New Jersey Cab Franc

 

Cabernet Franc is still perhaps best known for its blending partners, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in Bordeaux-style blends. This is unfortunate, as Cab Franc is WORTHY on its own merits. In fact, it is the genetic parent (not child) of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc combined to make the more famous Cabernet Sauvignon. If you have not tried Cabernet Franc, you are missing a truly great red wine. It is a natural for New Jersey. One of the reasons it does so well in New Jersey (and is therefore grown more widely than Cabernet Sauvignon) is that it ripens earlier, which allows it to thrive in cooler climates, such as our Garden State.

Cab Franc is generally a medium-bodied red (less full-bodied than Cab Sauvignon) with more acidity than its child. Since acidity is one of the factors which contribute to making a wine compatible with food, Cab Franc will pair with a host of wonderful foods. While it will also pair well with a good steak, it can elegantly pair with roast chicken or even a hearty fish dinner. Cab Franc is also a little lighter in the alcohol department than Cabernet Sauvignon.

If you want to know more about Cabernet Franc, I strongly recommend you visit Lori Budd’s site. I had the good fortune to meet her last year at a Port-style tasting at Old York Cellars. Not only is Lori an award-winning blogger, she and her husband, Mike, own a winery in the Paso Robles region of California, where they produce award-winning Cabernet Franc and (more recently) a Rose made from Cab Franc. Enough said. Lori’s website is dracaenawines.com.

A Few of My Recent Favorite New Jersey Cab Franc wines (in no particular order):

• Beneduce Vineyards 2014 Cabernet Franc-A Gold Medal and 93 Point rating from the Beverage Tasting Institute (BTI)
• Hawk Haven Vineyard 2016 Signature Series Cabernet Franc (pictured above)-This awesome wine received a 90 Point rating from James Suckling. An earlier vintage put this winery on the map for me several years ago. The tradition continues with this one.
• Alba Vineyard & Winery Heritage 2014 (Cab Franc pictured above)-An amazing Cab Franc with notes of cherry and cocoa, great structure and balance. This one won four medals including a Gold Medal at the 2016 Taster’s Guild International Competition.
• Working Dog Winery Cab Franc-One of my favorites here; it is their signature wine and a very good one.
• DiMatteo Vineyards Cabernet Franc (unsure of vintage, perhaps a NV)-a very good Cab Franc; light-bodied with black cherry notes
• Iron Plow Vineyards Cabernet Franc-My favorite wine made here; worth the trip to enjoy one of these on their deck and listening to some great acoustic music.
• Cedar Rose Vineyards 2016 Cabernet Franc-A very good version; nicely oaked, good acidity, smooth tannins.
• Ventimiglia Vineyard Cabernet Franc New Jersey-Not estate grown, but made from NJ grapes and made at the winery into a memorable Cab Franc; full-bodied, delicious.
• Sky Acres*-Their winemaking process results in a deeper, darker color and taste, with a fuller body than most Cab Francs. A real treat! Their Cab Franc NJ won a Gold Medal at the 2017 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. For more about their unique winemaking process click on the link for an earlier post here: https://wp.me/p74VSa-6l
• White Horse Winery 2015 Cabernet Franc Reserve* – Full-bodied, smooth tannins; lush.

*Note: White Horse Winery Cab Franc was not made with their estate-grown grapes or New Jersey grapes. Therefore it cannot be considered a NJ wine. When I sampled the Sky Acres Cabernet Franc it was about two years ago. I believe it was made with Californian grapes, but it may have been sourced from other NJ wineries/growers. Sky Acres Winery now makes a Cabernet Franc NJ 2016 and a Cabernet Franc American 2016. I included both of these winery Cab Francs because these wines were made in NJ and are just damn good!

There are other NJ wineries making Cabernet Franc and they are all worth checking out. The above list is my current list of favorites. All of them have been tasted fairly recently except Ventimiglia and Sky Acres (which I aim to remedy in the very near future).

Cheers!

Wine lovers: Valentine’s Day is almost here. Not too late to order your copy of New Jersey Uncorked: A Snob-Free Taste of NJ Wine, but the $5 off coupon will expire very soon at store.bookbaby.com/book/New-Jersey-Uncorked. Be sure to use the coupon code: 2019Special

Don’t forget you can also treat yourself to an instant download of the ebook at Apple on their iBooks app for $12.99.

Coming Attractions

• Westville Brewery – One of my occasional detours from the wine trails of NJ to other NJ beverages of interest
• NJ Chardonnay
• Unique NJ Winery Entertainment
• Super Premium NJ Wines

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