Drifting into the Dim
Wine Travel Beyond the Socials
A hush and shimmer fell over much of the Willamette Valley this week in the form of dizzying snowflakes. But as this type of weather event occurs only once or twice each winter, the quiet quickly gave way to streets full of happy, tail wagging labs eating snow and kids pulling each other on sleds (with one brave dad pulling a snowboarding teen by a rope on the back of his pick-up truck), all the while a lone bald eagle soared overhead.
As a Chicagoan, the dusting of snow that paralyzes the Valley is both surprising and comical, but in fairness, the roads can be treacherous, especially in the mountains. I do love watching the PNWers, kids and adults alike, playing in the snow. It’s a joy-inspiring novelty around here. Plus it will be melted before any shoveling needs to be done! This is definitely my kind of winter.
And now, as I write, settling into the dim with the winds swirling and snow drifting, it’s time to uncork something cozy, warming, and red. Any one of the wines noted below would be contenders if they weren’t already gone, but alas, I’ll just have to resign myself to further In My Glass research. The sacrifice. ;-)
But in all seriousness, whether you’re tucked away under the white stuff (inches or feet), or are enjoying a more temperate winter’s evening, this week’s wines will inspire some joy of their own. Cheers!
In My Glass
2020 Tenuta Cucco Barolo "Cerrati" - coming to the USA soon via SoilAir Selections
This should really come as no surprise, but the best wine I’ve had this year is Italian.
Holding strong as my favorite wine of 2025 six weeks in, this 2020 Tenuta Cucco Cerrati Barolo is likely to steal the show regardless of the date. This exquisite, powerful, and austere Barolo is aged for 30 months in Slovenian oak. It’s obviously a young wine, but with a decant of about an hour or so, it shows off its potential with cherries, spice, tobacco and tar, with a notable through-line of minerality. I was instantly smitten, uttering praise with every sip from “oh my god,” to “This. This is what I needed.” You’ll want food with this beauty - truffle or roasted rabbit risotto, game, pasta with meat and tomato based sauces, or even a slow roasted brisket. You could also age this wine another 10 to 15 years and be even more greatly rewarded, but who has patience for that! Immediate gratification.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, there is more to Argentina than Malbec and for my money Cabernet Franc is where it’s at. The minerality distinctive only to these Argentine soils makes for a captivating and arresting pour that’s unique to and indicative of the region. And this DiamAndes nails it with a version that’s fruity, herbaceous, and spicy with a touch of that Cab Franc funk and deep interwoven veins of minerality. It’s assertive, juicy, and damn near as toned, muscular, and sexy as the 2022 World Cup team. Sorry, not sorry - facts are facts. Personal digressions aside, you will want to keep coming back for more, and thankfully, it’s price point is such that you can! Muy guapo. $19
2012 Bocale Montefalco Sagrantino (link to the 2018)
Admittedly, I’m a Sagrantino fanatic. It was my life blood in the summer of 2016 and I was most certainly in need of a quick transfusion. I cannot describe the sense of relief that washed over me when I removed the cork - no faults and it appeared to be in its prime time. With notes of sour cherries and cranberries sitting atop a decidedly tertiary and umami-driven mid-palate of earth, mushrooms, cracked leather, and minerals, this bold, tart red more than satisfied my craving for the rustic side of Italy. Still showing its tannic nature, but without austere aggression, it was well-suited to gluttonous amounts of homemade pizza and equally excessive amounts of HGTV. Exposure Effect. $40
NV Firriato Gaudensius Blanc De Noir from Etna DOC
Bonus bubbles this week, because, well, bubbles always. And in my experience, ordering a sparkling wine from Sicily is a solid bet. This one is derived from Sicily’s native Nerello Mascalese grape and it is a mood enhancer. It fills the mouth with bright, tiny, explosive bubbles, zippy acidity, and wave after wave of intense flavors ranging from red fruit to toasty bread and almonds. It’s got a lot going on and is exactly the lift you need post-work week. Exhale. $30
In the Spotlight
Winery of the Week
Last week I had the opportunity to check out a new winery tucked up high in the Dundee Hills, Late Sky Winery. Husband and wife, Andy and Stephanie are the proprietors alongside Jared Etzel who is an owner and the winemaker. Late Sky is an estate vineyard and winery with 10 acres planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on steep slopes in those renowned volcanic, red Jory soils of the Dundee Hills. The wines on offer are few and intentional. Each year the winery will produce a Late Sky Pinot and Late Sky Chardonnay, and depending on the vintage, each variety can also have a reserve labeling, Late Sky Eclipse. Although early in their production, the vintages available showcase terroir, character, complexity, and a depth of soul. This is definitely a vineyard to get to know, and whose wines are certainly to be explored and kept on your radar.
Now with that said, what you’ll most want to experience is a tasting at Late Sky. It’s an intimate tasting room designed for one group at a time. It’s bright and airy, and will seize your breath the moment you walk through the front door and take in the view from the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. It is perhaps one of the most Oregon views ever with undulating slopes, vineyards, pine forests, and ever-changing skies. Seriously, when you imagine Oregon or the PNW, this view is likely what will conjure in your mind. The four-wine tasting of Late Sky’s current vintages is led by either or both Andy and Stephanie. It’s relaxed, friendly, and approachable, reminiscent of a more boutique European experience where wine is part of the conversation, but not the entire conversation. It’s more of a gathering of peers sharing in wine and company - and if it’s a nice day, maybe a little fresh air on the balcony above the vineyards too.
Wine Region of the Week
The Lake Michigan Shore AVA - which encompasses the Fennville AVA, the 3rd in all of the States - has nearly 80 miles of coastline on the Great Lake of Michigan. This region known for its sloping moraine was created during the Wisconsin Glacial Period, which left behind 42 different soil types, ranging widely in texture, drainage and slope. Most of the vineyard sites are located at elevations above 650 feet with the highest elevations over 900 feet. And although this is indeed a cool climate region, the Lake Michigan Shore actually sees more growing season days than Burgundy and Alsace in France and more than all of Germany, with the average growing season temperatures around 80F. The reason for this? The “lake effect.” As harvest approaches, Lake Michigan lends the heat it accumulated during the summer months to the region and extends the growing season to allow for full maturation of vinifera varieties. The Lake also moderates the winter temperatures throughout the region, ensuring the grapes that typically can’t survive Midwest winters are able to thrive here. That said, harsh winters can still be a reality and present a danger to the vines. Vintage variations are definitely common. As for the wines, you’ll find everything from Chardonnay to Cabernet Sauvignon and from Riesling to Pinot Noir. The wines are typical of cool climates with fruit-forward aromas and flavors, higher acidity and most are exceptionally food friendly.
In Depth
Nine years ago, I spent the better part of a year living with my family abroad. It was our sabbatical year. That summer, we rented a remote (and unbeknownst to us, haunted) farmhouse overlooking a vineyard with the lights of Montefalco visible in the distance at night. Some bad juju and scorpions aside, I fell in love with the Umbrian countryside, its people, and even more so with Sagrantino. Sagrantino, a bold Italian wine has held a spot in my top 5 favorite red wines since those distant summer days living under the Umbrian sun.
Sagrantino is a big, tannic red found primarily in the Umbria region of central Italy, and most notably in the village of Montefalco. Montefalco is perched on a panoramic hilltop and delights with both simplicity and hospitality. I spent many afternoons that summer sampling the local wines, dining al fresco at the trattorias and osterias tucked in the town’s winding streets, and enjoying a good amount of Sagrantino with our Dutch neighbors on the veranda. Now it might seem an odd choice to indulge in a full-bodied red when the temperatures were exceeding 90-degrees, but love has been known to make even the wisest of us do foolish things. And by the end of that summer, I’m fairly certain Sagrantino and I became synonymous - which considering that it has some of the highest levels of antioxidants in wine, I’m considering a win.
Now, I will warn you, Sagrantino is often described as one of Italy’s most tannic varieties, particularly in its youth. If you’re not prepared, that first sip might smack you across the face, particularly if it’s straight from the barrel, or a shiner from a recent harvest. But I can attest, you’ll find more modern styles being made incredibly approachable, and the well-crafted, aged versions, well, in my opinion they are an experience to be relished (again and again). As mentioned, Sagrantino is the specialty of Montefalco, with Sagrantino di Montefalco receiving DOCG status in the 1990s. Around 90 percent of worldwide plantings are found here in the region’s calcareous clay, sand, alluvial, and limestone soils between 720 and 1,500 feet above sea level.
As a grape, Sagrantino is late ripening, with small, black and thick skinned berries. As previously noted, it’s high in antioxidants, but also anthocyanins lending to deep color in both the grape and resulting wines. As a wine, it’s distinctively tannic, but also boasts a good deal of acidity. The flavor profile ranges from cranberries and black cherries to ripe blackberries and plums, with many spicy and earthy notes including brushy garden herbs, black tea, black olives, pepper, minerality, leather, truffle/mushroom, and anise for a character that is both sweet and savory and can be exceedingly complex. The appellation requires Sagrantino must be aged for a minimum of 37 months, of which 12 must be in oak and another four in bottle prior to release. In my opinion, it’s best after at least five to 10 years of age, but well-made (and stored) bottlings can last decades. Umbria is a beckoning region and its Sagrantino is a wine to know - it just might seduce you too.
In the News
You may recall my Cabernet Franc adventures this past spring in Livermore, California. The Livermore Valley wine region is located just 35 miles and less than an hour east of San Francisco and how to around 50 wineries. Well, this is hot off the press:
Livermore Valley Wine Region’s winemakers and growers just announced Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc as the region’s official, signature varietals.
Sauvignon Blanc traces its roots in the region back to Concannon Vineyard. In 1882, Charles Wetmore planted cuttings of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon from Chateau d'Yquem in his Cresta Blanca Vineyard. Wine from these grapes won the Grand Prize at the 1889 Paris Expo, becoming the first American wine ever to win a prize in France. Cabernet Franc was also planted in the Livermore Valley in the 1880s and has since become one of the region’s best loved red varieties. More recently, in 2022 a UC Davis report found that Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc are two grapes that are poised for successful growth in the region based on its climate, soils and irrigation water.
In the Know
Snow in vineyards can have a positive effect on the health of the vines. In cold, windy regions, snow can serve as a shield against bitter and harmful winter temperatures and drying winds, helping to prevent vine death and the loss of moisture from the vines. It can also act as a sort of disinfectant, ridding the vines of unwanted diseases, pests, and aiding in the healing of wounds to the vine. That said, heavy snow on young vines and melting and refreezing of snow can cause cracks and breakage. And of course, too bitter of temperatures is also cause for concern, as is snow and frost too late in the season when the vines have begun to bud. But for now, as we’re in the midst of the vine’s winter dormancy, that fresh blanket of snow is probably keeping those roots warm and hydrated.
Go MI Shoreline!
Thanks for the Livermore Valley shoutout, Kristy! Cab Franc for the win!