ruby cabernet

I confess this is a new one on me. Saw it on a label of a Mexican wine from the Guadalupe Valley. Supposedly, it is a cross of cabernet franc and carignan that withstands hot growing climates and adds color and structure to blends. My wife had a glass of a blend of grenache, cabernet sauvignon, ruby cabernet, and syrah. She said it was pleasant enough but unremarkable, enjoyed with Oaxacan cuisine.

Ruby Cabernet used to be planted in California at a decent level.

Ridge have produced it up at Monte Bello in the past as part of the ATP. I tried the 1984 last year. Very good but probably not great.

I think there’s a reason it hasn’t persisted as a varietal in SoCal.

It’s actually not that rare. There’s about 4700 acres planted in California, which is roughly about the same as Barbera and more acreage than Grenache, Mourvedre, Petite Verdot, Malbec, and many others. In fact, the only grapes with more acreage are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Zinfandel.

It’s used in a lot of bulk wines from the central coast because it can grow in hot weather and keep acidity. That’s also why it’s used in South America and Mexico and Israel.

There was a co op in Lodi that bottled a Ruby Cab…$1.99!! They also bottled Emerald Riesling…both excellent. Was the label Royal Host??

Ridge “inherited” a number of grape varieties up there. A few vintages of the Ruby Cab were close to Monte Bello in quality, but most were not great.

It is a cross of Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignan. There was a good daily drinker a local market carried here in the '90s. I think that was the point of the grape - to make a decent, fairly complex, ready-to-drink wine from sub-optimal sites. It’s not going to be a good option for a great site, but might make a better wine than Cab Sauv somewhere like Livermore.

Several notable wineries played with it back in the '60s-70s. It faded away the same time many other varieties did, so I think marketing of the brand name varieties was a factor.

Along with the Ridge MB Ruby Dickerson Vineyard also had a plot of Ruby in Napa that I believe was made by Joel Peterson.

You can pretty much tell from this thread how many of us are over 50, because we remember it well.

We drank a '78 Monte Bello Ruby Cab about a year ago, in a flight with the '83 (the declassified MB) and '84 Santa Cruz Mtns Cabs. This was followed by a flight that consisted of the '94, '96 and '99 Monte Bellos. The Ruby Cab was the surprise of the night, shocking all of us with how well it was showing at 40 years old and more than holding its own with the other wines in the flight.

The old east side winery – royal host was their brandy label but maybe made still wine too
I think it is called oak ridge now

I see quite a few producers producing from this varietal with decent results it seems, but don’t see any reviews here. Has anyone tried anything recently?

I think most of the Ruby Cab that is left is in the Central Valley. I responded to an ad once it was 8-10 tons an acre and machine picked.