Winemaker's Notes:
Tempranillo is my favorite expression of a bold red. Traditional to the Rioja Grand Reserva style, this wine is held in 30% new French oak for 21mo. The fermentation is long and cool to maintain the blue fruit notes. As a result, it opens with a fig and black cherry bouquet with hints of oolong tea and violets. On the palate, this wine is full-bodied with integrated medium-plus acidity. The mouthfeel is balanced, round, and smooth. The flavor profile is a cherry and stone dust blend with notes of oolong tea and mild tobacco.
Vineyard:
Shake Ridge Ranch in the Sierra Foothills AVA of Amador County is a special site to say the least. Food & Wine Magazine named it "1 of 5 iconic California vineyards" in 2024. Ann Kraemer's organic precision farming is a testament to her decades of experience in viticulture. To taste this vineyard is a special treat, which is why it is highlighted across all three wines for the Fall 2026 release.
Cantadora Woman:
When Shilpi Agarwal reflects on her family's story, she often begins long before her own birth. She begins in northern India, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where both of her parents came from modest circumstances and where education became the vehicle that transformed the trajectory of an entire family.
Shilpi’s wine is the 2023 Cantadora “The Advocate” Tempranillo. Her wine is appropriately the wine I’ve studied the most. I began producing it in 2016 with the founding of my commercial wine business and have made it ever since. I have trialed many different fermentation styles to arrive at the crescendo that is the 2023.
This vintage is truly a gift. Of the years I’ve produced wine, I believe this one has the most potential for longevity. That persistence mirrors Shilpi’s life and the lives of her family. Shilpi’s successful advocacy as a lawyer for the ACLU and current legal director for Northern California is a testament to her endurance and determination. The structure, elegance and length on this wine parallels her work and roots.
"My dad grew up originally in a village with no electricity, no plumbing," she recalled. "I've gone back and seen it."
Her father was one of ten surviving children in a large rural family on the outskirts of Lucknow. Resources were scarce, but ambition was not. Through determination and academic excellence, he earned admission to the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, creating opportunities that had seemed unimaginable during his childhood. Her mother was equally determined. In an era when many young women were expected to marry early through arranged marriages, she insisted on continuing her education and pursuing advanced academic work.
"She wanted to get her PhD," Shilpi remembered. "She insisted that she be allowed to continue her education and not get married."
Their courage to challenge expectations would shape the values that defined their daughter's life.
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