It’s a bit unusual to craft a Port-style wine from Cabernet Franc, but Bill Ammons pulls it off for this Italian-themed sister project of Silver Lake Winery in Woodinville, Wash. The fruit comes from Roza Hills and makes for a distinctive nose of raspberry and raspberry leaf, dried cherry, blueberry, Western serviceberry and hint of dolmas. It’s a smooth drink of rich cocoa, creamy blueberry and Chukar Cherry. There’s balance of both alcohol and tannin, and it finishes at 10% residual sugar with notes of Raisinets and a pinch of leaf. Suggested pairings include bubbling cherry pie.
Rating: Recommended
Production: 205 cases
Alcohol: 19.5%
How do you open the bottle? There is some kind of waxy cover over the cap/cork and I can’t figure out how to get it off.
Thanks.
Greetings, Mary.
Take a wine key that looks like this …
https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-open-a-bottle-of-wine-using-a-wine-key-corkscrew-55094
and simply screw it straight down through the middle of the wax top, as if the wax was not there.
Pull up slowly on the cork. That will begin to crack the seal, and the disk of wax will probably be stuck to the top of the cork. After you pull the cork all the way out, simply peel off the wax – both from the cork and the top of the bottle.
If you have hazelnuts and/or a wedge of blue cheese handy (stinky Stilton is the best), then you should soon feel as if you are in heaven.
Sincerely,
Eric