Did you manage to score the Judd’s Hill Founder’s Art Reserve we just ran today? Or the Kairos Vineyard Cab right behind it? From this still family-owned and -run winery comes wine number three, a lip smacking, joyful foodie designed Cabernet Franc. At 53% OFF $95…BBQ’ing, grilling summer time food wine…HELL YES!

Each one of Judd’s Hill wines is special, but the backbone on this one runs through this lovely Cabernet Franc, and it shows.

Judd’s Hill picks this fruit at the very beginning of phenolic ripeness, holding onto every ounce of the grape’s natural character rather than letting it ride longer on the vine. This was especially important for the 2022 vintage, because heat can strip away what we know y’all love about Cabernet Franc, that lovely herbal streak of freshness.

The nose is a whole conversation on its own.. Give this wine about 20 minutes in the glass to let it open up properly. But once it unwinds, your patience will be rewarded. Baking spices, dry marjoram, ripe blueberries and boysenberry. There’s a beautiful undercarriage of wild sage, black raspberry, dark fresh plums and Castelvetrano olives, and a touch of green peppercorns tying it all together. The palate is precise, with generous weight and fine grained tannins keeping everything in check.

Circling back to the foodie wine reference from before, we’re just as serious about our BBQ and grill as we are with our wine missions. You can’t go wrong with a NY strip or ribeye marinated in oregano, rosemary, garlic, and soy sauce (secret), BUT a hanger steak would totally AMP it up.

Fire up a hanger steak. Rub it down with paprika, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and pepper, hit it hard and fast on the grill, and let this one do the rest of the work.

$95 at the winery. $45 here. Three wines, one family, one seriously good day to be shoppin!