Tag: Lodi

This past Tuesday I got up at 4:30am to make the trip to Lodi from Sonoma. I was picking up the Roussanne grapes from Hux Vineyard. I love this vineyard and the owner, Barbara Hueckstead. I have known Barbara now for three years. I first got her Roussanne in 2014. Last year I also sourced her Petit Verdot.

Upon arrival at the vineyard, Leia and Pippin, Barbara’s two vineyard dogs met me in the driveway. Pippin (he’s 15 years old) had a stroke a few weeks earlier. He was moving slow but was getting around pretty well. Leia (she’s 4 years old) and all she wanted to do was play fetch with her frisbee. 😉

The vineyard guys had already started picking. It was barely light outside. Barbara and I chatted about the past year and what was going on in each of our lives. I asked her how the rest of the vineyard was looking. She was very surprised this year. She thought the yields were up more than anticipated. She did have someone back out of some of her fruit and was looking for a buyer. She had a little Teroldego to sell. My ears perked up! I asked how much did she have? She said it would be a little over half ton. She barely got the word half ton out of her mouth when I said I’d take it. The opportunity to make a small amount of an obscure Italian varietal was very appealing to me.

I know some friends who make Teroldego. They source it from Heringer Estates. As soon as I could, I texted Brian and asked if I could buy a bottle of his Teroldego. He said no. He wanted to give me a bottle. 😉 I ended up trading him a bottle of Passaggio 2015 Unoaked Chardonnay for it. I couldn’t wait to open the Teroldego. I invited some friends over for dinner to share it with.

The 2013 West Of Temperance Teroldego shows blackberry, blueberry, cherry, spice, and a slight chocolate note, with nice acidity. It was a great balanced wine and went very well with the grilled sausages and veggies.

I can’t wait to see what I can do with this varietal…

Stay tuned.

Cheers

Cindy