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One on One wine Winemaker: Kyle Mizuno of Rolling Hills Estate Winery, Champlain Valley
Winemakers are special people.
They are the people who can easily make you happy, sad, puzzled, or excited. All without meeting you in person. All via the liquid in your glass – our beloved wine.
Knowing how the winemaker thinks offers an interesting perspective regarding that liquid in your glass.
And sometimes, you really want to know how they think, especially when the winemaker exchanges Napa Valley for Champlain Valley (not a very famous – yet! – winemaking region in New York), and substitutes Chardonnay with Frontenac Gris and Cabernet Sauvignon with Marquette.
Kyle Mizuno. Source: Rolling Hills Estate Winery
The winemaker I’m talking about is Kyle Mizuno, now of the Rolling Hills Estate Winery fame in the Champlain Valley region of New York.
After I tasted Kyle’s Marquette and estate Rosé, my curiosity piqued, and I had to ask Kyle to answer my questions. Kyle graciously agreed, and here is what transpired in our [virtual] conversation.
[TaV]: How did you get into the wine? When and how have you decided that you want to start making wines?
[KM]: I studied biochemistry at UC Davis, and a chance conversation at a job fair changed everything. Franciscan Estates needed someone in the laboratory. I took the opportunity and discovered that science was only the beginning. Wine brought together everything I loved about precision, agriculture and the endless possibility of a growing season. I never looked back.
[TaV]: Was there ever a pivotal wine moment in your life? If yes, what was it?
[KM]: Early on, I assumed my career would stay in the laboratory. Aaron Pott, who became a close friend and mentor, saw something I hadn’t yet seen in myself. He told me I was going to be a winemaker. His confidence and guidance pushed me to take that leap, and it changed my life.
[TaV]: You worked side by side with many “wine greats” in Napa Valley. What was the most memorable wine you made in Napa, why and who did you make it with?
[KM]: My years at Blackbird Vineyards stand out, especially the decade of harvests I shared with Aaron Pott. It’s impossible to single out one bottle. We made wines together that I remain proud of, and each vintage taught me something different about fruit, patience and the decisions that shaped wonderfully finished wines.
[TaV]: Now, from Napa Valley to Champlain Valley in upstate New York – why?
[KM]: Because the wine comes first. After 25 years in Napa, I was drawn to the chance to work with grapes whose full potential is still being discovered, in a region whose reputation is still taking shape. The Champlain Valley of New York offers the opportunity to make international-caliber wines that are decidedly different. It’s rare to find a place where you can apply everything you’ve learned and still be learning something new with every harvest.
Source: Rolling Hills Estate Winery
Source: Rolling Hills Estate Winery
[TaV]: What makes Champlain Valley appellation unique? is there any other appellation around the world you would compare it to?
[KM]: The Champlain Valley of New York has clay-rich soils, a dynamic growing season and the influence of nearby Lake Champlain. Those conditions help shape wines with vivid fruit, natural freshness and structure. I wouldn’t claim it’s a copy of another appellation. The more interesting question is what Marquette, Petite Pearl, La Crescent and Frontenac Gris can express here that they cannot express anywhere else. And with each vintage, we’re seeing just how remarkable that expression can be.
[TaV]: Do you only use grapes from your own vineyards or do you also get grapes from the local grape growers?
[KM]: Our estate vineyards are the heart of Rolling Hills and the foundation of our winemaking program. As we continue to develop our vineyards, we’re also committed to supporting the growth of the Champlain Valley of New York as a serious wine-producing region. For us, it always comes back to the quality of the fruit and its potential to produce remarkable wines. We’re learning more with every harvest, and what we’re seeing only reinforces our confidence in what this region can achieve.
[TaV]: Organic/sustainable/biodynamic – do you see any of these directions at the Rolling Hills winery in the future? What is your personal take on these approaches to viticulture?
[KM]: We use sustainable practices and incorporate certain organic approaches where they make sense for our vineyard and climate. I believe sound viticulture practices start with focusing on the vines and responding to what the season demands, rather than following a label. Our northern growing season exemplified by a narrow harvest window can make the strict biodynamic timing difficult. The priority is healthy vines and wines that exemplify the best expressions of our varietals.
Source: Rolling Hills Estate Winery
[TaV]: Do you have any expansion plans for your vineyards, both in terms of acreage and new grape varieties? Is there any Riesling in the future?
[KM]: Yes. We will be expanding our estate plantings through carefully thought-out phases, while continuing to discover the full expression of our terroir and the wines it can produce. Marquette is our flagship wine, with the depth, structure and character to make wine lovers reconsider what they expect from this region. We see equally exciting potential in Petite Pearl, La Crescent and Frontenac Gris. In fact, Riesling lovers may find a lot to appreciate in our La Crescent and Frontenac Gris, with their expressive fruit, bright acidity and beautiful balance. As we grow, we will continue exploring what thrives in our soils and climate, always with the goal of producing wines of remarkable quality and distinction.
[TaV]: Can you please explain your concept of Rosé? The two Rosés I tasted at the Hudson Valley wine festival were as un-Provence as only possible. What are you trying to achieve with your Rosé expressions?
[KM]: I make rosé for people who love red wine. In Napa, Cabernet Sauvignon drinkers would tell me they didn’t like rosé, so I began making a version with the fruit character, texture and tannin they were missing. Our rosé isn’t trying to imitate Provence. It has color, depth and a little grip, yet it still carries the freshness that makes rosé so appealing. It is a red wine lover’s rosé, and each vintage captures that season in its own way.
[TaV]: Coming from Napa, I would assume you have a specific philosophy when it comes to oak. Considering that you need to work with an entirely different set of grapes, how do you see the oak usage at the Rolling Hills Estate? Also, speaking about your flagship, Marquette – what is its affinity to oak?
[KM]: In my experience, oak should serve the wine, never lead it. I have a long-standing appreciation for French oak, but these varieties deserve to be understood on their own terms before we settle on a formula. We’re working with Hungarian oak and comparing it with French oak to see how each influences texture, fruit and finish. Marquette has the concentration and structure to handle medium toast, much as Cabernet Sauvignon can. The goal is balance, not an oak signature.
[TaV]: The 2024 Marquette I tasted at the Hudson Valley wine festival was powerful, firmly structured and precise. Maybe it is an image just in my head, but I would compare it with Montefalco Sagrantino or maybe a young Petite Sirah from California. If you would do a blind tasting to showcase your Marquette (wink, wink – how about that blind tasting?), what other wines would you include in the line up?
[KM]: I‘d put our Marquette alongside young Petite Sirah and bright, structured Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa. The comparison isn’t about claiming the wines are identical. It’s about giving tasters a familiar reference for Marquette’s dark fruit, energy and firm structure. The fun of a blind tasting would be seeing whether anyone could identify the variety, let alone place it in New York. That’s exactly the kind of surprise I hope the wine can deliver.
[TaV]: Maybe you’re already doing it, but I will ask anyway – have you thought of aging your Marquette in Amphorae or a cement tank?
[KM]: I’ve worked extensively with amphorae and concrete, and Marquette could be fascinating in either. But first I want to understand how the grape grows here and how its character changes from one vintage to the next. Once we have that foundation, we can make thoughtful choices about vessels and techniques. There is plenty ahead to explore, always with the same objective: make the best wine the fruit allows. And we have some exciting things on the horizon for wine lovers.
Source: Rolling Hills Estate Winery
[TaV]: What is ahead for Rolling Hills Estate Winery? What do you think will happen over the next 10 years?
[KM]: Our ambition is to produce international-caliber wines that stand on their own, wines defined by depth, structure, expressive fruit and remarkable character. We want someone to experience a Rolling Hills Marquette or Petite Pearl and discover something decidedly different, something that challenges their expectations of what American wine can be. As we expand our vineyards and continue to explore the full potential of these varieties, our focus will remain on quality above all else. Ultimately, we want Rolling Hills wines to be sought after not simply because they come from an emerging wine region, but because of what they deliver in the glass. And if, along the way, we help establish the Champlain Valley of New York among America’s most exciting new wine regions, that would be something truly special.
And that concludes our conversation. I hope you learned something interesting about Kyle and Rolling Hills Estate Winery.
Until the next time – cheers!
An Oenophile Walks Into A Wine Store…
An oenophile walks into a wine store…
I guess you are expecting a joke to follow, right, something along the lines of “A cowboy walks into a bar…”
No, that’s not the intention here.
The oenophile (yours truly) did walk into a wine store today (I stopped by my friend Zak’s Cost Less Wines store in Stamford), and saw a bunch of novelties worth sharing.
I rarely visit wine stores, so the novelty factor might be simply due to not being kept abreast of the latest and greatest in the wine world, but hey, I still want to share my observations with you.
Now, some pictures will follow.
First, I saw this beautiful display of Halloween-related wines and spirits, which is always fun (some might even taste decent).
Next, I saw Halloween spirits at, shall we say, the next level?
I definitely applaud the artistic nature of these bottles, but even then, $1,900 for a bottle, even with the Día de Muertos designation? Maybe it is all for the special effects…
Now, moving from Halloween to the wine-selling ingenuity…
Forget wine in the can. Welcome, wine in the Tetra Pak. Apparently, Barefoot was one of the very first to introduce wine in the Tetra Pak. It is 200 ml, and for the next month, it is on sale for 99 cents per packet. 99 cents for a glass and a half of wine (200 ml)? I guess it is not a bad deal. One important advantage of this packaging: unlike wine in cans, you can actually close this package, so you don’t have to gulp it all at once.
Barefoot was one of the first, but others followed:
And now, just a couple of label observations.
First, beautiful new packaging for the Ken Wright Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Oregon – at least this was the first time I saw these labels.
To finish off, a very intriguing label – Master & Servant Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, produced by 689 Cellars:
Can you tell me who is the master and who is the servant here? What is this label trying to say? Asking for a friend… If you have an idea, please leave a comment.
What have you found at the intersection of wine, art, and sales lately? Do tell!
Trust the Rosso
What is the best part of drinking wine?
It is a simple question.
The simplicity of the question doesn’t mean that the answer to that question is simple. Also, it doesn’t mean that there is only one answer to that question. Similar to the subject at hand, wine, which is subjective, the answer to our question is also highly subjective.
While I’m genuinely interested in your answer to this question (and I will be delighted to read it in the comments), let me answer my own question first.
The best part of drinking wine is conversation. It is possible that you were expecting to hear “buzz”, “pleasure”, or something else, but for me, it is a conversation. A conversation that usually everyone can enjoy, and sometimes even agree on things – wine is a great tool for leveling the arguments and finding common ground. And among all subjects, sometimes these conversations are about wine.
Wine is life. For thousands of years, wine was an indelible part of life, and I really hope that it will continue to be for many more thousands. Wine is a reflection of culture, and fully intertwined with culture. So basically, wine can help you talk about anything – but it is also a perfect subject in itself. Such was my experience two weeks ago.
I met for lunch with Gabriele Casagrande, an export manager for Capanna, one of the original Brunello producers in Montalcino. Our conversation went all over the wine world – from kosher Chianti wines to the best Syrah in Tuscany, to Amarone, which you need to go out of your way to find an enjoyable bottle, then to California Cabernet Sauvignon, and then back to Italy. Of course, we discussed how the young generation [supposedly] doesn’t drink wine, then we inevitably got back to the subject of Brunello.
Capanna winery was founded in 1957 by Giuseppe Cencioni, together with his sons Benito and Franco. After Brunello di Montalcino obtained DOC status in 1966, Giuseppe was one of the 25 founders of the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino. So obviously, Capanna means Brunello, one of the iconic “3B”s of Italian winemaking, along with Barolo and Barbaresco.
Despite the grandstanding, Brunello is not immune to the problems wine is experiencing today worldwide – consumption is down, and the culture of wine is slowly getting lost, especially with the younger generations. One of the good answers to such challenges is innovation – and Capanna does just that.
The first wine we tried during lunch was 2024 Capanna SanGioBì Bianco Toscana IGT. To begin with, how many wineries in Montalcino make white wines? I don’t know if Capanna is the only one, but definitely not many. Care to guess what grape this wine is made from? No, it is not made from Tuscany’s darling Vernaccia, nor it is Vermentino, try again. Well, if you said Sangiovese, you got it! This wine is made from the same grape the Brunello is made from, Sangiovese. The color of the majority of red wines comes from the skin (there are exceptions, such as wines made from the teinturier grape varieties). When you press Sangiovese grapes, you get clear juice. Leave the skins for grappa, and you get a delicious white wine.
The wine was delicious. One of my favorite references to the great white wines is “in a blind tasting I would say it is Chardonnay”. I love Chardonnay in general, but my “textbook reference” expression is the one which has apples, vanilla, lemon, and a tiny bit of butter, all in perfect harmony. And this is what this SanGioBì offered: silky, round, and delightful. Anyone who likes white wine, and especially those who don’t belong to the ABC club, would really enjoy this wine and should really make an effort to find it. Oh yes, and it literally opened up better as it warmed up in the glass – another hallmark of an excellent white wine in my book.
Next, we tried our next wine, 2024 Capanna Rosso di Montalcino DOC, and now it is time to discuss why I’m asking you to trust the Rosso.
Rosso di Montalcino is often misunderstood by wine consumers and misused by the winemakers. Wine consumers look at Rosso as the second-grade citizen, a “poor man’s Brunello”. Winemakers are often the reason for that, as in many instances Rosso is an afterthought, made with grapes that are left over or not suitable for the flagship Brunello.
Considering what I just said, you are probably wondering “what’s up with Trust the Rosso” thing? If winemakers give the wine “second-hand” treatment, why on Earth am I asking you to trust it?
The explanation is actually quite simple. The take on the Rosso is changing in Montalcino, and more and more it is treated as the wine in its own right. While the pricing of the Rosso is quite advantageous, usually at half or less than that of Brunello, this is not the main reason to trust the Rosso. In my opinion, the true value of Rosso is in its consistency and predictability.
When you open a bottle of Rosso that has just been released, you can trust that you will find an easy-to-drink, pop-and-pour wine, which unmistakably comes from Montalcino, but is ready to enjoy right away. Brunello can only be released 5 years after the harvest and has to spend at least 2 years in the oak. As it is usually the case with wines which are aged for this long with and without oak, enjoying them often becomes a matter of luck – sometimes they taste good right away, and sometimes you need to conjure over a decanter for an unknown number of hours to arrive at the wine you are ready to enjoy. With Rosso, your chance of finding pleasure in the glass of wine in front of you is much, much higher.
The 2024 Capanna Rosso di Montalcino is a perfect illustration. The wine is produced from the grapes harvested from the designated vineyard – not an afterthought, but the vineyard which was planted specifically to produce Capanna Rosso. And then… The proof is always in the glass… After the initial pleasure of the first sip of Capanna Rosso subsided, my first reaction was “ohh, this is a dangerous wine”. I define wine as “dangerous” when it is so pleasant and so easy to drink that you find yourself staring at the empty bottom of the bottle much sooner than you care to realize. Beautiful cherries, lip-smacking but light, round and layered, with perfect balance and medium-long finish – dangerous and pleasant. I trusted the Rosso, and Rosso delivered.
As we didn’t have to open the Capanna Brunello during lunch, I brought the bottle home to try the next day. The 2021 Capanna Brunello di Montalcino DOCG experience was exactly as I mentioned above. Upon opening, the wine was beautiful – succulent cherries, both red and black, violets, a touch of balsamic, intense, beautiful, and delicious. The next day, the wine became somewhat closed. On day 3, the cherry profile became much leaner, somewhat similar to the Rosso, but now the profile was supported by very pronounced tannins – not a bad thing, but yet a different expression. Yes, consumed in one sitting, the 2021 Capanna Brunello would be perfect. If put aside, as many of us do with more expensive bottles, enjoying it in the 2, 3, 5 years can become a subject of your decanter mastery. So I say it again – trust the Rosso.
That’s my story, friends. I’m curious about your take, of course. And by the way, Capanna will turn 70 next year, which is a great cause for celebration, so I’m definitely looking forward to more happy encounters with their wines.
Until the next time…
Beauty of Age
Wine is better with age.
No, it is not a universal truth, but lots and lots of wines improve with age.
“Improve” might not even be the right term.
When we put the wine into the cellar (whatever your cellar looks like, as long as it is not a shelf next to your stove which you use every day), the wine starts changing. This is what we call aging. Nobody knows how the wine is changing, how fast, and what this change entails. For the optimists wine enthusiasts like myself, the hope is that wine is evolving, becoming better, and ultimately, delivering more pleasure than it did upon release.
The evolution of the wine, when it actually happens, is not endless. “Whatever goes up will come down”. This is why wine lovers use an important jargon word: “peak”. The wine at its peak delivers the most pleasure one can wish for. Again, nobody knows when the wine reaches its peak, and for how long that peak will last. That is what makes wine amazing – when you open a bottle, you have no idea what you will find inside. An equal opportunity for joy and disappointment before the cork is pulled – the mystery of wine.
Not all wines will improve with age. And when you taste the wine young, upon release, you still don’t know how well the wine will age or whether it will age at all. Yes, everybody can make a guess. Supposedly, wine critics and wine makers are better at guessing the expected lifespan of the wine, including its peak and “past prime” – another important jargon word for the wine that went into decline and now offers less pleasure than it did “at a peak”.
Remember: wine is subjective. Every wine drinker can tell their story, and nobody can tell them that they are wrong.
What prompted this reflection on the wine aging?
A bottle of Portuguese wine, 2013 Enoport Tonel 22 Reserva Douro (13% ABV, 35% Touriga Nacional, 35% Tinta Roriz, 30% Touriga Franca).
I scored 4 bottles of this wine back in 2017 at Wine Till Sold Out (WTSO) for $10.99 each. I tasted the wine through the years, and honestly, it was not really working for me. It was tight, dense, and closed, not offering layers of pleasure as Douro Reserva reds can do, like this 2009 Casa Burmester. Until now.
This was the last bottle (of course :)) and I pulled it out without much hope or expectation – “hmm, let’s see how this is”. Boy, what a pleasure I walked into…
The seduction started with the smell, offering ripe cherries and cassis, with a whiff of the cigar box. The palate followed, voluptuous, layered, generous, and perfectly balanced, with perfectly integrated tannins offering a light tingling and lots of pleasure. A delight (9-).
If someone were to write a textbook for wine lovers “How to enjoy wine”, this wine would be a perfect textbook study, hitting all the important checkmarks:
- Patience is rewarded
- Wine is better with age
- Price is not an indicator of quality and doesn’t predict the ageability of the wine
$10.99. 7 years in the cellar. Lots and lots of pleasure.
A Beauty of Age.
What’s your story?
Daily Glass: Inappropriate Wine
Inappropriate wine? What can make wine inappropriate?
Ha! I’m glad you asked.
I’m also glad that this is the wine blog, so by definition the content here is 21+. But then, in the adult world, what can make the wine inappropriate?
Of course, there might be a certain picture on the label. Let’s say naked people, or other images that we can deem “inappropriate”.
Or it can be simply a wine name. For example, Big Ass Merlot from Australia, Fat Ass Ranch Merlot, or a famous cleverly disguised If You See Kay. I guess that would also qualify.
But if you take a look at the label of an “inappropriate wine” that triggered this post, it has none of that.
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2004 Ravenswood Vintners Blend Shiraz South Eastern Australia – the name as decent as it can be. With an image of 3 interlocking ravens. Again, as decent as they come. So what’s with the click-baiting statement of “inappropriate wine”.
Here is what’s so inappropriate about this wine – it is all in the head.
Cryptic? Let’s unravel.
Tried to open the bottle using a regular trusted waiter’s corkscrew. Understood that the cork would break. So The Durand came in handy.
Pour. Swirl. Smell.
Time stopped. The brain exploded with pure hedonistic pleasure. Sensual? Yes. Sexual? Yes. Don’t limit your imagination. Whatever you imagine as a pure pleasure was there.
Balsamic. Ripe, succulent berries, bristling with juice. More balsamic. Eucalyptus. Pleasure. Yep, inappropriate. I’m so happy that the thought police is still some years away, or I could’ve been in trouble.
A minute or so later, I developed the courage to take a sip. Beautiful layers, a touch of tertiary notes with dried figs, but just a whiff, no sweetness whatsoever. Gobs of fruit but well in check, nothing cloying. Good acidity, impeccable balance. Pleasure. Gobs of pleasure.
You know what might be the most inappropriate about it? This was not DRC, not Screaming Eagle, not Petrus. This was a nine-dollar ($9!) or so bottle of wine, stored at our friends’ garage (they insisted that I would take the bottle home when we visited earlier this year – just as a random bottle). How is it possible to predict that such an inexpensive wine can age so gracefully? There might be an inappropriate magic hiding somewhere…
Truth be told, I didn’t even know Ravenswood was producing wines in Australia. I always knew Ravenswood as a California Zinfandel specialist, but apparently Joel Peterson, who founded Ravenswood in 1976, started producing wines in Australia under the Vintners Blend project back in 2004 (looks like 2018 was the last vintage). The way this wine tasted, the winemaker definitely did something right, and I’m really thankful for that.
Here you are, my friends – my inappropriate, unexpected, mind-blowing wine experience.
I wish you all lots and lots of inappropriate wines. And when you encounter them, don’t hold your thoughts back, let them run wild. After all, wine should give you pleasure.
Celebrity Rosé Blind Tasting
What do you think of celebrity wines?
Whatever celebrity touches turns into gold, right? To be absolutely honest, I don’t get the whole fascination with the celebrity endorsements and associations. If a shoe carries someone’s name, how is that a better shoe? How is the wine better if a celebrity endorses it or even participates in the winemaking process? Somehow the movie star possesses a palate everyone else should align to? Don’t get me wrong – I’m fascinated every time I see Caitlin Clark score from half the court, or Messi puts the ball precisely into the tiniest possible opening. I do have my favorite movie stars and so on. But how their name makes other products better – that’s beside me. Oh well, the marvel of marketing and third-party endorsements… Okay, I just had to let this rant out. Let’s get back to where we started – celebrity wines.
Today, we will not be talking about all celebrity wines. The subject is more narrow, precise, and seasonally appropriate – we are talking about celebrity Rosé wines.
Turns out quite a few celebrities tried their hand at making the Rosé – some with bubbles, but mostly still. And as with any wines, celebrity factor aside, it is always fun to compare wines in the blind setting – the “unveiling” of the wine is always a thing of pure joy.
Ahh, this post is also a bit about wine friends. And travel. But of course…
First, what prompted this whole tasting idea was a post on Twitter (sorry, I still don’t care to call it X, I still affiliate with Twitter but not with X) by Jonathan @TheWineCruUK, who mentioned that he was planning to open Queen Rosé, the wine associated with the legendary music band Queen. This was the first time I saw a mention of such a wine (I was well aware of many others, such as Hampton Water, Miraval, Maison No 9 and others). Seeing this new Rosé, the first idea was “I want to taste it”, and the second one was “but it would be fun to compare it with others,” and thus the idea of tasting was born.
The next question – where do I find it? A quick research yielded an unfortunate result – while the wine is easily available at a number of supermarkets in the UK, it was nowhere to be found in the US.
As luck would have it, a few weeks after the tasting idea was born, I was supposed to travel to London for work. A quick search for the supermarkets in the area where I was staying was not promising – basically, all suitable supermarkets were at least 40 minutes away by train, and I was on a very tight schedule. I asked Twitter wine friends for advice, and then Jonathan simply sent a message – “hey, tell me where you are staying, and I will send you a bottle”. I have always said it – wine people are special people. So thanks to the wonderful kindness of Jonathan, on the second day of my stay I was devouring the opening of the box to enjoy the view of the bottle – don’t worry, I had enough self-control, so I managed to just look but not to touch.
The next fun part of this project might be a revelation to some of you. I read a while back that Heathrow airport installed new scanners which now allow up to 2 liters of liquid to be brought on board in the hand luggage. Or at least this is what the article said.
I did a bit of research online, and this seemed to hold water. My actual confirmation came once I checked in for my flight back home – the airline restrictions clearly stated that I can bring with me up to 72 oz of liquid in the hand luggage – if you wish, go do the math – this will amount to 2 liters give or take.
And voila, the bottle safely made it home, and we were all set for the blind Rosé tasting.
Last fall, I was privy to a fascinating event I still need to write about (I suck as a blogger, feel free to say it out loud). In the event, we tasted a vertical (!) of Sasha Lichine top-of-the-line Rosé – Chateau d’Esclans Les Clans and Garrus wines. The wines were absolutely spectacular, and while they don’t qualify as celebrity wines, I kind of forced my way with including one of the Chateau d’Esclans Rosé into the tasting, more as a hallmark than for an actual competition.
And now, finally, we can talk about what transpired in the tasting.
We had 2 of the sparkling celebrity Rosé and 9 of the still wines. We decided to taste sparkling wines blindly, but separately from the still wines.
Here is brief information about celebrity wines in our tasting:
NV Archer Roose Rosé Pays d’Oc, France (13% ABV, blend of Syrah, Cinsault, Grenache, and Caladoc).
Celebrity: Elizabeth Banks, actress, producer, writer and director
NV Avaline Rosé Vin de France (13% ABV, blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Caladoc)
Celebrity: actress and author Cameron Diaz and entrepreneur/business executive Katherine Power. Wine originally launched in 2020.
NV Bellissima Zero Sugar Rosé Veneto IGT Italy (12.5% ABV, 100% Pinot Grigio)
Celebrity: supermodel and actress Christie Brinkley. Still wines line launched in 2023
2022 Château d’Esclans Les Clans Rosé Côtes de Provence (14% ABV, Grenache, Rolle). Not specifically a “celebrity” Rosé, but one of the very top Rosé in existence.
2023 Forever Young Rosé Côtes de Provence (12.5% ABV, 55% Grenache, 40% Cinsault, 5% Syrah)
Celebrity: The Real Housewives of New York City alum and entrepreneur Bethenny Frankel, alongside French vintner Valérie Rousselle and nightlife impresario Seth Greenberg; Produced by Château Roubine, established in 1307 and one of only 18 Cru Classé estates in Provence.
2025 Hampton Water Rosé South of France (13% ABV, 60% Grenache, 15% Cinsault, 15% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah)
Celebrity: Jon Bon Jovi and his son Jesse. Winemaker: Gérard Bertrand, famous Languedoc winemaker
2025 Invivo X Rosé South of France (12.4% ABV, 60% Grenache, 20% Cinsault, 20% Syrah)
Celebrity: Sarah Jessica Parker
NV Kylie Minogue Prosecco Rosé DOC Italy (11% ABV, 85% Glera, 15% Pinot Noir)
Celebrity: Kylie Minogue; producer: Zonin estate
NV Lve French Sparkling Rosé Vin de France (11.5% ABV, blend of Pinot Noir, Grenache, Ugni Blanc, Colombard, and Chardonnay)
Celebrity: John Legend, musician; wine produced in collaboration with Raymond Vineyard from Napa
2025 Miraval Rosé Côtes de Provence (12% ABV, blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah, and Rolle)
Celebrity: Brad Pitt; wine made in cooperation with Perrin Family
2025 Queen Rosé Côtes de Provence (13% ABV, 70% Grenache, 30% Cinsault)
Celebrity: Roger Taylor, the legendary drummer of the rock band Queen, in collaboration with Sony Music and the historic French winery Les Caves du Commandeur
Now, to the tasting:
We didn’t want to mix sparkling and still wines in the tasting, so we had two of the sparkling wines first with some appetizers, and then proceeded with the still wines. We still tasted them blind, and it is interesting that our preferences were split precisely across “gender lines” 🙂 Boys preferred wine #2, French Sparkling Rosé, and all the girls also unanimously went with wine #1, Prosecco.
Here are my brief notes for the still Rosé wines:
#3: Spectacular nose, gunflint, strawberries, grapefruit. Gunflint on the palate, sapidity, very nice, Chardonnay like.
#4: Pine needle. Lots of strawberries, still pine needle on the palate. Interesting.
#5: Carrot juice, strawberries on the nose. More strawberries and cleansing acidity on the palate, very nice.
#6: Interesting, nice, strawberries on the nose. More strawberries on the palate, good structure, delicious.
#7: wow, similar to #6, tart acidity, crisp, great finish.
#8 – very funky, hint of petrol, mineral. Lots of minerality on the palate.
#9 – sapidity, strawberries, restrained, nice, tart, not bad at all.
#10 – clean, open, inviting, great. Beautiful palate with strawberries, good acidity and perfect balance.
#11 – nice, strawberries, restrained, a little tart. Very good overall.
As you can tell from these brief notes, most of the wines showed quite well, so we could expect a very interesting voting and very interesting results.
We actually had to take the vote twice, and in a moment you will understand why.
We usually have a simple rule – every person can vote twice for their favorite wines, and the wine with the most votes wins the popular vote.
Here is how the first round ended up:
Wine #3 – 7
Wine #4 – 0
Wine #5 – 1
Wine #6 – 2
Wine #7 – 1
Wine #8 – 0
Wine #9 – 2
Wine #10 – 3
Wine #11 – 2
Everybody pretty much agreed that the wine #3 tasted not like a simple Rosé, but rather like a fine wine in its own right. As we knew that Château d’Esclans Les Clans was one of the wines we tasted, we decided that that was wine #3, and thus it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the Rosés to be judged against purposefully made “Rosé first growth”. Thus we decided to take another vote, this time excluding wine #3 from the vote.
Here are the results of the new vote:
Wine #4 – 1
Wine #5 – 1
Wind #6 – 2
Wine #7 – 2
Wine #8 – 0
Wine #9 – 1
Wine #10 – 5
Wine #11 – 2
As always, the reveal was the most exciting part, and we learned that our suspicion about wine #3 was correct; it was Château d’Esclans Les Clans. The winning wine happened to be Queen Rosé, which made me very happy – I was not lugging it from London for nothing 🙂
Here is now the list of wines according to our tasting order:
#1 – NV Kylie Minogue Prosecco Rosé DOC Italy
#2 – NV Lve French Sparkling Rosé Vin de France
#3 – 2022 Chateau d’Esclans Les Clans Rosé Côtes de Provence
#4 – NV Bellissima Zero Sugar Rosé Veneto IGT Italy
#5 – 2025 Miraval Rosé Côtes de Provence
#6 – 2025 Hampton Water Rosé South of France
#7 – 2025 Invivo X Rosé South of France
#8 – NV Archer Roose Rosé Pays d’Oc, France
#9 – 2023 Forever Young Rosé Côtes de Provence
#10 – 2025 Queen Rosé Côtes de Provence
#11 – NV Avaline Rosé Vin de France
I would say that overall, the celebrity Rosé fared quite well, with the exception of the wine #8. And I would be happy to drink that Queen Rosé at any time – maybe one day it will make it to the states.
There you are, my friends – an exciting and fun tasting, and something that you can – and should – do at home.
Until the next time – cheers!
New York Cabernet Franc Grand Tasting 2026
In my oenophile journey, Cabernet Franc was one of the early discoveries. It all started in Bordeaux, and I don’t mean visiting, just reading about it, not even so much tasting. Continuing that journey, at some point I arrived in the Loire, and there, of course, Cabernet Franc is the king. I wouldn’t remember what the very first Cabernet Franc I tasted was, but I’m sure it was a Cabernet Franc from Loire – Chinon, Saumur, I’m not sure.
As I live on the East Coast of the US, it is only logical that my Cabernet Franc journey continued while discovering East Coast wineries – Finger Lakes, Niagara on the Lake, Hudson Valley, Long Island. In the wine world of the East Coast, Cabernet Franc is the undisputed king of red wines – practically every winery I know of makes Cabernet Franc wine, and they make it quite successfully.
It is interesting how we hear things in our lives, and only many years later, those things of a sudden start making sense (call me slow, I’m sure I deserve it). When Lori Budd of Dracaena Wines started Cabernet Franc Day celebrations more than 10 years ago, it was all done under the slogan “Not just a blending grape”. Yes, I understood the slogan, but never thought of the full notion behind it. Getting into the wine world on the East Coast, Cabernet Franc was never a blending grape for me – the absolute majority of the Cabernet Franc experiences were with 100% Cabernet Franc wines. However, as the California wine world grew up following Bordeaux, Cabernet Franc was generally not taken seriously on their own, but only in the supporting roles to the major grapes – e.g., Cabernet Sauvignon, the kind of California. As I’m typing this sitting on the train on my way to New York City to attend the Cabernet Franc Grand Tasting, I finally realize what Lori meant by her slogan, bringing her love of the Cabernet Franc from the East Coast to reality on the West Coast, in California. Yes, of course, it is not just a blending grape, and I’m just about to deep dive into the world of 100+ Cabernet Franc bottling from 40 producers.
Okay. So everything written above was written on the train on my way to the Cabernet Franc Grand Tasting 2026. Now, I want to share my impressions about the event, about the Cabernet Franc wines, and the experience overall.
Let me start with the event itself. In a word, top-notch. Pay attention – these are the impressions of the wine blogger/writer/geek. From that point of view, the event was possibly the best-organized I have ever attended. Of course, I will explain, no need to nudge.
Before the event, I got the list of wineries and wines planned for the event. The list was sorted alphabetically, with all the wine details (vintage, ABV, grape composition, MSRP). In the event, the wineries were located in the same exact order! If I didn’t want to go one by one, I would just easily locate the winery I wanted! Okay, I get it, there were only about 40 wineries in the event, but I don’t see how this wouldn’t scale. Also, talking about organization – we had individual spit cups provided, and every (!) table had a large spittoon – an absolute convenience in the wine tasting. Every year, I attend probably 10, maybe 15 large wine tasting events, so from that experience, this was literally the best, if not the best ever.
An impression of New York Cabernet Franc Grand Tasting in One Picture
Next part of the experience – Cabernet Franc seminar. My first attraction point to this seminar was the fact that it was led by Kevin Zraly, whom I really consider my wine teacher, after taking his Windows on the World wine school classes a few decades back. So I was very happy to be in his presence again. For the rest of it, the seminar experience was more of an “all over the place” type. It was too long (was supposed to be 1 hour, but it was 1:20 or so running time, plus a bit of a delay at the start). The panelists were all knowledgeable, but none of them were the winemakers, so I really didn’t learn much from them, and they all loved to talk. And the worst part, unfortunately, was the wines in the seminar, and here I’m a bit perplexed. I loved the classic method sparkling Cabernet Franc from Macari Vineyards on Long Island, which we were greeted with as we walked into the seminar room. I also loved the last wine #9, 2012 Cabernet Franc from the Arrowhead Spring Vineyards Niagara Escarpment- it was superb. The other 8 wines were all over the place, from greatness to a simple “no, I’m not drinking that” – but, if I overheard the panel correctly, the wines for tasting were poured 3 hours prior. If this is the case, this didn’t help those wines at all. Again, it is entirely possible that I completely misheard that. But for further details, please see my notes on the seminar wines below.
Kevin Zraly
Now, let’s talk about my Cabernet Franc impressions after tasting and the seminar.
I have to say that it’s been a while since I had a deep immersion opportunity into the New York Cabernet Franc at any scale, never mind such a large and focused event – this was my first time attending it. But that is not even an important point. It’s been a significant lapse since I had New York Cabernet Franc, so all comparisons I was making were the present state of the New York Cabernet Franc versus New York Cabernet Franc as I remember it.
The State of New York has 7 defined AVAs – Champlain Valley, Finger Lakes, Hudson River Region, Upper Hudson, Lake Erie, Long Island, and the Niagara Escarpment. Out of this list, I’m mostly familiar with Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley (lumping together both Hudson regions), and Long Island. These were mostly the regions represented in the tasting, plus the Niagara Escarpment.
The State of New York’s Cabernet Franc definitely evolved compared to what I knew. This evolution now includes not only widely available Cabernet Franc Rosé, but also sparkling Cabernet Franc. I’m curious when (I think “when” is more appropriate than “if”, but of course I can be wrong) we will see Cabernet Franc Blanc (similar to what we see in the Oregon Pinot Noir scene). I also would think that at some point, we should see Cabernet Franc “port” just to complete the full range of Cabernet Franc expressions.
Now, to summarize my impressions, I have to use the word I don’t like using – interesting. Interesting is definitely not a very kind descriptor, but that’s the best I can do at the moment – let me explain.
I loved the absolute majority of Rosé wines across the board. They were elegant, mostly lean, and many of them capable of perfectly competing with Provence. The same goes for sparkling wines – fresh, generous, with a wide range of expressions, but I would be happy to drink the majority of them (if we exclude the price). But the main body of the tasting, Cabernet Franc reds, represented a mixed bag.
During the seminar, one of the panelists used the descriptor “finesse” to describe Cabernet Franc. I love this descriptor, but for me, finesse first and foremost means perfection of the balance. All your taste buds have to sing in unison for the wine to be declared as having “finesse”. For example, Cayuse wines might be the most expressive wines made in the United States, solely based on their ability to express the specific terroir, but the main descriptor for Cayuse wines is “power”, not “finesse”. Burgundian Pinot Noir possesses finesse, but the main expression of Oregon Pinot Noir is power, not finesse. Going back to our Cabernet Franc wines, I found “finesse” maybe in 2-3 wines out of 60 – 70 I tasted.
Tannins often were my main issue. And please note – tannins, not the use of oak. A number of wines were proudly unoaked. When the front of my mouth was literally locked up by the borderline painful tannins, and the winery rep was explaining that the wines were aged in stainless steel, I had to ask, “how is the wine so tannic?”. “Ah, we macerated with the skins for 71 days”, was the reply. Oh… I don’t know if it will help the wine to age better, but for those of us who want to drink the wine now… Please, don’t do this.
Along the lines of “finesse,” my second gripe would be another claim made during the seminar – “terroir”. It was said that now we can find similarities among the wines coming from the same “place”. That means that we should be able to find similarities between Cabernet Franc made in the Hudson Valley and successfully differentiate them from Cabernet Franc made in the Finger Lakes. Feel free to call me an amateur shmuck, but I would not be able to find similarities or differentiate most of the Cabernet Franc wines (excellent wines, mind you!) I tasted, even if my life depended on it.
On a positive side, practically all Cabernet Franc aged expressions were delicious. We had 2005, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, and other vintages with some age, and they were excellent across the board. The 2005 Millbrook was probably at its peak, and I don’t know how long that peak will last. But my general observation is that New York Cabernet Franc can age.
Please don’t get me wrong – there were lots of excellent Cabernet Franc reds in the tasting. If you want to surprise someone with a delicious red from the East Coast of the United States, a bottle of Cabernet Franc would probably be your top contender. Better yet – if you find – and afford – a library Cabernet Franc, your friends would thank you profusely.
Now, for what it’s worth, I would like to share my notes from the seminar and the tasting. One generic note – if grape composition is not listed, the wine is made from 100% Cabernet Franc.
Seminar wines:
2024 Macari Vineyards “Horses” Cabernet Franc Pet Nat (11.4% ABV, $32) – wow! Fresh, delicious, crisp bubbles, just perfect.
1. 2024 Fjord Vineyards Estate Cabernet Franc Hudson River Region (12.6% ABV, $30)
A Wow nose, classic with cassis and tobacco.
The palate is disappointing. Green, aggressive
2. 2022 Benmarl Winery Estate Cabernet Franc Hudson River Region (13.7% ABV, $40)
Complex nose with graphite and herbs
Green, tight, tannic palate. Not enjoyable.
3. 2024 Paumanok Vineyards “Minimalist” Cabernet Franc North Fork of Long Island (12.5% ABV, $55)
Carrot Juice? Pomegranate?
Just no…
4. 2023 Lieb Cellars Estate Cabernet Franc North Fork of Long Island (12.9% ABV, 88% Cabernet Franc, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec, $38)
Classic nose
Classic palate
+++, nice, enjoyable
5. 2021 Wölffer Estate Vineyard “Caya” Cabernet Franc Long Island (13.5% ABV, 87% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot, $37)
Volcanic nose, pleasant, nice
The palate is powerful and balanced, earthy notes, tobacco, pronounced but balanced tannins.
+++-|, excellent
6. 2024 Boundary Breaks Vineyard Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes (13.5% ABV, 95% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot, $25)
Classic Nose on a lighter side.
Nice and classic palate, but tannins kick in quickly. Still, overall – not bad.
+++
7. 2023 Herman J.Wiemer Magdalena Vineyard Cabernet Franc (12.8% ABV, $45)
Rutherford dust on the nose, medicinal notes, bell pepper.
No bad, but fruit fades away quickly, leaving you with tannins.
8. 2020 Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes (13% ABV, $28)
Beautiful, classic nose.
On the palate, the wine is balanced, with succulent fruit, tannins are present but well-balanced and appropriate.
+++-|
9. 2012 Arrowhead Spring Vineyards Library Selection Cabernet Franc, Niagara Escarpment
Nose is definitely medicinal, with iodine, cassis, and herbs.
Wow palate – wonderful, fresh, tight, great acidity, excellent.
++++, a special treat.
Here are my notes for the general tasting. I had time for about half of the tables (probably 23-24 out of 40), and the notes are very limited, as I mostly use my trade tasting rating system of “+” signs, with “+++” being a very solid rating. I’m also using “-|” as .5 improvement, so “++-|” basically means 2.5.
Okay, without further ado, here are the notes from the general tasting:
Apollo’s Praise 2024 Cabernet Franc – Picardie Finger Lakes (13% ABV, $28.00) – horrible. Green and biting
Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2023 Cabernet Franc Stainless Steel Niagara Escarpment (12.5% ABV, $19.95) – gripping tannins (71 days maceration???)
Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2023 Cabernet Franc Barrel Aged Niagara Escarpment (13.3% ABV, $24.95) – approacheable, nice
Atwater Vineyards 2024 Dry Rosé of Cabernet Franc/Blaufränkisch Finger Lakes (11.6% ABV, $27.00, 85% Cabernet Franc, 15% Blaufränkisch) – +++
Atwater Vineyards 2023 Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes (11.7% ABV, $32.00) – good
Atwater Vineyards 2024 Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes (14.1% ABV, $32.00) – ++, good
Benmarl Winery 2024 Pétillant Hudson River Region (12.3% ABV, $25.00) – +++, joy!
Benmarl Winery 2024 Dry Rosé Hudson River Region (12.2% ABV, $20.00) – ++-|, very good
Benmarl Winery 2022 Estate Cabernet Franc Hudson River Region (12.1% ABV, $40.00) – okay, strange. Petrol?
Boundary Breaks Vineyard 2024 Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes (13.5% ABV, $21.95, 95% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot) – ++
Boundary Breaks Vineyard 2024 Cabernet Franc Reserve Finger Lakes (13.5% ABV, $25.95) – ++, supposedly unoaked, gripping tannins
Boundary Breaks Vineyard 2024 Dry Rosé Finger Lakes (12.5% ABV, $15.95, 60% Cabernet Franc, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon) – on a sweeter side
Clovis Point Vineyard and Winery 2022 Cabernet Franc North Fork of Long Island (13.2% ABV, $45.00, 95% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec) – ++-|
Clovis Point Vineyard and Winery 2022 Sparkling Cabernet Franc (12% ABV, $49.00) – delicious! light sweetness
Damiani Wine Cellars 2024 Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes (13.5% ABV, $28.00) – +++
Damiani Wine Cellars 2024 Cabernet Franc Reserve Finger Lakes (13.7% ABV, $60.00) – +++
Damiani Wine Cellars 2024 Cabernet Franc Valois Vineyard Finger Lakes (14.1% ABV, $42.00) – +++
Damiani Wine Cellars 2022 Cabernet Franc Barrel Select Finger Lakes – superb
Dr. Konstantin Frank 2022 Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes (13% ABV, $27.99) – +++, classic, clean
EV&EM Vineyards 2023 Classic Cabernet Franc North Fork of Long Island (12.7% ABV, $58.00) – too lean. 2023 was a very difficult vintage
EV&EM Vineyards 2024 Classic Cabernet Franc North Fork of Long Island (12.7% ABV, $58.00) – much bigger than 2023. 2024 was an excellent year on Long Island
Fjord Vineyards 2024 Estate Cabernet Franc Hudson River Region (13.8% ABV, $30.00) – +++
Fjord Vineyards 2024 Estate Dry Rosé of Cabernet Franc Hudson River Region (12.6% ABV, $22.00) – +++, excellent, my favorite so far
Fjord Vineyards 2022 Estate Cabernet Franc Hudson River Region (13.1% ABV, $30.00) – ++-|, interesting, volcanic notes
Forge Cellars 2020 Willow Vineyard Cabernet Franc Seneca Lake Finger Lakes (13% ABV, $26.00) – good
Forge Cellars 2023 Caywood Vineyard Cabernet Franc Seneca Lake Finger Lakes (13% ABV, $28.00) – good
Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard 2023 Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes (12.5% ABV, $27.00) – +++, excellent
Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard 2023 Cabernet Franc Magdalena Vineyard Finger Lakes (12.8% ABV, $45.00) – +++, excellent. Surprise – I didn’t like it in the seminar… Go figure…
Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard 2021 Library Vintage Cabernet Franc in Magnum Finger Lakes (12.5% ABV, $90.00) – +++-|, excellent, round, powerful
Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard 2016 Library Vintage Cabernet Franc 3 Litre Finger Lakes (12.5% ABV, $360.00) – +++, excellent
Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard 2019 Single Clone 214 Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes – an original Loire clone, very good
Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard 2019 Single Clone 327 Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes – a Bordeaux clone, certified in 1975, very good
Heron Hill Winery 2020 Heron Hill Classic Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes (13.3% ABV, $22.00) – +++, nice, round, clean
Heron Hill Winery 2022 Ingle Vineyard Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes (13.8% ABV, $40.00) – +++, nice, round, clean
Keuka Spring Vineyards 2024 Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes (13.1% ABV, $28.99) – +++, excellent, clean, delicate, light color with a lip-smacking palate
Keuka Spring Vineyards 2025 Dry Rosé Finger Lakes (11.8% ABV, $19.99, 60% Cabernet Franc, 40% Blaufrankisch) – +++-|, a new favorite
Keuka Spring Vineyards 2024 Epic Finger Lakes (12.1% ABV, $29.99, 65% Cabernet Franc, 35% Blaufrankisch) – +++-|, excellent
Lakewood Vineyards 2024 Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes (13.8% ABV, $20.00) – good, light, nice color
Lakewood Vineyards 2020 Reserve Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes (15.9% ABV, $50.00) – good
Lakewood Vineyards 2024 Cabernet Franc Dry Rosé Finger Lakes (13.1% ABV, $18.00) – good
Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars – Rosé was too sweet, and I didn’t like any of the reds
Lenz Winery 2021 Estate Selection Cabernet Franc North Fork of Long Island, Peconic (13.5% ABV, $55.00) – excellent. This is a new project at Lenz. Until 2017, Cabernet Franc was used only for blending
Living Roots Wine & Co. 2025 Finger Lakes Pet-Nat Rosé Finger Lakes (12.8% ABV, $26.00, 50% Cabernet Franc, 50% Blaufrankisch) – too sweet
Living Roots Wine & Co. 2025 Finger Lakes Dry Rosé Finger Lakes (12% ABV, $22.00, 41% Cabernet Franc, 33% Pinot Noir, 26% Blaufrankisch) – excellent
Living Roots Wine & Co. 2023 Finger Lakes Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes (12.6% ABV, $30.00) – excellent
Macari Vineyards & Winery 2024 “Lifeforce” Cabernet Franc North Fork of Long Island (12.9% ABV, $30.00) – +++, excellent
Macari Vineyards & Winery 2022 Cabernet Franc North Fork of Long Island (12.9% ABV, $38.00) – excellent
Macari Vineyards & Winery 2010 Cabernet Franc North Fork of Long Island – ++++, wow, powerful, delicious
McCall Wines 2021 Cabernet Franc North Fork, Long Island (12.8% ABV, $28.00) – +++, excellent
McCall Wines 2015 Cabernet Franc Reserve North Fork of Long Island (13% ABV, $49.00) – ++++, outstanding, elegant
Milea Estate Vineyard 2023 Milea Estate Vineyard Farmhouse Cabernet Franc Hudson River Region (12.5% ABV, $40.00) – ++-|, good
Milea Estate Vineyard 2023 Milea Estate Vineyard Reserve Cabernet Franc Hudson River Region (12.5% ABV, $50.00) – +++, excellent
Millbrook Vineyards & Winery 2025 Cabernet Franc Estate Rosé Hudson River Region (13.9% ABV, $30.00) – ++-|, good
Millbrook Vineyards & Winery 2023 Cabernet Franc Hudson River Region (13% ABV, $28.00) – ++-|, good
Millbrook Vineyards & Winery 2021 Cabernet Franc Proprietor’s Special Reserve Hudson River Region (13% ABV, $45.00) – +++, excellent
Millbrook Vineyards & Winery 2005 Cabernet Franc Hudson River Region (13% ABV, Library, 75% Cabernet Franc, 18% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon) – ++++, wow, delicious. Oldest in the tasting. Might be at its peak
Neverstill Wines 2023 Cabernet Franc Finger Lakes / Hudson Valley (13%, $49.00) – good
One Woman Winery 2020 One Woman Cabernet Franc North Fork of Long Island (12.8% ABV, $42.00) – good
One Woman Winery 2022 One Woman Cabernet Franc North Fork of Long Island (12.8% ABV, $42.00) – good
Suhru & Lieb Vineyards 2023 Lieb Estate Cabernet Franc North Fork of Long Island (12.9% ABV, $38.00, 88% Cabernet Franc, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec) – good
Suhru & Lieb Vineyards 2024 Suhru Wines Rosé North Fork of Long Island (11.6% ABV, $21.00, 54% Cabernet Franc, 18% Merlot, 16% La Crescent, 12% Lagrein) – good, and a new grape!
The Red Hook Winery 2019 Jamesport Vineyard Cabernet Franc Long Island (14.1% ABV, $40.00) – good
Wölffer Estate Vineyard 2023 Estate Cabernet Franc Long Island (13.5% ABV, $25.00, 82% Cabernet Franc, 11% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Petit Verdot) – good
Wölffer Estate Vineyard 2021 Caya Cabernet Franc Long Island (13.5% ABV, $37.00, 87% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot) – good
Wölffer Estate Vineyard 2010 Caya Library Selection Cabernet Franc Long Island (13.3% ABV, Library, 85% Cabernet Franc, 14.5% Merlot, 0.5% Cabernet Sauvignon) – outstanding
Uff, this was a long post. Hope you reached here, but if you didn’t, you are not reading this anyway 🙂
Until the next time – cheers!
Seeking Amarone: Grace and Beauty of Cesari Amarone Bosan
What do you think of Amarone? I know that some people simply dismiss it as an alcohol bomb, as many Amarone wines nowadays are sporting 16.5% ABV, and winemakers blame climate change. Okay, climate change is not the subject of this post, so let’s quickly rewind before we go too far.
Let me repeat the question – what do you think of Amarone? Love it, hate it, or indifferent?
While you are deep in your thoughts, let me share my take.
I love Amarone. I tried it for the first time in 2003, during Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World wine school class. The wine we tried was 1998 Le Ragoze Amarone. The contrast of dry fruit assemblage on the nose with lean, focused, powerful, and perfectly balanced palate was stunning, delicious and memorable. And that was the beginning of my love-hate relationship with Amarone (please keep reading, I promise to explain all the high emotions).
Maybe a quick historical perspective would be appropriate here. Amarone wines are made in the Valpolicella region in Veneto Province. While winemaking across Italy goes back to Roman times, Amarone has not been around for too long. Historically, the Valpolicella region was best known for its sweet wines called Recioto. The grapes for Recioto production were first dried under the sun to concentrate sugars (this process is called Appassimento), and subsequently made into the sweet wine. In 1936, supposedly, a barrel of Recioto was forgotten in the cellar, the fermentation continued, and resulted in the dry and powerful wine which was called Amarone, which means Great Bitter, contrasting it with sweet Recioto. Amarone wines began to be internationally recognized in 1970th. Amarone della Valpolicella received the status of DOC in 1990 and advanced to DOCG in 2010.
Amarone is not my pivotal wine. Actually, I don’t have a pivotal wine as some wine lovers do – many wines left lasting impressions on me and I would be very hard pressed to identify “one and only”. But Amarone is definitely one of my favorite wines – except that I more or less gave up on it for now.
The “Seeking Amarone” theme of this blog post is not random. I wrote a few posts under the same theme in the past (none as of late), as that spectacular experience with 1998 Le Ragoze happened to be really hard to replicate. With the exception of a few Masi single vineyard Amarone, most of the Amarone I taste are lacking balance, with alcohol being not well integrated and simply destroying any joy the wine could bring. Side note – 16.5% ABV in itself means nothing. Anyone who casually enjoyed Turley or Carlisle Zinfandels can attest to the perfect balance and harmony those wines exhibit, at the same 16.5% of ABV.
Possibly a bigger issue affecting Amarone was a dramatic expansion of the DOC growing area, which allowed subpar quality fruit to become a fuel for Amarone’s attempt to meet the global growing demand – Amarone production increased from 1 million bottles to 16 million bottles in 2008. However, that didn’t affect single vineyard Amarone, and this brings us to the intended subject of this post – Cesari Bosan Amarone, a single vineyard Amarone from the heart of the Amarone Classico di Valpolicella.
During the Tre Bicchieri 2026 event in New York, I was lucky enough to attend the masterclass where we had an opportunity to deep dive into the world of Cesari Amarone. And not just Amarone, but single vineyard Amarone Bosan.
Cesari Winery was formed in 1936 (so this year Cesari is celebrating 90 years). The first vintage of Amarone was produced in 1971, and in 1973, Cesari Amarone began exporting to the USA. And talking about important dates, 1997 marked the beginning of production of Cesari’s single-vineyard Amarone, Bosan.
Bosan vineyard is located in the heart of the Amarone Classico della Valpolicella production zone, at about 1,500 feet elevation (500 meters), on the hills facing south and southeast with volcanic/limestone soils. The grapes for Bosan Amarone are harvested about 2 weeks prior to the grapes for the other wines in two passes. Speaking about the grapes, Cesari Bosan Amarone is always made from 3 main grape varieties, used always in the same proportions. Bosan wines are made from 40% Corvina grapes, giving structure and complexity; 40% Corvinone grapes, bringing freshness and crunchiness; finishing it up 20% of Rondinella grapes, bringing balance and color. By the way, while the grape composition remained the same over the years, the drying time (appassimento) has changed from 4 months in the previous years to about 3 months (90 days) now.
Production of Bosan Amarone is a labor of love for sure, as it takes 10(!) years to produce Amarone Bosan, and another 3 years for the wines to reach “historical vintage” designation. After drying the grapes, vinification and fermentation are conducted in stainless steel. After that, the wine rests in stainless steel for 3 years, then goes into the barriques for 2 years, back to stainless steel for 3 years, finishing off with at least 2 years in the bottle. If the wine is designated as a historical vintage, it will take another 3 years in the bottle. If anything, Cesari Amarone Bosan production commands respect.
We had an opportunity to taste 6 Bosan Riserva wines, going all the way back to the 2000 vintage, thanks to the generosity of the Cesari family. To say that this was a special experience would be an understatement – the experience was truly one of a kind. Here are my thoughts on the 6 wines we tasted.
2016 Cesari Bosan Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva DOCG (15.5% ABV)
Beautiful, a touch of gunflint, dark fruit, minerality, cherries, rocky undertones
Powerful, crisp, firm and crunchy, rocky undertones, well-integrated tannins.
8+, great food wine, but perfectly enjoyable by itself
2015 Cesari Bosan Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva DOCG (15.5% ABV)
Legs are more expressive than in 2016
Dark cherries on the nose
Rounder on the palate than 2016, dark fruit, tannins a bit untamed, green notes on the finish. Needs more time
8-/8
2006 Cesari Bosan Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva DOC (15.5% ABV)
Beautiful nose, with dried fruit and a touch of dried fig.
Wow! Beautiful, balanced, perfectly integrated tannins, round, spectacular.
8+/9-
2003 Cesari Bosan Amarone della Valpolicella DOC (15.5% ABV)
A bit too much of the dry fruit, the nose suggested past prime. After some additional time in the glass, just fine.
Sublime, just needed the time to open. Still fresh tannins on the palate, round, well integrated, layered, with dry fruit undertones on the palate. Wow. delicious!
9-/9
2001 Cesari Bosan Amarone della Valpolicella DOC (15.5% ABV)
Intense nose, clean, open, elegant, hint of roasted meat, fresh red fruit, cocoa powder, a wow nose.
Wow. I can’t spit this wine! Wow, Round, elegant, layered, mind-boggling elegance, a touch of dried fruit. Impeccable balance.
9, a wow wine all around
2000 Cesari Bosan Amarone della Valpolicella DOC (15.5% ABV)
Intense tertiary aromas with the addition of roasted meat.
No tertiary aromas on the palate. Wow. Sweet cherries, perfect acidity, round, elegant, outstanding.
9-
Here we are – an Amarone worth seeking. Cesari Bosan Amarone will not be inexpensive, but it might be well worth it as a special treat.
So, have you finally come up with an answer to my question? Do you like Amarone? Hoping that you do, what is your favorite Amarone? Cheers!
One on One With Cristina Mercuri, Master of Wine
As you might know, I love interviews.
That didn’t happen from the first day of blogging. It took me some time to realize the value of conversation. But once it “clicked”, interviews became one of my favorite subjects on this blog – “Stories of Passion and Pinot” series might be the best proof of that.
Today’s interview is a bit different than the most. The majority of my interviews are with winemakers. However, today I would like to offer to your attention my conversation (virtual, as it often goes, even though this is one of the cases where I would much prefer a face-to-face format) with Cristina Mercuri, Master of Wine.
Cristina Mercuri is the first woman Master of Wine (MW) in Italy, and the fourth Italian MW overall. To put things in perspective, only 521 people have become Master of Wine since 1953, according to the Institute of Master of Wine as of February 2026. This is definitely an achievement to celebrate, so I was very excited when I got an opportunity to talk to Cristina. She is also the founder of Cristina Mercuri Wine Club – we will touch on that in our conversation below.
Cristina Mercuri
Here is what transpired in our conversation:
[TaV]: This might be a “duh” question, as you grew up in Italy, and yet – as a wine lover, not as a wine professional, how did you get into the world of wine? Family traditions? Was there a pivotal wine in your life?
[CM]: Wine was always present in my life in the way it often is in Italy: around the table, as part of everyday culture rather than something intellectualized. It belonged to meals, to conversations, to conviviality.
My real entry into the wine world happened much later. I was working as a lawyer and, despite having built a solid career, I felt increasingly bored and disconnected from what I was doing. I needed a radical change, something intellectually stimulating and culturally rich. Wine offered exactly that.
I began studying through the WSET programmes while still working in law, initially out of curiosity. Very quickly that curiosity turned into a serious commitment. By the end of 2015 I decided to leave the legal profession entirely and dedicate myself to wine. What started as a personal exploration became a new professional path.
[TaV]: What made you switch from a successful career in law to the unpredictable world of wine?
[CM]: Law gave me a very strong analytical framework, discipline and the ability to structure complex reasoning. But at a certain point I felt the need to work in a field where cultures creativity and human connection were more present.
Wine offered exactly that. It is an industry where agriculture, craftsmanship, economics and storytelling coexist. Each bottle represents a product, but also a narrative about land, people and time. I realized that the skills I had developed in law — critical thinking, precision, strategic analysis — could be applied in a different way to the wine world.
Leaving law was a significant decision, but it never felt like abandoning something. It felt like redirecting the same intellectual energy toward a field that resonates deeply with identity, culture and global exchange.
[TaV]: You recently became the first woman Master of Wine in Italy (and only the 4th in Italy overall) – how does it feel? What was the hardest part of the MW journey? What was your favorite part of studying?
[CM]: Becoming the first Italian woman Master of Wine is both a personal achievement and a symbolic milestone. In a different world it would be big news that another professional became an MW. In today’s reality, it also represents a small step toward greater diversity in a sector where leadership has long been male-dominated.
The hardest part of the journey is consistency. The MW programme is not only intellectually demanding, it requires years of sustained discipline while continuing to work professionally. Preparing for the Stage 2 examination felt almost like an Olympic training period: blind tasting every day, theory study, mock exams, mental preparation.
My favorite part was the intellectual depth of the programme. It forces you to think about wine from every possible perspective: viticulture, economics, geopolitics, consumer behaviour, communication. It teaches you that wine is not only about what is in the glass, but about the entire system around it.
[TaV]: If at all possible in this format, can you share with us the gist of your master thesis, “Wine, Women and Fascism: A Visual Analysis of the Representation of Women in Propaganda in Enotria (1922–1942)”?
[CM]: My research paper examined how women were represented in the Italian wine magazine Enotria during the Fascist period. I analyzed the covers published between the 1920s and early 1940s using visual semiotics and historical analysis.
What emerged was a very clear pattern: women were rarely portrayed as producers, professionals or decision-makers within the wine world. Instead, they appeared mainly as decorative figures, symbols of beauty, domesticity or national mythology. The visual language reflected broader political and cultural narratives of the time, where gender roles were tightly controlled and instrumentalized.
The research was interesting because it connects visual culture, political ideology and wine communication. It also helps explain why certain stereotypes persisted for decades in the way wine — and women in wine — have been represented.
[TaV]: I heard many times that women are better tasters than men. Do you share the same opinion?
[CM]: I don’t think wine tasting is determined by gender. Sensory ability can vary enormously between individuals, but excellence in tasting comes primarily from training, discipline and experience.
The best tasters I know share certain qualities: concentration, memory, analytical thinking and intellectual humility. Blind tasting especially is a skill that develops through repetition and structured practice.
Reducing tasting ability to gender risks oversimplifying something that is actually much more complex. Wine evaluation is a professional competence that can be developed by anyone willing to dedicate the time and rigor required.
[TaV]: There is a lot of talk everywhere that the world of wine at large is in trouble, as younger people either don’t drink wine at all, or have very specific requirements (low alcohol seems to be one of the most important ones, no oak, etc.). What do you think about young adults and wine? Does the wine industry at large need to do something to address it, or is it just a part of the cycle?
[CM]: I think the conversation around younger consumers often starts from the wrong assumption. It is not that young people reject wine; it is that they expect wine to speak a language that resonates with them.
For decades the industry communicated mainly through tradition, hierarchy and technical jargon. Younger consumers tend to look instead for transparency, authenticity and clarity. They want to understand what is in the glass, who made it, how it was produced and why it matters.
This requires a shift in communication more than a reinvention of wine itself. When wine is presented with honesty, clarity and relevance, younger audiences respond very positively. The future of wine depends largely on our ability to listen to those audiences and adapt the narrative accordingly.
[TaV]: Do you have a favorite Italian wine and/or producer?
[CM]: Italy is incredibly diverse, so choosing one wine is almost impossible. But if I had to mention a style that fascinates me deeply, I would say Etna Bianco. The combination of volcanic soils, altitude and Mediterranean light produces wines with remarkable tension, precision and aging potential.
Producers such as Maugeri or Palmento Costanzo are doing extraordinary work in expressing the subtle differences between contrade and elevations. Etna is a perfect example of how a historic territory can also represent the future of Italian wine.
[TaV]: Same question, taking the view of the world – can you share some names of your favorite wines and/or producers from around the world?
[CM]: I have always been deeply fascinated by Burgundy, particularly producers like Olivier Leflaive or Alain Chavy, who express incredible precision and terroir transparency in Chardonnay.
In Champagne, houses like Krug, Philipponnat or Yann Alexandre represent a philosophy of blending and long maturation that creates wines of extraordinary depth and longevity.
I also admire producers who work with clarity and restraint in different parts of the world — those who allow the vineyard to speak rather than imposing heavy stylistic signatures, like Creation in South Africa.
[TaV]: Do you have a wine cellar? If you do, what would we find there?
[CM]: Yes, I do have a cellar, although I tend to think of it as a working cellar rather than a collector’s one. You would find a mix of Italian classics — Barolo, Brunello, Etna — alongside Champagne and Burgundy.
There are also many bottles linked to personal moments: wines opened to celebrate milestones, wines shared with friends, wines connected to travel or professional encounters. For me a cellar is not only about aging potential; it is also a memory archive.
[TaV]: Can you tell us more about your project, Mercuri Wine Club? What are your aspirations? What are you trying to achieve? How do you see this project evolving over the next 10 years?
[CM]: Mercuri Wine Club was born from a desire to combine education, communication and strategic consultancy within the wine sector.
The project has two main dimensions. One focuses on education, offering structured training programmes that help professionals and enthusiasts understand wine with clarity and depth. The second focuses on strategic consultancy, helping wineries and wine institutions position themselves more effectively in international markets.
Over the next ten years I see the project evolving into a broader platform that connects education, market intelligence and communication. The wine industry needs more bridges between production, markets and consumers, and that is precisely the space where Mercuri Wine Club operates.
[TaV]: Last question: have you had a chance to watch Drops of God series on Apple TV? If you have, what do you think of it? If not, I can’t recommend it highly enough 🙂 [CM]: Yes, I have watched it, and I found it fascinating from a cultural perspective. The series captures something very real about wine: the emotional dimension, the role of memory, and the intensity of sensory perception. In that sense it does a good job of showing that tasting is not just technical evaluation, but also interpretation and personal experience.
At the same time, what slightly disappointed me is the risk of portraying wine tasting as something almost supernatural or accessible only to a few exceptional individuals. In reality, tasting wine is a skill that anyone can develop with curiosity, attention and practice. Blind tasting is not about superpowers, and it certainly shouldn’t be intimidating.
If anything, wine should invite people in, not push them away. The real beauty of tasting is that it sharpens perception and encourages dialogue. Anyone can sit at a table, taste a wine blind, and enjoy the process of discovering it. That sense of curiosity and shared exploration is what truly makes wine special.
Here you are, my friends. I hope you enjoyed reading our conversation, and until the next time – cheers!
OTBN 2026 – What a night!
Open That Bottle Night (OTBN for short) is one of my favorite wine holidays of the year – possibly simply the favorite.
The event, always taking place on the last Saturday in February, was created by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, writers of the Wall Street Journal wine column, 27 years ago. The purpose of the event or a holiday, if you will, is simple. Every wine lover has a special bottle waiting for a special moment. Let’s declare that special moment has arrived, and let’s open that special bottle to enjoy it now – nobody knows what’s ahead in life, so we should enjoy things while we can.
As I said, this is possibly my favorite wine holiday, I always make an effort to participate, and a few times even wrote about them (here are posts from 2016, 2019, 2020, 2023, and 2025). Whether I’m celebrating with friends or just with my wife, I always make an effort to make that day wine-special – I believe I have never been disappointed so far, judging by “what a night!” being a favorite descriptor.
OTBN 2026 was no exception. Typically, my OTBN experience starts with self-inflicted drama – what to open???? I have more than a few bottles worthy of a “special” designation, and it is always hard (very hard!) to decide which one or two should be called special in a given year. In 2026, somehow I managed to solve this conundrum somewhat easily – the decision just materialized on its own as I was mindlessly moving wine cabinet shelves in and out.
Lopez de Heredia needs no introduction to wine lovers. Way, way back, Lopez de Heredia Blanco was my first foray into white Rioja wines, and I have been a devoted follower ever since. Fiction by Field Recordings was the first wine that led to the discovery of the Field Recordings wines 17+ years ago, and it has been a perennial staple ever since. I can’t say what led to the decision on the 33-year-old white Rioja and 13-year-old California red blend, but this became one of the most memorable wine experiences ever.
Let’s talk about 1993 Lopez de Heredia Viña Tondonia Blanco Rioja (12.5% ABV). I have to start by saying that I’m not a fan of oxidative white wines. When I mentioned on Twitter that I plan to open this bottle for the OTBN, some comments expressed excitement about oxidative and nutty notes, which I was supposed to find, similar to what you would find in a glass of Jerez. And so I was expecting to find that, and was wondering if I would be able to like that wine. And then there were literally none! Nothing oxidative on the nose, mostly minerality and whitestone fruit. And then a beautiful, complex, powerful structure on the palate, somewhat along the lines of a good Roussanne, still with perfect acidity and freshness. Oxidative notes were lurking in the background, showing up and instantly dissipating a few times, but those were only tiny glimpses, not taking anything away from the wine. An absolutely delightful experience, a 33-year-old white Rioja possibly at its peak (but I wouldn’t dare to insist).
And then there was 2013 Fiction by Field Recordings Paso Robles (13.5% ABV, 31% Zinfandel, 26% Tempranillo, 15% Mourvèdre, 10% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 8% Touriga Nacional). This was my only bottle with an original label, which I really loved and much prefer to the current ones. There is nothing wrong with the current label, only that the original one, with a flock of birds, was conveying the message of bottled poetry a lot better – or rather music, as I wrote in my first post about this wine, Music, Recorded in the Vineyard.
I also loved the back label. As this might be the last time I look at such a label (the current ones don’t carry any of the text), I would allow myself to cite the text written on that back label:
“It’s 6 A.M. and if I don’t find them soon, they’ll be gone. The back of my pickup stocked with trash bags, I head out. If I was looking at the road, I would notice the truck’s path change from frontage road, to side road, to no road. I would notice addresses begin to dwindle and buildings become fields. But I’m not looking at the road. I’m looking at the sky, searching for the living static that gathers above the grapes when they are perfectly ripe. When the black cloud finally appears, I weave through the vineyard, throw her in park, stuff my pockets with plastic and dance my way through a mess of moving wings and beaks. Hours later, bugs filled with ripe fruit, bulge from the bed of my pickup and the birds have disappeared. Tomorrow, I will search again.”
Now, let’s talk about the wine. Screwtop. 13 years old California Paso Robles blend. Stored at somewhat consistent conditions, away from direct sunlight and vibration, but not in the cellar or a wine cooler. Priced at not more than $20 originally (directly from the winery). And yet, one of the very best wines I have ever experienced. A truly memorable one.
I poured the wine in the glass, smelled it, and couldn’t put the glass down. The time slowed down. Sounds practically disappeared. The aroma was magical. And the wine in my mouth was too.
Dreams, smiles, baby laughter, endless meadows, fresh mountain forest air. I know, it sounds like a brain dump, but I don’t want even to try to describe this wine in technical terms – raspberries or blueberries are not important here, what’s important is how the wine makes you feel. Refined, elegant, layered palate, flavors are transitioning and interplaying in total harmony, each sip asking for the next. Am I exaggerating? I don’t know, and it is up to you to believe me or not. But the wine was absolutely stunning and memorable. That I’m completely sure about.
Here you are, my friends. An OTBN experience that will not be easy to beat.
Two amazing wines, an amazing experience, great memories.
I don’t know if I will be able to do better next year, but this is the beauty of wine – the mystery in the bottle.
Until the next time – cheers!
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