It may seem unusual to have a hearty red wine with “Bordeaux” varietals hailing from Friuli, but in fact this is a rather established blend. The main component, Refosco, is native to the northern Italian regions and produces a wine with lively acidity and black fruit notes – all nicely complemented by the tannins, floral characteristics and fruit characteristics of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This blend is often seen in the Veneto, and produces a hearty wine with deep color, hearty body and bold acidity and tannin.

A long growing season that stretches from April to October allows optimum ripening of all three varietals. Both the Cabernet Franc and Merlot hail from the Alisos Vineyard in the Los Alamos Valley, while the Refosco is grown in the Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley. Each was harvested and vinified separately utilizing small open top fermenters and punched down by hand 2-3 times each day to fully extract flavors, tannins and color from each varietal. Upon dryness, the wines were moved to neutral French oak barrels for a year of aging before being blended and returned to barrel. There, they aged to “marry” the three components before being bottled. The wine was then cellared for an additional six months of bottle aging. As before with the wedding wine, the blend is 55% Refosco,