Your Concierge Team is On-Call
Once again, the dynamic Club Team is on call to assist you with your holiday gifting needs!
Introducing your Club Concierge Team:
Michelle Marsh (left) + Skye Dissette (right)
We're here to help with anything you bring to us! Even recipe ideas for holiday entertaining or deciding what wine will pair best with irksome in-laws.
Need something special shipped to your cousins across country, no problem! We'll even wrap it up in shimmering paper, tie it with a bow, hand write your gift note, and ensure that we ship it to arrive on time.
Trying to come up with a gift that keeps on giving for that special someone who deserves something special all year round...look no further! We'll help you set up a customized gift Wine Club Membership.
Know someone who is already a Fidelitas fan and want to pick out something unique? We'll gladly ponder their wine history to see what their favorites are and dig around in our Library for something comparable or find a Large format they will enjoy.
Did you know that we'll even hand deliver local gifts for you? We pack up the trusty Subaru with cases of wine and find our way to your office to give those hardworking employees of yours a gift they will be sure to enjoy.
We even have something for the novice wine drinker!
Contact your Concierge Team at club@fidelitaswines.com or 509.554.9191
Not planning any holiday giving? That’s okay! Drop us a note just to say hello, it would make our day!
Nov 30, 2017 at 9:17 AM
Permalink
Stacking my Cases for the Season
It’s hard working in the wine industry. Especially during the holidays.
When I arrive at a holiday party, I know the hostess is looking for that special bottle to add to the bar. My hair stylist, nanny, and neighbors, are all a little too excited to see me as the holidays near. Everyone tells me “oh…but you have the good wine” and are secretly hoping that I might gift a bottle. It’s a good problem to have (people like Fidelitas!) but a problem, still.
And so, I’ve gotten good at stacking my case purchases with the right mix of wines for the season. Here is my shopping list this year:
4040 Red Wine and Optu White on hand…always. These are the ones that are nice to have wrapped and ready so I can gift a quick bottle to my daughter’s teachers, or whoever I come across that needs a last minute gift from us. (4040 is available by special request!)
Optu Red Mountain for hostess gifts. This is a crowd pleaser wine. It’ll drink great the night of a holiday party, or will age beautifully if your host decides to cellar it instead of sharing.
A couple of magnums (ESTATE! And probably some Optu) for those on my list who “have it all”. Magnums are always impressive, even for someone with a giant wine collection. They are great at parties, or are amazing additions to anyone’s cellar.
I love to plan ahead and grab a few cases early, so that wine is always on hand and ready to pass out. Of course, I always make sure to grab a couple extra bottles to keep around the house so I can gave a glass in front of the tree!
Nov 27, 2017 at 12:27 PM
Permalink
The Real Winner During the Holidays
As many of you know, Charlie makes one delicious Late Harvest Semillon. If you’re sitting there thinking “What? I had no idea!”, we won’t blame you. This wine rarely makes it onto the tasting bar mainly because we don’t produce a lot of it and love to have it around for special occasions, like the holidays!
Charlie leaves the grapes on the vines longer than you normally would, so that they develop more sugar and become much more concentrated. Look at it this way. Charlie brought in fruit for our dry Semillon on Sunday, September 10th. For our Late Harvest Semillon, he picked the fruit on Tuesday, November 21. Over two months later! I mentioned that we don’t typically pour this in the tasting room because not a lot is produced, roughly 50 cases, but it’s also a little more difficult to produce. Charlie takes a big risk leaving the grapes on the vines that long and the overall winemaking process is more delicate. Therefore, he has only released one vintage, soon to be two!
Why bring it along for the holidays? Our Late Harvest Semillon pairs wonderfully with dessert! A small sip with every bite of that tart or pie is just what you need to end your holiday feasting. It’s also great to sip on with any cheese plate. Trust me, you’ll love it!
Our 2013 vintage is still available on our website or in the tasting rooms.
Everyone at Team Fidelitas hopes you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends!
Nov 22, 2017 at 10:43 AM
Permalink
Thanksgiving Trio: The Perfect Pairing for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is by far one of my favorite holidays and my big task is always bringing the wine to share with my friends and family. Whether it’s’ serving a wine with each course or giving a bottle to a dinner host, these wines are the perfect accompaniment for the holiday season.
2015 Optu White Wine
In my opinion should be taken everywhere this year. It’s the perfect “red wine drinkers white,” a bright and crisp wine to share while putting the final touches on the meal and lastly it pairs beautifully with turkey. The Optu White Wine is balanced and has a great viscosity and mouthfeel. The long finish and balanced acidity are what give the wine is signature characteristics allowing it to be a staple for festive holiday dinners.
2014 Ciel du Cheval Merlot
I wait all year for this wine and every year I make sure to share it during Thanksgiving, my family has begun to ask for it by name. If you’re making the dinner rounds this year, this wine is a great to share with a crowd. If you finished the Optu White before dinner not to worry, the Ciel du Cheval Merlot is a dense and herbaceous wine that grabs all those spices and herbs from the turkey and stuffing. This wine showcases aromas of brown sugar and baking spice with a smooth intake, polished tannins and a lengthy finish. The Ciel du Cheval Merlot is a seamless wine for dinner or even after as you avoid doing those dishes.
2014 Quintessence Cabernet Sauvignon
Dinner wouldn’t be complete at Fidelitas without our favorite varietal, Cabernet Sauvignon. As herbal notes of dried sage lift from the glass we can’t help but make the Quintessence Cabernet a signature wine this time of year. To be honest, I am usually hoarding this wine all to myself, but if you going to a wine lover’s home this wine is sure to be a showstopper. As it aged in French oak, this old-world style Cabernet uses clones 169 and 191. This wine is a gem that shines through the glass and it’s best enjoyed with the main course.
Click here to purchase the Thanksgiving Trio!
Nov 15, 2017 at 11:00 AM
Permalink
Harvest 2017...done!
And just like that, the 2017 harvest is done. The grapes brought in were lovingly turned in to some top notch juice, and are now nestled in to their barrels to rest for a bit. We saw our first fruit of the season, Sauvignon Blanc and then Semillon, come in from Klipsun Vineyard just after Labor Day. Reds started to come in just after that. Mostly from the eastern facing Quintessence Vineyard, but we worked our way west with the sun, and finished up by picking our own Fidelitas Estate Vineyard in mid-October. It is wonderful and challenging to have all of our fruit from the smallest, and warmest, AVA in the state. Everything ripens at about the same time, all vying for space in the cellar. Charlie and his crew worked around the clock to keep things moving along, and just took their first weekend off a few days ago.
A special shout out to Charlie, who just completed his 30th harvest in Washington state. His first winemaking job, fresh out of UC Davis, was at the start of crush in 1988 at Langguth/Saddle Mountain, and he’s never looked back. We have just a handful of winemakers in Washington nowadays who can claim three decades, and I’m proud to be working with one of them. When I asked him about this 2017 harvest, here is what he said:
"This has the potential to be one of my top 5 vintages. Already, the wines are showing great promise, like those in 2009 or 2012. In 2017, we had cooler weather than recent vintages, and longer hang times which really led to the development of flavors. It was a lower crop overall, contributed to the high quality of fruit we brought in. Of course, we still need time to see how they age out, but everyone is blown away by it now." - Charlie Hoppes, Fidelitas Owner + Winemaker
Nov 10, 2017 at 11:10 AM
Permalink
Micro-Blocks of Ciel du Cheval
Long before the place we call home became riddled with award winning vineyards, wineries, and wines; 2 former General Electric engineers turned wine visionaries planted the first Red Mountain vines in 1975. Scott Williams of Kiona and Jim Holmes of Ciel du Cheval. My dad has recognized the quality from CDC for quite some time – our Ciel du Cheval Cabernet which has become a Fidélitas staple was first produced in 2006. But what is it about Ciel that makes it so special? I doubt this blog post will do 42 years of intensive vineyard management justice, and with terroir it seems there’s only so much we can explain – but here is one of my favorite characteristics:
1, 100-acre vineyard – 39 separate blocks. One of the ways that old vineyards become so unique and sought-afer is how different the individual plants become over time. A little different slope here, slighty more sunlight there, even an irrigation pipe that drips water at a faster rate. All these differences cause each of the plants to develop their own personalities – even if 100 acres or so are all the same exact root stock to begin with.
CDC takes it one step further. Making up some 102 total acres here are 36 separate blocks planted with an average size of 2.8 acres. Each one with its own row orientation, plant spacing, training methods, etc… to create individual terroirs at a micro level. The vineyard management is exhausting and would be much easier to farm the 100 acres in a uniform manner, but this small-lot method shows Holmes’ commitment to producing the best fruit possible. The methodology reminds me of our winemaking team which uses all sorts fermentation vessels, yeasts, and barrels to have multiple components to work with for one wine. A bottle of Ciel du Cheval cabernet is way more complicated than it seems.
This strategy was used to combat the homogenous soils of the vineyard. Example of the sandy, well draining, high in calcium carbonate soil on Red Mountain:
Ciel du Cheval in relation to Fidélitas (note the red hue of the “Red” Mountain cheatgrass):
Nov 1, 2017 at 9:08 PM
Permalink