Deep ruby color; black cherry, plum, blackberry, blueberry, redcurrant, pomegranate, chocolate, black tea, licorice, vanilla, violets, juniper on the nose and palate.
Dry; soft tannins and acidity. Medium body. Juicy, red-fruit oriented, straightforward, clean, lean, easy drinker that avoids the more strident elements of a cab. 14% ABV
Made by a certified organic winery. Grapes from winery’s Sanel Valley Vineyard, located in Hopland, the southernmost town in Mendocino County. All grapes are hand-harvested and estate-grown. True organic wine; no added sulfites. Wine is fermented in stainless steel, then aged in French oak. Full malolactic fermentation. Made using the purovino® method which utilizes controlled hyperoxygenation on wine grapes and a CIP (Clean In Place) process of cleaning and sanitizing equipment using ozone-enriched water. After harvest, all grapes are fumigated with a concentration of activated oxygen that induces controlled oxidative stress. 14% ABV
Ettore Biraghi is the master winemaker. The website notes: “Ettore Biraghi brings his Old World Italian winemaking heritage to the New World, crafting wines of finesse and power, elegance and purity.” Biraghi says his focus is a connection to nature in pursuit of exceptional wines with a special affinity for soft, clear, aromatically precise organic wines.
Biraghi was born the son of flower growers in Varese, Italy, a small city northwest of Milan in the Lombardy region. Thus already into farming, he cultivated his love of winemaking as an agronomist in Ticino, Switzerland—less than 70 miles north of his home city in Italy. In 2015, he first visited Mendocino and quickly decided its terroir would be ideal for the production of low-intervention, organic wine. In 2019, he established his winery in the small town of Hopland in Mendocino’s Sanel Valley.
Sofia Rivier is an international agronomist whose career began in Argentina, then moved to Switzerland, then to Mendocino. She was born and raised in Mendoza, Argentina in a wine-centered family. Her grandparents migrated to Argentina from Switzerland to establish a winery that continues in operation today. She earned a degree in agricultural engineering at the Agricultural Sciences College, Cuyo National University in Mendoza.
Although Biraghi’s project is young—this is the first vintage of their cabernet sauvignon—the winery he purchased, located at the foot of Duncan Peak, is more than 100 years old. The estate is planted with 35 acres of certified organic vineyards interspersed with cover crops and local plant species.
Ettore Wine Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendocino 2019 delivers the softer, more amiable side of cabernet sauvignon. Juicy fruit-forward flavors matched with soft tannins and acidity make this a cab folks who shy away from cab can enjoy without trepidation. Cabs typically pair with well-marbled beef, but Signature’s soft tannins suggest leaner cuts; lamb prepared with rosemary and thyme is more harmonious; roasted root vegetables, eggplant parmesan, portobello mushrooms, cauliflower; bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with salty goat cheese or blue cheese. Cheese—aged cheddar, aged gouda, semi-hard sheep’s milk cheeses. $48-55
