Symphony from California

This is a bottle of Californian wine made from the grape Symphony, bred by Dr Harold Olmo at UC Davies in 1948. A crossing of Muscat of Alexandria with Grenache Gris, development took over 30 years with the grape finally being released commercially in 1981 and patented in 1983. I had previously blogged about another Olmo grape Carnelian, which I tasted in a Australian blend with Shiraz. This is my first varietal made from Olmo grapes. I saw this wine in a small wine shop in a shopping mall I visited for the first time the other day. The chance to taste this unusual grape was too good to pass over. We had it the night we bought it and it was reasonably good with some small crabs we had that night. Pale gold with a sweet acid fruity nose, the sweet acid fruitiness extended to the palate, leaving a sweet sour finish at the end. Slightly reminiscent of QbA wines of a quality slightly above average, it nonetheless did not have the finesse to compete with the average Kabinett I now enjoy.