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Federalist Wines

The Federalist ‘1776’ Lodi Zinfandel 2013 and The Federalist Chardonnay 2011
The Federalist ‘1776’ Lodi Zinfandel 2013 and The Federalist Chardonnay 2011. Click here for tasting notes.
The Federalist Wines

The Federalist, later known as The Federalist Papers, is a series of tracts written in support of the ratification of our nascent nation’s Constitution. The Federalists believed in strong national government, supported modernization, manufacturing, and industrial development, and the use of a tariff to fund the Treasury. (That’s the IRS, folks.) They supported a national Bank of the United States, and funding national and state debts incurred during the Revolutionary War. In foreign affairs the Federalists opposed the French Revolution, and sought a strong army and navy. Noted Federalists were: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay, George Washington, and John Adams, the only Federalist president of the U.S.

The Federalist wines are produced by the somewhat mysterious 2Sons Winery, which is owned and managed by the Terlato Family wine empire. The vineyards and winery were founded in 1981. Three friends, John Grace, Mark Rafanelli, and Philip Staley (so why isn’t the winery named 3Sons? See? Mystery.), joined forces and purchased the site that was formerly the Alderbrook Estate. In 2000 the Terlatos were asked to develop a long-range plan to produce world-class wines and market 2Sons throughout the U. S. The Terlatos later purchased a majority share, and invested in both vineyard sources and winery to provide the winemaking team with the best grapes and equipment available. This has helped position the winery to produce single vineyard and estate wines with an on-going focus on Zinfandel.

The Federalist Chardonnay 2011

This golden Chardonnay hails from the Russian River Valley AVA’s northern end near Healdsburg, approximately 80 miles north of San Francisco. Things start out with aromas of lemon and green apple. The lemon continues on the palate, with the addition of lime and pear. All of this means a bracing acidity, of course. The oak is certainly present, adding to a round, rich mouth feel, as is just a hint of sweetness. The nicely long finish features hints of cinnamon and bitter almond.

Separate Chardonnay blocks were barrel fermented in 30% new oak and aged in barrel for nine months. 2500 cases were produced.

This food-friendly wine calls for an Artichoke and Leek Frittata, Dungeness Crab Risotto with Lemon and Parsley, or Steamed Mussels with Saffron Aioli.

The Federalist ‘1776’ Lodi Zinfandel 2013

We now travel from 80 miles north of San Francisco to 80 miles east, to the vineyards near Lodi, which produce about 18% of California’s wine grapes, more than Sonoma and Napa combined. The area is particularly hospitable to Zinfandel, a uniquely American grape, and this wine is no exception.

The nose reveals red fruits: cherry with a bit of plum. This dark-purple wine features flavors of blackberry, plum, and cinnamon. It also includes Zinfandel’s characteristic pepperiness, which some winemakers are moving away from.

Enjoy this Zin with Bruschetta with Cherry Tomatoes, Wine Braised Short Ribs with Balsamic Glaze, or Grilled Rib-eye Steaks with Roasted Garlic Butter.

federalistwines.com/american-craft-wine

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Wyoming Whiskey

Wyoming Whiskey

Wyoming Whiskey

Small batch whiskey, we have been told, is a welcome trend. The Mead family first came to Wyoming in 1890 as ranchers. While subsequent generations have endeavored in law, politics, and extreme skiing, Sam Mead is leading the fifth generation toward renown as a premier whiskey producer. Wyoming Whiskey products include four varieties. Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey is a traditional bourbon whiskey that is dark amber in color and smooth to the taste buds. Flavors that can be detected include brown baking spices, vanilla crème, caramel, and cinnamon.

By Spirits Contributor Neal Kotlarek

www.wyomingwhiskey.com

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Cuervo Reserva de la Familia Tequila

Cuervo Reserva de la Familia Tequila

Cuervo Reserva de la Familia is the world’s first extra-añejo tequila. It is drawn from the Cuervo® family’s private reserve collection of tequilas, relying on a family recipe handed down over ten generations.  Each bottle is numbered, dated, and sealed in wax. All by hand. The tequila is made using only the flavorful inner portion of hand-selected blue agave plants harvested at peak maturity after seven to twelve years of growing in the field.  After distillation, it is aged in French and American oak barrels for a minimum of two years, although the final blend includes tequila from reserves as old as 30 years. Definitely not for shots or margaritas, Reserva de la Familia is best served in a snifter, allowing for full appreciation of its flavors and aromas of rich oak, toasted almonds, vanilla,  and cinnamon. There is a long and velvety finish. At about $170 per 750ml bottle, this is a rare treat for most of us, but worth it if you can swing it. Cuervo commissions a different well-known Mexican artist each year to design the wooden presentation box Reserva de la Familia comes in, so the current offering won’t match this photograph.

reservadelafamilia.com/

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Cuvaison Winery

Cuvaison Chardonnay and Pinot Noir

Cuvaison Winery

Established in 1969, Cuvaison (French for maceration, the period of time grape juice spends in contact with the skins and seeds) is an estate vineyard and winery that produces primarily Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, both grown exclusively in the Carneros AVA on the northern end of both Sonoma and Napa. When the winery was founded, the Carneros region was little known for grape growing, and much of the acreage was pastureland. But, the area’s cool bay breezes and frequent fog are ideal for wine, and it is now home to thirty-one wineries and an equal number of growers.

Cuvaison is certified sustainable under the Napa Green designation, meaning they have been recognized for their work in reducing the impact on the environment. The winery is 85% solar powered; they have invested in a water recirculation/conservation program (quite critical as California often suffers from severe drought); and they started a cork recycling program where wine club members and neighboring wineries bring their popped corks to be ground for repurposing.

Steve Rogstad, yet another graduate of UC Davis’ viticulture and enology program, has been winemaker since 2002. While working on a six-month post-graduate internship in Beaujolais, Steve discovered that, “Working with just one varietal and tasting fifty different wines from one region, I really started to understand the concept of terroir. It made an impression that lasts to this day.” The experience also taught Rogstad how to isolate and work with small wine lots, a practice that is at the core of his winemaking philosophy. In addition to Cuvaison, Rogstad has worked at such well-known wineries as La Crema, Saintsbury, Rombauer, Spring Mountain, and Clos Pegase.

Cuvaison Estate Chardonnay 2012

This Chardonnay is over half of Cuvaison’s yearly production, so a lot is riding on what’s in the bottle. 20% of this Chard saw new French oak for eight months. There was about 60% malolactic conversion, but it is not overly buttery or lacking in varietal characteristics. It presents a pale yellow in the glass, understating the fulsomeness to come. On the nose, you are greeted with aromas of honeysuckle, honeydew melon, and sweet citrus. These continue on the well-balanced palate, plus the addition of crisp stone fruit such as white peach, apricot, and nectarine.This is supported by a nice lemon/lime acidity.

Enjoy this wine with Smoked Shellfish Quesadillas with Fresh Corn Salsa, Cool Honeydew-Mint Soup, or Shrimp Kabobs with Lemons and Bay Leaves.

Cuvaison Estate Pinot Noir 2013

This Pinot Noir is classically transparent ruby in the glass. It features a light, silky mouthfeel, and the nose offers subtle hints of grass, green herbs, and berries. The palate bursts with raspberry, strawberry, fresh cherry, and cola. These flavors are complemented with balanced acidity and round, understated tannins.

This wine would pair nicely with Tomato and Onion Tart, Summer Vegetable Calzone, or Nut-Crusted Trout with Romesco Sauce.

www.cuvaison.com/

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Migration Wines

Click here for tasting notes.

Migration Sonoma Chardonnay and Sonoma Pinot Noir

Duckhorn Portfolio is the umbrella corporation of an expanding wine mini-empire. First came the flagship Duckhorn Vineyards, established in 1976 by Dan and Margaret Duckhorn to pioneer and feature premium Napa Merlot. (Duckhorn has a “second growth” label named Decoy, as well.) Next came Paraduxx in 1994, specializing in Zinfandel-based blends. This was followed by Goldeneye, which began making Pinot Noir in 1996.

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Marius by Michel Chapoutier

Marius Rouge 2014 and Marius Blanc 2014
Marius Rouge 2014 and Marius Blanc 2014 Click here for tasting notes.

Marius Wine

Languedoc-Roussillon (often called “the Languedoc”) is a historical coastal region in southern France, extending from Provence to the Pyrenees Mountains and the border with Spain. It’s now part of Occitanie. The area is a major wine producer, with Vin de Pays d’Oc and sparkling Crémant de Limoux among its best-known varieties. The regional capital, Montpellier, is home to a well-preserved medieval quarter.

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Cinque Aperitivo

Cinque Aperitivo
Cinque Aperitivo

Cinque Aperitivo

As you cocktail mavens may be aware, aperitivos and amaros are currently having a moment in bars across the U.S. The rest of you are probably asking, “A what and a what?”

An aperitivo (in Italian) or apéritif (in French) is a light alcoholic drink taken before a meal to stimulate the appetite, and is therefore usually dry rather than sweet. An amaro (Italian for “bitter”) is an Italian herbal liqueur that is commonly drunk as an after-dinner digestif. It usually has a bittersweet and sometimes syrupy flavor.

Cinque is an aperitivo created following a traditional recipe developed in 1929. It is based on an infusion of 12 selected roots and herbs, highlighted by bitter orange and gentian lutea, selected for its bitter root (the overall bitterness level is an approachable “medium”). It’s perfect for fans of Campari and Aperol looking for something a bit different.

Although Cinque is labeled to look as Italian as possible, and the parent company, Don Ciccio & Figli, has roots to the Old Country going back as far as 1883, it is in fact produced in Washington, D.C.

Here’s a sample recipe: 1 oz. gin, 1oz. Cinque Aperitivo, 1 oz. amaro, a splash of soda, and a dash of lemon bitters. Stir well and serve on the rocks with an orange twist and sweet cherry as garnish. Salute!

www.donciccioefigli.com/cinque-aperitivo

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Black Stallion Cabernet Sauvignon

Black Stallion Cabernet Sauvignon 2013. <a href="#taste">Click here for tasting notes.</a>
Black Stallion Cabernet Sauvignon 2013. Click here for tasting notes.

Black Stallion Cabernet Sauvignon

In 1894, Gaspare Indelicato was born in the small village of Campobello di Mazara in the province of Trapani, Sicily. In 1911, at the tender age of 16, he emigrated by himself to the United States through Ellis Island, New York, as many European immigrants of the time did.

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Tangley Oaks

Tangley Oaks
Tangley Oaks Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Click here for tasting notes.

Tangley Oaks Wines

Négociant [nay-goh-SYAHN] is the French word for “dealer” or “merchant,” and is used in wine circles to denote an individual or company that negotiates, sells, and ships wine as a wholesaler. Traditionally, négociants have often handled all aspects of wine production except the actual farming, including purchasing grapes, making the wine, blending, bottling, and shipping. In some transactions, there is another intermediary: a courtier or “wine broker,” who helps establish the price paid by a négociant to a small producer. Some of the better known French négociants are Barton & Guestier, Calvet, Cordier, Moueix, and Sichel.

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Anselmi Wines

Anselmi San Vincenzo 2013 and Anselmi Capitel Foscarino 2013
Anselmi San Vincenzo 2013 and Anselmi Capitel Foscarino 2013

Anselmi Wines

Roberto Anselmi is a legend of north Italian winemaking, a charismatic, motorbike-riding rebel whose uncompromising quality-over-quantity approach has helped redefine the wines of the Veneto through his insistence on higher standards.  It has earned him the title, “the conscience of Soave.”

Anselmi produces crisp white wines from the indigenous Garganega (gahr-GAH-neh-gah) grapes. Garganega is known for its distinctive lemon and almond flavor profiles.

These two summer sippers are characteristic of his work.

Anselmi San Vincenzo 2013 is grown on 110 acres in the Monteforte area of northern Italy. Light straw in color, with scents of minerals, lemon/lime, apricot ,and yellow apple. It is medium-bodied and dry.

Anselmi Capitel Foscarino 2013 comes from 24 acres of vineyards on south-facing slopes 1,140 feet above sea level at the top of the Foscarino Hill.  Light straw-gold in the glass, opening to vibrant aromas of tropical fruit, citrus, and honey. Its medium to full body features flavors of fresh apples, peach, and lime underscored by mineral notes.

For both of these wines, the soil is volcanic tuff, a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during an eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is compacted into a solid rock in a process called consolidation.  Over time, the tuff is broken up with grass undergrowth.

The vines are trained using the horizontal spurred cordon method. In earlier times, this method was common for training grapes on house façades. Foliage and fruit grow from one or two horizontal, strictly trained arms or cordons. Unilateral cordons (1 angle) and bilateral cordons (T-shape) are possible; the vertical main trunk usually remains without foliage.

www.terlatowines.com/brands/italy/anselmi/san-vincenzo

www.terlatowines.com/brands/italy/anselmi/capitel-foscarino

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HALL Wines

Hall Wines
Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon and HALL T Bar T Ranch Sauvignon Blanc. Click here for tasting notes. 

HALL Wines

Kathryn Walt Hall has a most impressive curriculum vitae. To touch on just a few of the high points, she is the proprietor of HALL Wines and WALT Wines [family businesses she has been involved with for over thirty years], was assistant city attorney in Berkeley, California, worked as an attorney and businesswoman in Dallas, Texas, and has served on numerous non-profit and institutional boards, with an emphasis on issues related to social care and mental health. From 1997 to July 2001, Ms. Hall served as the United States Ambassador to Austria. In the midst of this, together with her husband Craig she has raised four children.

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Partida Tequila

Partida TequilaPartida Tequila is one of only a few remaining authentic estate-produced and estate-bottled tequilas, made in the heart of Mexico’s historic Tequila region.

Partida uses only 100% pure blue agave, which is far less common than many realize. The agave plants see seven to ten years from seedling to harvest, so that they mature fully. (Some tequila brands are content with half that time.) After the agave is slow-cooked, the resulting liquid is distilled twice.

Partida Blanco goes directly to the bottle from the still. It features aromas of grilled pineapple and plums. The taste continues with pineapple, plus toasted coconut and black pepper.  It inishes with agave and fresh herbs.

Partida Reposado is aged for six months, making for a pale golden color and a taste with hints of spicy oak and vanilla. The medium body has cocoa and dried cherry notes. Finishes with a long mineral fade. Great vitality and balance, and my favorite of the three.

Partida Añejo sees 18 months in barrel (rare even among premium brands). It is golden amber in color, with aromas of almonds, dried cherries, and spices. The dryish medium body delivers soft honey, delicate herbs, cocoa, and clove. Finishes with a touch of wood and toffee.

For the extremely well-heeled, Partida Elegante Extra Anejo is also available.

It would be criminal to slam any of these tequilas as shots (although you can do that if you insist). Savoring them in a brandy snifter would be far more appropriate. Arriba! Andalay!

www.partidatequila.com/agegate.php?r=%2F

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Sanford Winery

Sanford Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Sanford Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Click here for tasting notes.

Sanford Pinot Noir and Chardonnay

Sanford, the first winery in Santa Barbara wine country, was established when the Sanford & Benedict vineyard was planted in 1971. Botanist Michael Benedict and his friend Richard Sanford were committed to finding a cool-climate location with just enough heat accumulation to ripen, but not over ripen, wine grapes. A place where they could plant and grow grapes and craft wines, where they hoped the quality might equal the best of Europe.

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