days. Hope all is well with you.
Mike”
He had picked up a bottle of Rockbound on his own, opened it with dinner, and decided to reach out. Mike was always good to us back in his days at the Sacramento Bee. But more than that, he was one of the few wine writers whose prose actually stuck with you. One of our favorite quotes from him:
“Their approach to applying the traditions of the Rhône Valley to grapes grown in upstart California is studious and precise. With energy, elegance and equilibrium, their wines speak profoundly and consistently of the future of Rhône Valley varieties in California.”
I mean… come on. You don’t forget a line like that. And on top of that, he’s genuinely nice. The kind of person whose name comes up and everyone nods.
Rockbound Was Never Supposed to Be a “Thing.” Rockbound didn’t start as a grand vision. It started as a problem. We had barrels of wine that didn’t quite fit anywhere. Nothing wrong with them, just not quite right for our core lineup. So the question became: now what? “Supermarket wine?”
Rockbound is usually a blend of Syrah and Petite Sirah. It’s also typically non-vintage, which gives us the freedom to pull from different barrels, different years, and build something that actually works. We age it in newer Hungarian oak, which does a couple things really well:
Smooths out the firmer tannins from those varieties.
Adds a little roundness and a hint of sweet spice, caramel edges.
It’s a different approach than our estate wines, but that’s kind of the point.
A Name That Fits
Rockbound ended up fitting right in with the rest of what we’ve built over the years. Lover’s Leap. The beers. All of it tied back to time outside, to the landscape around us, to places that leave an impression. This one just happens to come from a high alpine pass and a lake that still shows up in my head when I need to be somewhere else for a minute.
And Then It Took On a Life of Its Own
Holiday Market down the road was the first to take a chance on it. Then came Nugget. Forklift. Raley’s. Eventually… Costco. But the best part hasn’t been where it’s sold. It’s been who finds it. A former wine writer. An old friend. Even our daughters’ babysitter from years back, who messaged us out of nowhere after opening a bottle.
Full Circle
So thanks, Mike. For the note, for the years of thoughtful writing, and for reminding us that sometimes the wines you didn’t plan end up telling the best stories. Rockbound might not have started with a grand vision. But it found one anyway, grounded in the same place as the rest of our wines, just with a slightly different path getting there.
We did make it over the pass that day. But what we still talk about isn’t the view. It was the wind, the mosquitoes, and the fact that the flowers hadn’t even popped yet. Strange though. Mosquito Pass isn’t even close. It’s a couple miles to the southeast.
Josh Bendick
Co-winemaker
6 Responses
Oh, now just because Dunne writes about it doesn’t mean that you have to pull it out of Holiday Mkt. We always stop there and stock up on Rockbound. It’s a great table wine and some of my wine snob friends love it. Must be doing something right. Thanks for the backstory, Josh.
Thanks for reading, commenting and of course, enjoying, our wine Jack! We hope that holiday continues to stock Rockbound for many years to come.
Josh, your blogs are always chock full
of great stories that take you somewhere special.
You and Dave Stamey really know how to show a person the simple pleasures in life, which I so appreciate.
Love, Sue
Thanks Sue, that’s high praise!
Mike Dunne could have worked for Wine Enthusiast, or the other bigger names. Mike was always easy to read, and provided reviews you looked at carefully. He understood why Rhone is different (uh um, perhaps better) than Bordeaux. 🙂 In reality, neither is better, but he understood that Rhone varietals are very eclectic, and Bordeaux, well it often exports a very particular set of tracks. Just like maybe 50 different Cabernets you might try, that aren’t blended or exceptionally crafted. It can get “old”. And most people out there enjoy getting off the tracks/rails a bit more often. For that “big wine” steak dinner crowd, Bordeaux wines can be awesome (even a deep passion unto themselves), but life is a kaleidoscope, if you make it so. Fruit forward is what California has always done best. Let’s keep it that way. It is after all how California “arrived”.
Thanks, Frank. I think Mike understood something that often gets overlooked about Rhône varieties. They can be serious without taking themselves too seriously.