Winey Tasting Notes: I Am The 20%: Pareto Estate’s Eighty 20 Red Blend and Chardonnay

ByThe Winey Mom
“The Pareto Principle, also called the 80/20 rule, states that 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort. This is true in the world of wine, where 80% of wine is consumed by 20% of the people. With Pareto’s Estate, we raise our glasses to those of us that take up the slack of others. 
Cheers to the 20%!”

OK let’s just think about the above statement for a second or two. I didn’t even know that The Pareto Principle was a thing. I thought it was just…you know….the way the cleaning and laundry chores are divided in my house. I seriously was unaware that it was also known as the law of the vital few and/or the principle of factor sparsity (look it up, I did). So now my household management actually has a scientific-type principle to describe it. “Sucky” was doing just fine for me, but this just sounds so much more official.

And then there is the Pareto Principle as it applies to wine. 80% of wine is consumed by 20% of the people. This is when I started to really get on board with this whole idea of an 80/20 split. I guess it just depends on what you are applying it to. Housework: nope. Dog baths: nope. Wine drinking: YUP.
So I am going to proudly and unabashedly now count myself in the minority of the 20% when it comes to wine. I AM THE 20%. This makes me happy.
Eighty 20 Chardonnay, Pareto's EstatePareto’s Estate, the website of which the above quote comes from, gets me. They cheer on the 20% and they even made a line of wines to celebrate us Pareto Principle drinkers. I have recently been introduced to this line, so let’s talk about my first two tastings from it. 
Pareto’s Eighty 20 Chardonnay (2013, 13.5%, Monterey, CA) comes from the Monterey Appellation of California. It’s on the coast in the middle of the state and is an estate grown wine. Which means that they grow (and crush) the grapes and make the wine all by themselves. It’s a pretty golden yellow color that has aromas of pear, nutmeg and cinnamon. It tastes of vanilla, pear and yellow apple and finishes off with some wet oak and citrus rind.  It’s got a round, full mouth feel to it, which just completes the whole 100% Chardonnay pedigree. This is a really, really good Chardonnay at a really, really good price (I got it on special for under $10!!) If you like your white wine oakey and mellow and full and rich, you’ll love this one. 
Eighty 20 Red Blend, Pareto's EstatePareto’s Red Blend (2013, 14.5%, Monterey, CA) is a blend of 30% Petite Sirah, 25% Syrah, 19% Petit Verdot, 13% Cinsault, 11% Merlot, 2% Riesling.  (Yes, that says Riesling. I was as surprised as you are.) Same thing for the whole estate grown thing as the Chardonnay. This blend is dark purple in color and has a nose of pepper and black plum. It tastes of plum and mocha with a touch of black pepper. A little airing makes the tannins smooth and zesty – just a hint of a bite of them at the end of it all. Again, another wonderful bargain: under $10 for a solid, tasty red blend. Buy this if you like your reds a little less fruit forward and a bit more toward the spice (not spicy) side of things. 

Pareto’s also makes a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Riesling and a Pinot Noir. I will be trying them soon, but I had to pace myself. Because Pareto Principle or not, if I had tried 100% of their wines at once, I’d never finish the review.

Now that I know I am a member of the Winey 20%, I’d like you all to join me there. We have a high standard to keep up here, Winey Friends, but we cannot let the other 80% of the world down. Sip on!

Cheers!