Colby Red, California (United States) 2009

 If you don’t know of Daryl Groom, you should. He was once senior red  winemaker for Australia’s Penfolds, where he made several vintages of the iconic Grange. More recently Daryl made the wines at Geyser Peak and now for his own wine company, Groom. Colby Red is made in partnership with Treasury Wine Estates, whose parent company owns Penfolds, and together they’ve made this wine a fund-raising machine for the American Heart Association, with a goal of raising $100,000 a year for heart research. The inspiration was Daryl’s son, Colby Rex Groom, who was born with a hole in his heart. Colby Groom’s life was saved by medical research, and his dad reports he’s a teenager now and leads a reasonably healthy life with his family in Sonoma County. This is a fruity, easy drinking red that combines Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Syrah, Petite Sirah and Merlot from various Treasury vineyard located throughout California. It’s a good wine for a great cause. And Daryl Groom is a great winemaker, but an even better person.