Let's Get Tasting!
Congratulations, you've received your wine! Be sure to remove the outer packaging sleeve on your box and trim on the dotted-line to reveal your Holiday Reds tasting mat.
When you are ready for your tasting experience, you can access the virtual tasting videos, as well as additional wine details, below.
VIRTUAL TASTING VIDEOS LAUNCHING 12/4!
holiday reds tasting No.1
Max
Details
Producer: Tinedo
Region: La Mancha, Spain
Grapes: 85% Tempranillo, 10% Syrah, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
Tasting Notes
A more complex wine from La Mancha with persisitent notes of strawberry jam and wild flower. The palate adds a touch of balsamic and licorice to the red fruits and blends some dark cherry into that strawberry jam note.
Pairing Recommendations
Steak au poivre, Teppanyaki, roast beef sandos
Interesting Fact
The Foraster family has had documented vineyards in Spain since 1828. During the Spanish Civil War in 1939 a large part of the vineyard was lost to the destruction of war - but starting in 1960 all that once was lost was receovered. By 1970 the estate was focusing on agricultral livestock and growing the grapes for the local collective, helping other recovering wineries get grapes at affordable prices and from sustainable sources. In 1998 the cellar was born and the first vintage of wine harvested for their own production. The next year, in 1999, Josep Maria Foraster Civit - the man who worked so hard to restore the estate and develop a cellar, passed away. Now his sister and son run the winery and continue on the vision of the patriarch.
holiday reds tasting no.2
Els Nanos
Details
Vintage: 2020
Producer: Josep Foraster
Region: Catalunya, Spain
Grapes: 70% Tempranillo, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Trepat
Tasting Notes
A fruit bomb that packs a little punch. A huge nose of cherry, blackberry and currant explodes into the palate with bramble and purple flowers dominating. A touch of grip and a fruity finish.
Pairing Recommendations
grilled burgers, pasta with lemon and ricotta, bacon and eggs
Interesting Fact
The Foraster family has had documented vineyards in Spain since 1828. During the Spanish Civil War in 1939 a large part of the vineyard was lost to the destruction of war - but starting in 1960 all that once was lost was recovered. By 1970 the estate was focusing on agricultral livestock and growing the grapes for the local collective, helping other recovering wineries get grapes at affordable prices and from sustainable sources. In 1998 the cellar was born and the first vintage of wine harvested for their own production. The next year, in 1999, Josep Maria Foraster Civit - the man who worked so hard to restore the estate and develop a cellar, passed away. Now his sister and son run the winery and continue on the vision of the patriarch.
holiday reds tasting no.3
Montetoro Joven
Details
Producer: Ramon Ramos
Region: Toro, Spain
Grapes: Tinta de Toro (tempranillo)
Tasting Notes
Aromatic in the glass with blackberry and other wild black fruits. The palate adds on a layer of cassis and sweet fruits almost reminiscent of blueberry syrup with a touch of black pepper. Intense finish of fruit leather and sweet, cherry scented pipe tobacco.
Pairing Recommendation
Chorizo burritos, beans and sausage, molten lava cakes
Interesting Fact
The Tempranillo here, called Tinta de Toro, has slightly mutated to survive the heat and altitude. A longer vegetative cycle, a more indented leaf and thicker berry skins all help the grapes ripen in time and also provide more Phenolics so the wines are more intense and vibrant!
holiday reds tasting no.4
Estola Gran Reserva
Details
Producer: Bodegas Ayuso
Region: Bodegas Ayuso, Spain
Grapes: Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon
Tasting Notes
Earthy vanilla and ripe blackberry and plum are framed by cigar box like space and sweet hints of toffee and nutmeg. At almost a decade old, this true Reserva wine drinks with complexity and grace.
Pairing Recommendations
crock pot roasts, mature cheeses, mole sauces
Interesting Fact
When, in 1947, FermÃn Ayuso Roig decided to found his own winery in Villarrobledo, an ideal location due to its climate and soil, he began a family tradition in vine-growing and wine-making that has made Bodegas Ayuso a reference of the highest quality and solidity in the market. In 1961, the winery began the commercialization of bottled wine after setting up cellars with Bordeaux-type oak barrels, which would become the first ageing facility in the region
holiday reds tasting no.5
Petit Sao Rouge
Details
Producer: Mas Blanche i Jove
Region: Costeres de Segre, Spain
Grapes: 50% Tempranillo, 30% Grenache, 20% Cabernet
Tasting Notes
A fun nose full of strawberry and cherry aromas and hints of violet, almost like adult Kool-Aid. Clean fruit flavors on the palate with red berries leading the pack and light floral notes playing in the background. More body than you would think from the nose, but enough acidity to balance it out and make for an easy to drink elegant wine with substantial length!
Pairing Recommendations
Pasta with any sauce, cold cut sandos, tacos with mango salsa
Interesting Fact
The entire DO is sustainable at a minimum and even goes as far to have it's own Sustainability Program aimed at continual improvement with the best resources we have today without compromising those of tomorrow.
Holiday reds tasting no.6
Volats Priorat
Details
Producer: Coca i Fito
Region: Priorat, Spain
Grapes: 50% Grenache, 35% Carignan, 10% Syrah, 5% Cabernet
Tasting Notes
Made by a female winemaker, and crafted with a lot of finesse, the silky tannins of the wine are wrapped around a core of bright red currant fruit and cherry cordial flavors. Pomegranate, spiced toffee and and even a touch of mandarin orange frame the finish. 12 months in a combination of French and American oak lends subtle spice and tames the tannins.
Pairing Recommendation
Red wine paella, ribs, tart fruit salads
Interesting Fact
Carthusian Monks tended the vines here for almost 700 years from 1163 when they formed the Cartoxia s'Escaladei Priory until 1835 when lands were claimed by the state and redistributed. Escaladei means "ladder to god" in Latin.
