Cabernet Franc Misunderstood: Get To Know It December 4!

Cabernet Franc so misunderstood. Once only used as a blending grape doesn’t get much fan fare. In reality it really is the Big Daddy of all grapes!

Cabernet Franc is the father of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Carmenere. Yes he got around during his time! It is one of the blending grapes in Bordeaux wine yet it wasn’t until recently that it’s been brought to the forefront as a stand alone wine.

My Cabernet Franc AHA Moment

When I began on my wine journey I didn’t know much about Cabernet Franc. I tasted it at Whitecliff Vineyards in Gardiner, New York and was wowed! It is during this time of year as Cabernet Franc day is celebrated that I reflect back on the grape and my Aha moment with it.

For me it was the strawberry, black raspberry, plum and dark fruit that finished with an explosion of black pepper. I was in love but didn’t realize the grape was an under-dog. The more wine tasting the more I realized that the grape is used in some percentage in other red blends all around, not just in New York but all over. As you get to know Cabernet Franc, you can pick it out of the blend. It is so much more than a blending grape.

Make sure you taste Cabernet Franc wines produced in different parts of the world. Taste and aroma will vary, some more fruity, some more minerally and some more herbaceous all based on the terroir of the region.

Cabernet Franc Pairing

Cabernet Franc pairs with so much food. Try it with your burger, roasted pork, grilled pork chop, pork belly, meatballs, turkey, lamb, venison, cheese, lentils, beans and more. Such a food friendly wine!

Cabernet Franc Day - December 4

This Friday is Cabernet Franc Day, the day you have no excuse not to try a wine made with the Big Daddy of grapes. Cabernet Franc Day was started by Lori & Michael Budd of Dracaena Wines to celebrate this underdog of grapes.

Every year Lori works her butt off to put together a great program featuring Cabernet Franc and the people that produce the wines. Join us on Twitter and follow the hashtag #CabFrancDay. The conversation begins at 8pm ET / 5pm PT. You can interact with Cabernet Franc lovers and winemakers from all over the world.

World of Cabernet Franc

My aha moment with Cabernet Franc happened very early when I really didn’t know much about the grape. It was straight up, not blended and with a great black pepper zing on the finish that got me hooked! I later learned that Cabernet Franc was used predominately as a blending grape and wondered why, it was great on it’s own. My friend Lori Budd of Dracaena Wines must have thought the same thing because she created Cabernet Franc day on December 4.

Why December 4th you may ask? What does that date hold special? It is said that Cabernet Franc was established in the Libournais region of southwest France in the 17th century when Cardinal Richelieu brough in the cuttings of the vine to the Loire Valley. Cardinal Richelieu passed away on December 4th. On December 4th we celebrate his life and the life of the grape he gave life to.

Lori put a lot of work into Cabernet Franc Day and the climax of the day is spent on twitter from 8pm to 10pm. From 8 to 9 it’s a general discussion on Cabernet Franc and from 9 to 10pm we taste Cabernet Franc wines from around the world.

I was very fortunate to be able to taste Cabernet Franc from Oregon, Western New York and France. Although the same grape, similar tasting profile, yet different.

New York Cabernet Franc

Both New York Wineries I tasted from are on the Niagara Escarpment. Black Willow Winery is a family owned winery located in Burt, New York on the Niagara Wine Trail. Arrowhead Spring Vineyards is located on the Niagara Escarpment in Lockport, New York.

Black Willow Winery Cabernet Franc SRP $19.99 - Unfortunately I couldn’t find a vintage date on this wine. I admit sometime I can overlook things, but I couldn’t find one on the bottle or on their website. The wine had a bit candied black cherry aroma along with some raspberry jam and a touch of black pepper. The wine was a little thin in texture with flavors of blackberry, raspberry,a hint of earth and smoke. As the wine opens there is a soft hint of black pepper spice on the finish. The wine did go well with a chocolate peanut butter brownie as the brownie brought out the berry in the wine.

Arrowhead Springs Vineyard 2015 Cabernet Franc $24.95 - This Cabernet Franc was aged for 24 months in oak. There was a touch of vegetal notes on the nose with some dried herbs, and black fruit. The palate had a hit of green pepper with black cherry, red raspberry and a hint of spice on the finish.

Oregon Cabernet Franc

Leah Jorgensen calls herself the “Pirate Princess and Winemaker at Leah Jorgensen Cellars. She has been in the industry for close to 20 years. She got her start managing a wine shop in Washington DC and went out to Oregon Pinot Camp in 2004 and never looked back. Cabernet Franc was the first wine she made and her signature wine. She provide me three Cabernet Franc’s to taste with one being a white Cab Franc and the first of it’s kind that I have tasted.

Leah Jorgensen Cellars 2017 Cabernet Franc SRP $25 - This wine was aged in neutral French oak barrels with some also in stainless steel. Lots of complex aromas coming from this wine. Cocoa, ripe cherry, blackberries, vanilla, dark chocolate, eucalyptus and hints of earth. The palate saw flavors of black cherries and black currant with a hint of clove and black pepper on the finish

Leah Jorgensen Cellars 2015 “Clos Rogue Valley” Reserve Cabernet Franc SRP$50 - This wine was aged in new French oak barrels and aged for 15 months. Nice aromas of red berry, violet, smoke and cigar box leads to a palate of bright raspberry, plum, black currant and finishes with hints of baking spice. This went really well with hanger steak and truffle potatoes.

Leah Jorgensen Cellars 2017 Blanc de Cabernet SRP $30 - This was the first time I was tasting a white Cabernet Franc. Leah was the first winery outside the Loire Valley to produce a still white wine from Cabernet Franc grapes. The grapes were pressed just after picking and transferred to acacia barrels for fermentation and aging sur-lie. Complex aromas of white flowers, jasmine, touch of minerality and some vegetal notes leads to a palate full of lemon curd, apricot and a touch of green apple. Leah says you can age this wine for up to 10 years. We found the wine went very well with sushi.

Bordeaux, France

Paradise Rescued is located in Cardan, France and is certified Organic by ECOCERT. Founded by David Stannard after he had purchased a vacation home in Cardan in 1992. Years later from a threat of property development, he purchased the surrounding vineyard and began operations in 2010.

Paradise Rescued B1ockOne 2010 Cabernet Franc - This Cabernet Franc was aged in one year old oak barrels for eight months. A nose of dark cherry, green peppercorn and a hint of smoke lead to a palate of dark cherry, red plum, green olive and nutmeg. It’s light on the palate and has a lingering finish of black peppercorn. As the wine opens it begins to show some tart cherry. The wine went very well with Comte and Gruyere cheese.

Cabernet Franc East vs West

Cabernet Franc is one of my favorite grapes. I was first introduced to it as a stand alone varietal at Whitecliff Vineyards way back and immediately fell in love with it. What I liked best was the pepper burst on the finish. Cab Franc as it’s referred to wasn’t always a stand alone varietal wine. The grape is used in blending and is one of the Bordeaux 5 and just in general used as a blending grape with other reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon. Truth be known, it’s Cabernet Sauvignon’s parent along with Sauvignon Blanc. Cab Franc has always lagged behind in the spotlight until Lori Budd from Dracaena Wines created Cabernet Franc Day on December 4th from her love of the grape and she produces a pretty good one too!

Why did she decide of December 4th for such a day? It is believed that in the 17th century Cardinal Richelieu transported cuttings to the St Nicolas de Bourgueil in the Loire Valley from Bordeaux. Cabernet Franc has been thriving in the Loire Valley ever since. Cardinal Richelieu died on December 4, 1642 and Lori chose this date to celebrate the grape because without him we wouldn’t have the grape.

On December 4th I took part in a tasting of Cabernet Franc. I had one from the east coast - Unionville Vineyards 2014 Amwell Ridge Cabernet Franc, New Jersey, and one from the west coast - Acorn Winery 2014 Cabernet Franc, Alegria Vineyards,Russian River Valley,California. You might ask, how could they be so different. East coast and west coast Cabernet Franc are very different, even thought it’s the same wonderful grape. Many things to keep in mind, climate, soil, days of sunshine, and harvest. I usually find California Cabernet Franc more fruity and jubilant than it’s east coast counterpart. East coast or cool weather Cabernet Franc for me tends to be more serious, something you want to smoke a cigar with and it has a wonderful burst of black pepper on the finish. In general, Cabernet Franc is a medium bodied red wine with lower tannin levels than its offspring Cabernet Sauvignon.

It’s not fair to compare east coast, cool climate Cab Franc to the west coast, warmer climate grape. I feel you need to look at each bottle as their own, where you won’t compare your children and love them each for who they are, you have to do the same for each bottle of Cabernet Franc whether from the east coast, west coast or France.

Acorn Winery 2014 Cabernet Franc, Alegria Vineyards, Russian River Valley, California is field blend. Quite honestly this is the first time I have heard of a ‘field blend’ so I asked Betsy and Bill to define that for me. All the grapes for Cabernet Franc are grown in their Alegria Vineyards. The Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat are all grown together, crushed together and cofermented together. There is 93% Cabernet Franc in the bottle along with 2% Malbec, 2% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Tannat. The grapes were all cold soaked for three days and aged in oak for 18 months. The barrel program consist of 73% French oak with 20% of the barrels new, 13% American oak and 14% European oak. There are only 391 cases of this wine produced. Nice aromas from this wine of cranberry, pomegranate, cedar and a hint of allspice. On the palate the wine was full of dark red cherry, blackberrry and mid palate find hints of baking spice and mocha. As the wine opens it becomes more complex an shows a bit of earth. This wine paired really well with Morbier cheese. Very enjoyable! SRP $38

2014 Unionville Vineyards Amwell Ridge Cabernet Franc, New Jersey is my first New Jersey Cabernet Franc. Quite honestly I was surprised on how much I liked it. I am really beginning to see the light in New Jersey Wines (post coming soon) so I was excited that I was sent this bottle to try. My only other experience with cool climate Cab Franc are Virginia and New York and can now add New Jersey to my list! Aromas of dark fruit, plum and cigar box were coming from the glass along with a hint of that green pepper. Personally I am not a big fan of that green pepper in my Cab Franc but this was so subtle and the fruit aromas blended into it, it was a classic aroma of a Cab Franc. On my palate I found plum, red fruit, cranberry black pepper mid palate and a burst of pepper on the finish along with raspberry that lingered. This wine went really well with Sprout Creek Batch 35! Totally impressed with the New Jersey Wine!

Both the above wines were very enjoyable and I was impressed by each of them. As I noted I paired them each with a cheese, they also went very well with dinner of Delmonico steaks sprinkled with truffle dust, sage potatoes au-gratin and roasted cauliflower. Try a Cabernet Franc with you next party or steak dinner.

Kudos to Lori Budd of Dracaena Wine for creating Cabernet Franc Day, rallying the wineries who produce it and making it so successful!

Get Your Cabernet Franc On During Hudson Valley Cabernet Franc Week

This week marks the first Hudson Valley Cabernet Franc week leading up to #CabernetFranc day on December 4. I’ll never forget my first Hudson Valley Cabernet Franc. It was a Whitecliff Cabernet Franc and the year was somewhere around 2003 or so. I was in love. So impressed by the grape and the hint of pepper on the finish. Now fast forward to 2016 and the Hudson Valley declares Cabernet Franc their signature grape, and now Hudson Valley Cabernet Franc Week.

Here are some fun facts about Cabernet Franc:

• Cabernet Franc is the parent of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
• It is one of the 5 grapes in a Bordeaux blend.
• Cabernet Franc is also known as Breton, Véron, Noir dur, Bouchy, Bouchet, Gros Bouchet, Carmenet, Grosse Vidure, Messanges rouge, and Trouchet noir.
• Flavor profile of the grape you can look for expressions of violets, raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, tea, tannins, oak and black pepper.
• December 4th is Cabernet Franc Day where Cabernet Franc is celebrated throughout the world

In celebration of Cabernet Franc the Hudson Valley Cabernet Franc Coalition has organized a week of Cabernet Franc tastings, events and discounts all leading up to December 4th, Cabernet Franc day. Get your Hudson Valley Cab Franc on this week and join me Monday, December 4th from 8pm - 10pm on Twitter where we will be tasting and talking Cabernet Franc from all over the country. Follow the hashtag #CabFrancDay and tell us what Cabernet Franc is in your glass.

Hudson Valley Cabernet Franc Week 2017 by Debbie Gioquindo on Scribd