Grape Of Corinth, Mildly Annoyed
TASTING NOTES: “The 2024 vintage began with a harsh January freeze, bringing several days of sub-zero temperatures. Despite early concerns, the warm, dry spring weather helped resilient vines recover, with most sites achieving normal yields. Harvest conditions were ideal— mild and consistent—allowing fruit to hang longer and be picked at peak ripeness. Though the season started with uncertainty, it ended with excellent quality and surprising yields, a testament to the resilience of the vines and thoughtful vineyard management.” (AbV 13.9%)
VARIETALS: 100% Cabernet Franc
BARRELS: Not specified.
PAIRS WITH: N/A
THAT REMINDS ME OF: Red currant
Weird fact: the currant on your dessert plate and the currant in “currant bun” have basically nothing to do with each other, botanically speaking. The word traces back to Anglo-Norman French, raisin de Corauntz — literally “grape of Corinth” — referring to a specific tiny dried grape grown around Corinth, Greece, and shipped to England by the ton for centuries. Then sometime in the 1500s, English speakers ran into an unrelated shrub — a Ribes berry, no relation to grapes at all — that looked close enough once dried, and the name just drifted over. No vote, no committee, just enough visual overlap for a whole fruit family to inherit a Greek city’s branding by accident.
So “red currant” is, etymologically, still name-checking Corinth every time somebody says it, four hundred-plus years after the mix-up. I like picturing the original grape somewhere, mildly annoyed that a shrub it’s never met keeps getting credit for its name.
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.
