55% slope: It seems like an odd thing to put on a wine bottle… but every label of HIDDEN RIDGE VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON says it because the vineyard is tucked back among the mountains of Sonoma County on a 55% slope! Located on the south and western slopes of Spring Mountain in the Mayacamas mountain range, Hidden Ridge Vineyard is so remote it can be reached only by heavy-duty four-wheel-drive vehicles, by foot, or by helicopter. The vineyard may be relatively inaccessible but the wine is easy to enjoy and will improve with age. And, although the slope may be steep, the price isn’t.

We were fortunate to meet Casidy Ward of the husband and wife winemaking team the other night for dinner, along with 2-time James Beard Award winners Karen Page & Andrew Dornenberg, free-lance writer Suzanne Gannon, and Nicole Bestard of Jarvis Communications. Casidy shared the 2005 & 2006 vintages, paired beautifully with a range of delectable dishes at Union Square Cafe in New York City. Both of these wines are distinctively elegant with understated power. We especially enjoyed the 2005 with its Bordeauxesque nose, reminiscent of a good vintage of Chateau Cos d’Estourel. Of all the delicious pairing we enjoyed last night the most outstanding was the 2005 with a free range lamb carpaccio and tiny polenta cakes on a bed of baby arugula.(Yum!)

This is the type of California Cab that normally retails for around $75, but you can get it for under $45 because the winemakers are sensitive to current economic conditions and, as Casidy explained “We aim to promise low, and deliver high.”