Luli Syrah

A rich, meaty Syrah from one of the few female master sommeliers

Male master sommeliers were in the spotlight this year, after several of them were accused by female colleagues of sexual misconduct, as reported in the

New York Times. Some of the specifics were shocking, but to master sommelier Sara Floyd, the idea that sexual assault and harassment are rife within the sommelier community was hardly a surprise.

“People have to stop thinking this is a fraternity,”

Floyd said in November of the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Floyd is one of just 28 women to pass the master sommelier exam in the U. S., out of 172 total. What the coverage of the sommelier scandal couldn’t encompass, while it focused on the bad behavior of several men, was just how much she and those 27 other women have accomplished. In addition to running Swirl Wine Brokers in Oakland, Floyd also has a wine label: Luli, a partnership with the Pisoni family, producing wines from Monterey’s Santa Lucia Highlands. The 2018 Luli Syrah is a textbook expression of California Syrah in a rich, meaty style.

The delicate aroma of violets leads into a salty bacon note; the wine is fullbodied and assertive but also very focused, with a firm line of acid pulsing across the palate.

Luli Syrah Santa Lucia Highlands 2018 ($ 20, 14.2%)

Buy it at Diablo Foods and Berkeley Bowl, plus some locations of Draeger’s, Oliver’s and Raley’s markets.