Team Fidelitas Annual Retreat
As our favorite tradition, Team Fidelitas enjoyed two days of education on Red Mountain this week for our annual staff retreat. We trekked the vineyards in 100 degree weather, took an in depth look at the impact of small lot fermintation, toured Inland Desert Nursery...and of course, had lots of fun times and great food and wine in between.
Stay tuned for some of our favorite take-aways!
Jul 27, 2018 at 11:00 AM
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Team Fidelitas Month
Fidelitas is faithful, loyal, and true to our members.
This July, during Team Fidelitas month, we'd like to say THANK YOU for being true to us.
Give us your feedback!
Current members let us know about your experiences as a Fidelitas Club member. TAKE THE SURVEY.
Are you a Fidelitas fan but not a member yet? TAKE THIS SURVEY to let us know how we're doing and what you'd like to see from us.
All survey respondents will receive a code for special pricing on their next order, and be entered into a drawing for a Team Fidelitas swag bag, including a t-shirt, wine opener, and water bottle.
Share the love.
Members invite your friends to join the Fidelitas Wine Club to receive a $25 referral credit and have the added bonus of hanging out with your friends at upcoming summer tastings and events.
Get the look.
We have a limited number of 2018 Team Fidelitas t-shirts and water bottles available!
Not a member yet?
This July, during Team Fidelitas month, we'd like to extend a special invitation to Join the Club. This month, new members will receive:
extra 5% off day of joining purchase | immediate member benefits | club concierge experience | access to Red Mountain’s top wines | Summer in the City party invite + Preview Tasting invite | complimentary tastings
JOIN NOW or learn more by connecting with our Club Concierge Team:
509.554.9191 | club@fidelitaswines.com
Jul 2, 2018 at 1:15 PM
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Weekend Trip to Red Mountain
Whether crossing the country, the mountains, or planning a stay-cation right in your home town here’s your no thought required itinerary for the perfect weekend on Red Mountain!
FRIDAY
Arrive and check into The Lodge at Columbia Point. Use code "CORK" for a special rate. Check in begins at 4pm. Check out their daily happy hour featuring Washington wineries from 5-6:30pm.
Head to dinner at Fiction Restaurant at Bookwalter. You can often catch live music on the patio!
If you’re feeling up for a night cap stop in at Tap + Barrel to pick and choose what you want to sip on from their WineEmotion. They have an amazing selection of wines from Washington, Oregon, California, and beyond. Plus beer, cider, and food available too!
Otherwise, head back to the hotel and get a good night sleep in those comfy beds…you’ll be getting an early start on wine tasting!
SATURDAY
Enjoy the sunrise while drinking coffee on your hotel room balcony and be sure to fill up at the complimentary breakfast bar. Don't skimp on the carbs, you've got a full day of wine tasting on the slopes of Red Mountain!
11:00am start your day with a tour and tasting at Col Solare. Col Solare is a partnership between two influential wine producers who are recognized leaders in their respective regions: Tuscany's Marchesi Antinori and Washington State's Chateau Ste. Michelle. They are my favorite place to start because they give a great lay of the land during their tour and have a view overlooking Red Mountain vineyards.
12:15pm Come see us at Fidelitas! Grab a spot on the patio and relax while taking in the Fidelitas Estate Vineyard. If you let us know ahead of time we can even plan to have a cheese plate ready for you upon arrival. Feel free to do a self-guided tour through the Fidelitas Estate Vineyard (just be courteous of the vines) and don’t forget to check out the magnificent Library!
1:30pm Visit Red Mountain originals at Kiona. The William’s family planted the first vines on Red Mountain in 1975 and their family run winery has one of the best stories around, not to mention great wines from their Estate. My personal favorite is their Old Block Cabernet Sauvignon!
2:45pm Just down the road you will hit Frichette. Owners Greg and Shae are living their dream on Red Mountain and their energy is contagious. Pair that with a great glass of wine and you are set!
4:00pm Cross on over to Anelare. Here is truly one of my favorite experiences in the area! Anelare sits just outside of the AVA borders but has a divine view looking back at Red Mountain. Anelare sources grapes from some of our favorite vineyards including Ciel du Cheval and Boushey and makes an outstanding Syrah. Order up a flatbread and enjoy the view of Red Mountain!
5:15pm Find your way back to Sunset Road to go to Cooper for one last stop. He’s one of the only wineries open until 6pm and will be sure to have a handful of Estate grown wines open for you to taste and a fun and memorable experience.
After all this tasting you are definitely ready for dinner! Head back to the hotel, freshen up, and walk next door for some great eats. Don't forget to take your wine out of the car where it will get hot!
7:30pm Dinner at Budd’s Broiler. Budd's is a premier steakhouse owned by Anthony’s restaurants. Their patio sits alongside the Columbia River and is perfect for catching the sunset. I always order the ‘Steak Oscar’ which is Wagyu top sirloin grilled to your liking and crowned with Dungeness crab, asparagus and bearnaise. I should also mention Budd’s wine list is one of the best in the area! Go ahead, order a glass of bubbles with your appetizers. That’s what Charlie would do!
Walk off your meal with a stroll on the pathway at Columbia Point. This serenity is just what the doctor ordered.
SUNDAY
Take advantage of those hotel room black out curtains and…SLEEP IN! Not into catching extra Z's? Run or walk the path along the Columbia River.
Walk over to Anthony’s for Brunch from 9am-2pm on Sundays. Upon arrival you will be seated with a complimentary fresh fruit plate, warm blueberry coffee cake (to die for), and a glass of bubbles or a mimosa. And that’s all before picking out what you’ll have for breakfast! I recently had the Northwest Dungeness Crab Cake Bowl and was in heaven.
By this point you’ll probably be ready to hit the road. At least you’ll have wine as a memento and reminder of your weekend away on Red Mountain. Cheers!
There's tons more to do in Tri-Cities and surrounding wine regions. For more reccomendations email me!
PRO-TIP: It is always best to book tasting reservations ahead of time. Appointments can be made by visiting a wineries website or giving them a call. You will most certainly get the most bang for your buck if you let wineries know you are headed their way so that they can prepare ahead of time for your visit. I usually plan for about an hour at each winery, or longer if they have a great patio to relax on or if you plan on doing a food and wine pairing. It’s always best to ask the winery how long you should plan for. The wineries listed in this post are no more than 5 minutes drive apart from each other.
Note this is not an inclusive list of all Red Mountain wineries. If you have time, do stop and visit more of our neighbors on Red Mountain! We are blessed to be among so many great wineries.
May 11, 2018 at 7:00 AM
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Party With Us
We’re finally coming into that time of year when things start to get really exciting on Red Mountain, and we have no shortage of events to celebrate all that is great about the wine and region we love. Plan your trip and party with us this spring!
visit the links for tickets and more information
Fidelitas Estate Experience on Red Mountain – April 7 + 21, May 12 + 26, June 2 + 16
Explore the Fidelitas Estate Vineyard that sits outside our Red Mountain Tasting room. Join us at the tasting room as we venture through the vines and make our way to the heart of our vineyard. We will then make our way back to the tasting room and enjoy a seated tasting of 5 wines, all sourced exclusively from Red Mountain.
Fidelitas Roadshow in Portland – April 27
Fidelitas is visiting our neighbors to the south, bringing a wine tasting event to you at Union/Pine in SE Portland. We invite members and friends to mix and mingle with winemaker, Charlie Hoppes, and Team Fidelitas while sipping on our newest releases and enjoying bites from White Pepper. Invite friends to join you at this event to taste Club only wines + the opportunity to receive joining prizes!
Feast of St. Fidelis on Red Mountain – May 4
The Feast of St. Fidelis is a celebration of all things good on Red Mountain. We're kicking off spring on the mountain with our annual event for Fidelitas Club members. Join us for new releases and amazing tacos while taking in the sights of the vineyards.
Spring Winemaker Dinner on Red Mountain – May 5
We are hosting an intimate Winemaker Dinner on Red Mountain to showcase the spring vineyard designated wines, and wonderful foods of The Q Wood Fired Grill. We have just 18 seats available for this paired dinner showcasing Red Mountain, with Fidelitas Owner + Winemaker, Charlie Hoppes.
BBQ + Band on Red Mountain – May 27
An afternoon on the Red Mountain patio with delicious BBQ and lively tunes.
Auction of Washington Wines Vineyard Dinner on Red Mountain – June 1
Take in the sweeping views of Red Mountain and The Yakima Valley while enjoying the highly acclaimed, hand crafted wines by Honorary Vintner, Charlie Hoppes, expertly paired with a memorable meal.
Auction of Washington Wines Wine and Music Festival – June 2
The Auction of Washington Wines is proud to present the 4th Annual Wine & Music Festival in the beautiful Red Mountain AVA area. The Wine & Music Festival will feature live entertainment, tasty appetizers and tastings from 20 Washington wineries.
And we’re just getting started! Check out our events calendar for more summertime fun!
Contact the Fidelitas Club Concierge for trip planning assistance and recommendations:
club@fidelitaswines.com | 509.521.9319
Apr 4, 2018 at 10:52 AM
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Faithful, Loyal, True
The season of love couldn’t be a better time to share the meaning behind our favorite phrase. Fidelitas, which is Latin for “Faithful, Loyal, and True”, is something that we stand behind in everything that we do. Fidelitas is faithful to Bordeaux grape varieties, loyal to modern craft winemaking techniques, and true to Washington State's Red Mountain terroir. Here’s what that means to us:
Fidelitas is faithful to Bordeaux grape varieties.
We source only grape varieties that can be found in the Bordeaux region of France. This includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. For white wines it’s Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon (Muscadelle is also on the white wine list but Fidelitas has yet to produce one). Our choice to be faithful to only Bordeaux grape varieties was simple. The most obvious reason being that Charlie’s favorite grapes to make wine out of are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Did you know that over 90% of Bordeaux wines are red wines made with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon? Also lucky for us, the Red Mountain AVA happens to have the ideal terroir for growing these grapes. Could it be because Red Mountain sits at nearly the same latitude as Bordeaux?
We are loyal to modern craft winemaking techniques.
This is one of my favorite topics to dive into conversation about with Fidelitas fans. What does “modern craft” mean anyway? It means that we take the tried and true winemaking techniques from the past and merge it with modern technology. Prime examples of this are in the numerous types of oak barrels we use for fermenting, or our TCA (cork taint) free corks. Charlie says “to source grapes from Red Mountain means that once they come into the cellar we don’t have to do a lot to them produce great wines, but the fine tuning that we can do with modern technology helps us get one step closer to producing a “perfect bottle of wine”.”
True to Washington State’s Red Mountain terroir.
Red Mountain is quickly becoming known for being the top growing region in Washington and we couldn’t be happier to call it home. The smallest AVA in Washington state, Red Mountain makes up only 4 square miles (4,040 acres) and we source all of our grapes exclusively from here. We're also fortunate to have our 12-acre Estate Vineyard sit right in the middle of the AVA. Because of Charlie’s long-standing relationships with vineyard owners and growers, we’re able to get our hands on some of the most sought-after lots like those from Blackwood Canyon, Quintessence, and Ciel du Cheval. All the wines we produce are a true expression of the AVA and our favorite place to enjoy a glass is sitting on our back patio while watching the sunset over the vineyard.
Feb 14, 2018 at 12:41 PM
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Restock the Cellar
2016 Red Mountain Optu White Wine $125/6-pack (that’s only $20.83/bottle reg. $30)
a perfectly balanced sauvignon blanc and semillon blend
2014 Red Mountain 4040 Red Wine $255/case (that’s only $21.25/bottle reg. $30)
team fidelitas' favorite weeknight wine
2014 Optu Red Mountain SOLD OUT
while inventory lasts! only 20 cases remain of the 'wine that started it all'
Act fast! Prices are good through January 14.
Jan 3, 2018 at 11:54 AM
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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
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The Truth About Limited Release Wines
Often you hear us, and your other favorite wineries, spouting the term “limited release” when debuting a new wine. It’s a common term in this industry where every wine produced is unique. That vintage, those vineyards, the barrels used, and the hard work that goes into each bottle made makes each wine different from one another. That’s what makes collecting wine so fun right? There is quite literally a “limited” number of bottles made of every single wine out there. What that means though, can look different for different wineries.
In larger growing regions such as Napa Valley, for example, it is not uncommon for wineries to make 20,000-30,000 cases of wine annually. A 1,000 case production Cabernet for them would certainly be considered “limited”. Believe it or not, those wineries are still considered “small” according to industry standards. For comparison, Fidelitas produces about 6,000 total cases annually which just kicks us up from “very small” to “small” guys in this big industry.
The wines that we release range between as few as 50 cases, like the very special release of Quintessence Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, to the high end of the spectrum which is about 575 cases of a single wine like our mainstay, Optu Red Mountain.
The point I’m getting to is this: when we say “limited release” we really mean it.
Because of Charlie’s long-standing relationship with growers on Red Mountain we are able to get our hands on some of the most exclusive fruit available. Sometimes that means we only get a couple tons from a certain vineyard block. One example of this is the release of our single varietal wines from Ciel du Cheval Vineyard which will be available to members next month. In the 2014 vintage we produced five wines from Ciel du Cheval Vineyard:
2014 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – 386 cases
2014 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Merlot – 98 cases
2014 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Petit Verdot – 72 cases
2014 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Cabernet Franc – 94 cases (sold out prior to the release)
2014 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Red Wine – 190 cases (sold out prior to the release)
Now let’s factor in the amount needed to fulfill Wine Club Member allocations plus Club Member pre-orders...there’s generally a dangerously low amount left over to sell in our tasting rooms or online. This is a good thing, right? Yes. However, we desperately want you to be able to enjoy the wines from Fidelitas that you are most interested in. The only way to guarantee that you’ll get your hands on the most “limited” wines of Fidelitas is by becoming a member of the Fidelitas Wine Club and putting your name on the pre-order or wait lists.
As Fidelitas grows, our wines are becoming more “limited” than ever. Will you be first in line for the most exclusive Fidelitas wines yet?
Oct 26, 2017 at 10:55 AM
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Our Late Summer Release to Spice Up Grilling Season
It's August which means that while we're excitedly talking about preseason football and back to school, technically we still have over a month of summer left and it’s still too hot to cook inside so my grill is working overtime. For weeks, we’ve been anticipating our late summer release of 2014 The Canyons Vineyard Malbec and it couldn’t have come at a better time as I’ve been needing something new to spice up dinner time. One can only drink so much rosé, am I right? Only kidding…
So, why do we love this Malbec for summer?
It’s has a bold aroma of black cherry and baked blueberries (two favorite summertime scents) which are really pleasing when you go in for that first sip. While it has darker fruit on the nose which would make you expect a big red, the bright fruit and tannins are softer on your pallet providing a smooth feel from start to finish. Sometimes it can be hard to sit down with a big, heavy tannin, Cabernet on a hot day. This Malbec gives you the bold flavor without being heavy. Win win!
When it comes to pairing it with food, bbq is always a go to. Generally, when grilling you are doing marinated meats with lots of flavors of fresh herbs and spices. Malbec works with those flavors without overpowering them. Try out this recipe for Grilled Pork & Plum Kebabs, pour yourself a big glass of The Canyons Vineyard Malbec, and watch the (smoky) summer sunset. Summers sticking around for a while, and the Malbec is here to help you enjoy it to the fullest.
Aug 9, 2017 at 4:16 PM
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Party With Us
We like to think one of the best perks of being a club member at Fidelitas is the invitation to party with us all year long, and we provide no shortage of events that you can set your clock by. When you become a member of the Fidelitas Wine Club you are invited regular celebrations to enjoy your favorite wines with Charlie, Team Fidelitas, and other members like yourself. We have a handful of smaller local events that happen every month but a few big ones that you can count on each year include:
Winemaker Dinner at Anthology in Richland – February
Fidelitas in Portland, OR – April
Feast of St. Fidelis on Red Mountain – May
Fidelitas Suite at Seattle Mariners – June + August
Summer in the City in Seattle – August
Estate Vineyard Dinner on Red Mountain – September
Harvest Party on Red Mountain – October
Pick Six Winemaker Dinner at El Gaucho in Bellevue – November
Holiday Shopping Parties on Red Mountain + Woodinville – December
Fidelitas Roadshow visiting new cities every year
As a perk of your Fidelitas Club Membership you receive exclusive and priority access to these events. Join now to attend Summer in the City this August in Seattle!
Jul 13, 2017 at 1:06 PM
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