Gold Bells, No City
TASTING NOTES: “The wine has a delicate pale straw color which shimmers brightly in the glass. The nose has classic Sauvignon Blanc notes of lime, lemon, and grass but they are quickly replaced by star jasmine, orange rind and grapefruit. In the mouth this wine is both tart and rich. Think lemon meringue pie with a touch of ginger in the crust. A perfect pairing with arugula salad or yellowtail sushi with avocado.” (AbV 13.70%, pH 3.05)
VARIETALS: 75% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Semillon
BARRELS: 8 1/2 mo. French oak (25% new)
PAIRS WITH: N/A
THAT REMINDS ME OF: Quivira.
Before it was a winery, Quivira was a rumor — one of the most expensive rumors in history. In 1541, Francisco Vázquez de Coronado marched an army across what’s now the American Southwest and into the Great Plains chasing reports of a city called Quivira, supposedly paved in gold, ruled by a king who napped under a tree hung with little gold bells. He had a guide for this, a Plains Native man the Spanish nicknamed “El Turco,” who led the expedition for months through Texas and Kansas toward a payoff that never showed up.
What Coronado actually found, somewhere near the Kansas-Nebraska border, was a Wichita settlement — real people, real villages, thatched houses, farmed fields — and zero gold. El Turco was executed for the deception, though historians still argue about whether he was lying to save his own people from a Spanish army or just telling Coronado what he wanted to hear until they wandered far enough to give up. Either way, “Quivira” spent the next few centuries as shorthand on European maps for a fabulously wealthy kingdom that existed mostly because everyone really wanted it to.
PRODUCER PODCAST: Quivira Alder Grove Sauvignon Blanc (0:57)
ICYMI, you have two choices:
Worried Summer heat might get to your wine before your wine gets to you? Order from the sale linked here, and we’ll get it to you at a cooler time of year !
Want it shipped now? Every package during the summer will have protected temp control ground shipping for much of the country that takes longer but will ensure safe delivery. Expect up to two weeks for delivery. Now through the September 12th offer.
