DEAR FRIENDS,
We’re excited for another year with you, enjoying new wines and good times at the Tasting Room. We’ve already kicked off this year’s events with our first Trivia Tournament. While the plentiful rain is replenishing the vineyards and giving us hope for a bountiful year, the Tasting Room is always cozy, and we look forward to seeing you soon!
Our first Cellar Society club release of the year is the first weekend in March, we hope you can join us to taste our two new release wines with pairings by Chef Lisa Scott. Our new releases are our 2020 Grenache and our much-anticipated 2019 Late Harvest Zinfandel. Our Late Harvest Zinfandel is always our most popular wine, and you get first access! The Grenache is also sure to please with spiced red fruit notes that will match beautifully with satisfying winter dishes, as well as seasonal meals all year long.
Speaking of food, our first Winemaker Dinner of the year is coming up April 7th! This year we’re pleased to have two dinners already on the calendar. Tickets will be available soon, and don’t wait, because seating is always limited. While they wait out the rain our winemaking team is busy in the cellar preparing wines for bottling and release later this year. We’re excited to share those new wines with you. Early in spring the team will be out in the vineyards pruning and prepping for this year’s grape crop.
Right now, the vines are dormant and patiently waiting for spring, as are we!
See you soon at the Tasting Room,
The Team at 1850 Wine Cellars
2019 Late Harvest Zinfandel
Engbers Vineyard, Fair Play
Engbers Vineyard, Fair Play
TASTING NOTES: We love this wine’s earthy tobacco, spice, and black tea notes with its balance of natural sweetness and tannins. It has concentrated flavors of graham cracker, cooked blueberry, and raisins, with a full-bodied structure and lingering finish.
WINEMAKING NOTES: This was one of our last harvests of the season, when the grapes were very ripe, with some of the berries beginning to raisin, perfectly concentrating the sugars and flavors. The vines at this vineyard are 50 years old and head trained, which creates a more artistic wine expression with varied levels of ripeness at harvest, typical of old-world Zinfandel.
FOOD PAIRING: We love this style of Zinfandel with our homemade Zinfandel barbeque sauce on ribs or pulled pork sliders. Pairs well with Pecorino, triple-cream Brie, Stilton, Blue cheese, and Gorgonzola with toasted nuts. Or try it upon release with us at the Tasting Room with Chef Lisa Scott’s carnitas street tacos with orange and jalapeño salsa.
AGING: Aged in medium plus American oak for 18 months, with the oak contributing vanilla, brown sugar, and baking spice notes.
FOOD PAIRING: In terms of dessert pairings, we recommend cookies that are not too sweet or desserts with dark chocolate. Keep in mind, when pairing with dessert, it is ideal for the wine to be sweeter than your dessert. An almond biscotti with orange or dark chocolate glaze would be a great choice to pair.
WINE SPECS
100% Zinfandel
14.5% alcohol
125 cases produced
$36 per bottle
2020 Grenache
El Dorado
El Dorado
TASTING NOTES: Spiced fruit and rich chocolate notes are primary in this wine, leading to flavors of wild herbs, strawberry, and roasted plum. Firm but supple tannins lend a chewy mouthfeel leading to a long, fruit-laden and smooth finish.
WINEMAKING NOTES: We bled off a portion of the juice from the Grenache grapes and produced a rosé from the saignee. This allowed us to produce a red wine with greater concentration due to a higher ratio of grape skins to juice. The Grenache completed fermentation in tank after 10 days and was pressed to barrels for aging. Towards the end of aging, we blended in 14% Carignane to add just a bit more nuance and dimension to the wine.
AGING: Aged in French oak for 9 months, 60% new and 40% neutral.
FOOD PAIRING: Grenache loves to pair with pork belly, beef stroganoff, cassoulet, skirt steak, vegetable casserole or grilled veggies. If you’re looking for a red wine to pair with mildly spicy foods Grenache is a good choice. It is also light enough to pair with fish, including smoked fish which can match nicely with the smoke character some Grenaches express. This Grenache is a beautiful pairing with smoked chicken or arugula salad with fresh strawberry.
WINE SPECS
86% Grenache
14% Carignane
13.9% alcohol
112 cases produced
$34 per bottle