Fire Sale!

Literally…

More on that later, first the wine. Alexander Valley Cab, 2018 vintage, 24 bucks (!!) after a whopping near 50% off. It’s from a historic winery that neighbors the likes of Silver Oak and Stonestreet, owned by the Wilsons. If the Wilson Reserve Cab we offered a few months ago does not ring any bells, their other acclaimed sister properties such as Mazzocco, Matrix, Pezzi King, Rockpile, etc. will. When we score some of these gems they fly fast.

The wines of the Wilson clan are HUGE in popularity, locally and nationally, stacking best of this, best of that awards year after year since their humble beginnings in the early 1990s. With dozens scoring 90+ points and an impeccable track record of literally hundreds of Gold Medals from competitions, they are unrivaled. This one happens to be too new in the market for accolades, yet.

San Francisco Chronicle raves that “Alexander Valley is known for producing some of the world’s finest Cabernet Sauvignon. Soda Rock follows that trend with consistently award-winning wines.” And continues *“When Ken and Diane Wilson purchased the property that would become Soda Rock Winery, they purchased a precious piece of Alexander Valley history. With a focus on historic preservation, the Wilsons transformed that property into a winery and event site that honors its past while establishing solid roots for the future.”

Light has trouble penetrating the center of the glass while a thin and bright ruby rim glows. The crème de cassis, lead pencil, chocolate, and violet-driven bouquet showcases purity. Concentrated and precise, full-bodied, with currants, licorice, spice-box, and incense hints define the palate. This is a ripe, charming beauty that represents a ‘smoking’ value - pun intended - with a hundred-bucks-long finish. Beyond the usual pairing suspects, this calls for a light on the sugar flourless dark chocolate cake, mmm…

So why a literal “Fire Sale” you may ask, over-and-beyond the INSANE deal it is? Well, this 1869 built, recently renovated property was tragically got caught up in one of the massive wine country wildfires in 2019. Luckily this particular wine is from a smokeless 2018 and was stored elsewhere at the time. Arising from the ashes as a continuum from destruction to reconstruction, Soda Rock today remains a beacon of survival. It takes tremendous courage, positivity, and resilience to reopen for tastings only weeks after devastation, which is exactly what they did!

Here’s an NBC story of this remarkable comeback:

In that spirit, we stand in solidarity and support… don’t miss this monumental Cab!