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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.99
The wine has a deep, rich purple color. Intense red fruits are on the nose, with black pepper spice and a touch of...
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $19.94
12 bottles: $19.54
The bright mirabelle, Amalfi-lemon and white-pepper aromas pour from the glass of this energetic gruner veltliner,...
JS
92
Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $16.36 $18.18
A classic Gruner Veltliner for the notes of lentil, white peach, smoke and milled pepper. Lithe and creamy, this...
WS
90
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.17 $21.30
12 bottles: $17.52
A very ripe, jammy cabernet franc with sweet cherries, baked strawberries and licorice spices. Very rich and fruity...
JS
90
Case only
White
1.0Ltr - Case of 12
Bottle: $8.55
This wine shows a light yellow color with green tints. The wine offers apple and pear fruits on the nose. Dry, fresh,...
White
1.0Ltr
Bottle: $14.30
12 bottles: $14.01
This wine shows a light yellow color with green tints. The wine offers apple and pear fruits on the nose. Dry, fresh,...
White
750ml
Bottle: $12.50
12 bottles: $12.25
This wine shows a light yellow color with green tints. The wine offers apple and pear fruits on the nose. Dry, fresh,...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.44 $21.60
12 bottles: $17.10
This wine has great color, with a dark purple and red hue. There are spicy, earthy aromas of black cherry, black...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $109.93
6 bottles: $107.73
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $28.00
12 bottles: $27.44
The 2016 Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard is medium garnet-purple in color and opens with notions of raspberry tart,...
12 FREE
WA
93
JD
91
White
1.0Ltr
Bottle: $26.95
12 bottles: $26.41
A combination of second press juice from all of the white wine holdings covering the entire four hectares. Because...
12 FREE
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $30.24 $33.60
100% Cabernet Franc from the Ampeleia di Sopra parcels at 450-600 meters above sea level. Vines were planted between...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $15.89 $17.49
12 bottles: $15.83
This is a very successful Zinfandel, blending earth, spice and fruit into a savory, yet thirst-quenching package....
WE
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $28.13
6 bottles: $27.57
A rich wine with layers of raspberry, cherry, and blackberry complemented by vanilla, licorice, and toast....
12 FREE
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $21.35
A lush, full-bodied Zinfandel that blaze dark berry, earth and grassy aromas that complement a rich and complex...
Sale
Red
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.48 $18.40
12 bottles: $14.64
Red
750ml
Bottle: $65.82
12 bottles: $64.50
Once at the winery, the grapes undergo native fermentation with no added sulfites, resulting in a living wine that is...
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $45.36 $50.40
The 2019 Zinfandel Cat's Cradle is similarly hued but has a purer, crisper, more youthful vibe as well as ample plum...
JD
93
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $43.20 $48.00
6 bottles: $34.40
Dark plum and black-cherry flavors show great richness and breadth in this mouth-filling, slightly tannic wine as it...
WE
92
JD
90

Cabernet Franc Gruner Veltliner Mavrodaphne Zinfandel

Cabernet Franc is not simply an important grape varietal for the fact that it is one of the most widely grown strains of vine in the world, but also because it is a vital grape in the production of many of the finest wines the world has ever seen. For centuries in its native France, it has been a varietal synonymous with elegance and high quality, and has become a key fruit in the production of the Bordeaux and Bordeaux-style blended wines which have gone down in history thanks to their magnificent flavors, aromas and levels of aged complexity. However, Cabernet Franc is also a wine grape varietal for use in single variety, unblended wines, and has plenty to offer on its own. Most commonly, it is renowned for its wide bouquet, which often includes fascinating notes of tobacco, violets or bell pepper over a beautifully pale and decadent liquid.

Gruner Veltliner is a pale skinned white wine grape varietal most closely associated with central European countries such as Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In recent years, it has spread somewhat to several New World countries, where it is becoming gradually more popular and regularly seen in wine stores. One of the main attractions of this grape varietal for winemakers is the fact that it is highly versatile, and can be used for the production of several different wine styles, including young, dry white wines, excellent sparkling wines, and it is also a grape varietal which is well suited for aging Gruner Veltliner has the ability to express much of its terroir, and the best examples are generally those which are full of delightfully mineral-rich flavors alongside the more usual notes of citrus fruits and peach.

In the Archaea region, high in the Northern Peloponnese mountains, the predominant grape varietal grown is the prized Mavrodaphne. Meaning 'Black Laurel', the Mavrodaphne grapes have extremely dark skins, and ripen slowly under the Greek sunshine, helped by the mineral rich soils the vines thrive in. This grape varietal is mostly used to produce the opaque, inky fortified wine of the same name, which is popular all over Greece and elsewhere in the world. This fortified wine allows the grapes to really show off their complex and fascinating flavors, which range from a rich marzipan to flavors of bitter chocolate, sweet coffee, dried figs and prunes, as well as plenty of jammy fruit notes.

Mavrodaphne is produced in a traditional method which involves leaving the grape juice exposed to the sun in large vats, before having its fermentation halted by the addition of various distillates taken from previous successful vintages. This mixture contains plenty of residual sugar, which gives the end result its characteristic sticky sweetness, and also helps with the next fermentation process, which typically takes place in large underground cellars. The final product is a heady drink, absolutely bursting with unusual, rich and sweet flavors and carried in a dark and slightly viscous Port-like liquid.

Mavrodaphne grapes are also used for the production of still red wines, but are generally blended with varietals such as Agiorgitiko or imported grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon. Mavrodaphne grapes are excellent for mellowing more acidic varieties, and producing deliciously rounded wines, which have taken the international market by storm in recent decades.

Additional Information on Greek Wines


Greek Wines
Ancient Greek Wines – A Brief History of Wine in Greece
The Myth of Dionysus, Greek God of Wine
What is Retsina?

The precise origins of what became known as the Zinfandel grape variety are uncertain, although it has clear genetic equivalents in both Puglia and Croatia. However, when it was brought to the New World in the mid 19th century, it became known as the Zinfandel, and has been consistently popular and widely grown ever since. These very dark and very round grapes have a remarkably high sugar content, resulting in relatively high levels of alcohol in the wines they are made into, with bottles often displaying as much as fifteen percent. What makes the Zinfandel such an interesting grape, though, is the fact that the flavors produced by this varietal vary considerably depending on the climate they are grown in. In cooler valley regions, the Zinfandel grapes result in wines which hold strong flavors of tart and sweet fruits; raspberry, redcurrant and sweet cherry, held in a very smooth and silky liquid. Conversely, warmer regions result in more complex and spicy notes, including anise, pepper and hedgerow berries.