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Celebrating #CabernetDay on Red Mountain with Fidelitas and Col Solare

Today is the 5th Annual #CabernetDay. 

This is the day wine aficionados around the world buy, drink and tweet about that most famous of red wines, Cabernet Sauvignon.  Today I visited two wineries on Red Mountain, Fidelitas and Col Solare.

Last night I was tweeting after #winechat and saw tweets from @FidelitasWines about a special Cabernet Sauvignon tasting at their Red Mountain tasting room. All that was required to receive a taste of a "special" bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, was to tweet about @FidelitasWines and #CabernetDay and be retweeted. Which I did and was, so today I zipped over to the winery to enjoy some world class Cabernet Sauvignon. Yes I am truly lucky.

Fidelitas Winery - view from Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard.

Plenty of clouds and gentle breezes took the edge off the heat today. Welcoming the beautiful day on Red Mountain was a treat. I asked for permission to wander their Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard to take photos. Always ask friends. Of course I was in for a special and delicious red wine tasting. Winemaker Charlie Hoppes does a spectacular job.

The following wines were sampled at the winery. Including the "special" red wine only available if  you tweeted and were retweeted. I brought my phone to show them.

Chelsea poured fantastic Fidelitas red wines.

 Fidelitas Wines I Tasted:

2012 Fidelitas 4040 Red Blend
54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc 5% Petit Verdot: Lovely wine, just opened and showed well.

2011 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
100% Cabernet Sauvignon: Wine Club members only release. Juicy dry, big finish.

2010 Champoux Cabernet Sauvignon
100% Cabernet Sauvignon: Pretty, lot going on in this one. Just opened and tight.

2010 Ciel Du Cheval Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot: Focused to the finish, very dry.

A special Cabernet Sauvignon for social media mavens.
2009 Block One
100% Champoux Cabernet Sauvignon: Just opened, tight and dry, will be awesome in the evening. You can only taste this wine if you tweet @FidelitasWines and #CabernetDay and then are retweeted.

* Fidelitas Wine Club Shipments will go out at the end of September. Still room for new members. They get the best stuff from Fidelitas and is worth considering if you love amazing wines.

Winemaker Charlie Hoppes has spent the past 20 + years as a leading winemaker for several noted Washington wineries. He was Assistant Winemaker at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, then Head Red Winemaker at Chateau Ste. Michelle's facility at Paterson, where he helped create the premium label for Col Solare's first two vintages. In 1999 Charlie worked to help start Three Rivers Winery in Walla Walla. He created his own label Fidelitas wines in 2000. He my friends, makes wonderful wine.

Fidelitas Tasting Room
Fidelitas on Red Mountain is open 11am to 5pm.
51810 N. Sunset Road, Benton City, WA 99320
www.fidelitaswines.com


The grand steps leading up to the Col Solare tasting room.

Col Solare Visit

I'm a fan of Col Solare winery. They are a Red Mountain winery located only 15 minutes from my home in eastern Washington. Col Solare is a collaboration between Tuscany’s Marchesi Antinori family and Chateau Ste Michelle. They produce only ultra-premium Cabernet Sauvignon based wines. Very cool project. And appropriate to visit on #CabernetDay.

Col Solare vineyard grows right up to the entry of the winery.
Col Solare’s Estate Vineyard was designed and planted according to specifications that Marchesi Antinori uses in its own estate vineyards in Tuscany and Umbria. The orientation, spacing and density were matched with the site to ensure uniform ripening and fruit quality. The view is spectacular too.

The tasting room wine bar is a pleasure to visit and sample amazing red wines.
My visit was unplanned, but the hostesses were inviting and accommodating. I dawdled recounting tales from wine country. It was a fun visit catching up and sharing. The wines were fabulous! You can tell because I did not bother to take any tasting notes. Yep, that good.

2009 Col Solare Red Wine - Cabernet Sauvignon dominant. Love that color.
With the winery at its apex, the vineyard was planted in a radial pattern, like the sun’s rays, which follows the natural contours of the site. Bordeaux varieties and Syrah were sited on the vineyard according to their sensitivity to prevailing wind patterns, and the solar and shade angles during the day. You can see this radial pattern reflected on the label of the Col Solare Component Collection 2009 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon.

Wine of the day - 2009 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Component Collection. Spoil yourself.

Col Solare Winery
Visitors are welcome in small groups, by appointment only.

 Col Solare Winery
50207 Antinori Road
Benton City, WA, USA 99320
phone: 509-588-6806
www.colsolare.com

Now it's your turn. Get out there and try some Cabernet Sauvignon today and any day.

Cheers!
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