Best of Class & Double Gold, Michigan Wine Competition
The Solera Cream Sherry has a brilliant amber and deep copper hue. With butterscotch and pecan aromas, the sweet salted nut and brown spice aromas carry a complex caramel accent. A sweet entry leads to a rounded, lush, moderately full-bodied palate with a lengthy, flavorful finish. Very well done. Solera Cream Sherry has garnered more awards than any other in our wineryās history.
Deep, saturated ruby red hue. Currant, raisin, caramel, and chocolaty aromas. A rich, ripe entry leads to a moderately full-bodied palate and a slightly sweet finish with good depth of fruit and balanced acidity. Fruit is integrated well with elegant grape brandy.
Winery: St. Julian Winery
Owners: David R. Braganini
Founded: 1921
Location: Paw Paw, MI
St. Julian Winery is a family-owned and operated company. Grapes coming from the heart of one of the oldest and best grape growing regions highlight our best growers on the best soil and in the best locations in Michigan to produce the highest quality wines possible. Our combination of tradition and technique have helped make St. Julian Michiganās oldest, largest, and most awarded winery. We invite you to visit one our tasting rooms one of our tasting room locations or visit us at the Main winery in Paw Paw the next time you visit Michigan to experience our āItalian Roots ā Michigan Soilā.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OR, PA, RI, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
St. Julian Dessert Wine
6 bottles for $49.99 $8.33/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $89.99 $7.50/bottle + $1/bottle shipping Solera Cream Sherry Cathermans Port
So this is kind of funā¦ I am a past Rat, but not a Rat on this one, however I happen to have a bottle of the Solera open right now. We do a multi-course Christmas dinner each year and I went to three different stores because THIS is the sherry that I wanted to finish Anthony Bourdainās mushroom soup recipe. We used Michigan morel mushrooms in the soup, so we wanted to match the quality and the locale in the sherry. It was a huge hit. This is a beautiful sherry: rose-gold in color with toasted pecan and dried fruit on the the nose, it is full and rich on the front. The sugars are well-balanced and have significant honey notes. Since I had the opportunity (excuse) to taste it with a few things tonight, I found that when paired with a mild cheese like Midnight Moon goat cheese, the honey notes really came forward. When paired with a sweeter food, like ice cream or chocolate, the hazelnut notes were prominent. Picking up on the hazelnuts, I decided to try it with Nutella and that was pretty smashing. The finish is lengthy and has just a hint of bitterness which cleans up the sugars and you are left with the lingering notes of the Niagra grape. There is a little bit of the original batch in every bottle and you can taste the history. This sherry is a great deal at list price and at Casemates pricing, it is a steal. I donāt have a bottle of the port right now, so I canāt give tasting notes, but from past experience it is equally enjoyable. (And the chambourcin is an underrated grape - not one you usually find in a port.) Donāt let the low price fool you, this case is definitely worth your time.
This is one where I would probably be pulling the trigger if FedEx was still in the picture. I have enjoyed previous orders of St. Julian wines from WW and even visited the tasting room while vacationing in MI a few years back.
I enjoyed the cream sherry in the tasting room although did not try the port. I tasted (and bought) a different dessert wine, the āPolar Vortexā. I am interested but not interested enough to make the extra effort required to pick this up from a UPS hub.
@chipgreen I agree. Iām about done with these UPS driversā¦boxes broken open, missed deliveries (and we were home on BOTH occasions) and Iāve requested text alerts multiple times to no avail. We really miss our āhighly trainedā (by us) Fedx driver!
In reference to the voting, my comment is, that Iād like to see more Sherry (inclusive) offered.
Also have a question for the winery, if they are on here today, and that is, What year(s) of grapes does this Port comprise of?
I used to live in Grand Rapids in the 80ās going to Paw Paw during wine festival was an experienceā¦lot of people then, canāt imagine what it would be like now.
@winecaseaholic
I spent a fair bit of time in the Paw Paw area (Three Mile Lake) as a kid. St Julian was the first winery I ever visited. I was about 7, I think.
@NotSwank Again, welcome. Youāre now official, with your own grape badge so others will know who you are.
Some here are a bit geeky. Any other interesting insights for these or your vineyards you could chat about?
@rjquillin thanks! Our Port and Sherry are excellent! Solera Cream Sherry is our most awarded product, itās won the Jefferson Cup a handful of times and countless Gold / Double Gold awards. The three tiered system provides for excellent creaminess and constancy year over year. Fun fact this is the only product not housed in Paw Paw, the 3 barrel system is housed in our Frankenmuth location and can be toured their as well!
The Cathermanās Port is named after Chas Catherman, a former Winemaker here and still friend of the Family! Itās a excellent Ruby Red port with a perfect balance of sweet and fortification! I personally love using it in a meatball sauce!
@rjquillin also we pride ourselves in being Pure Michigan. We have our own estate vineyard and contract growers within a 45 mile radius of the winery so the fruit we use is locally grown! Our winemaking team has a close relationship with all our growers and we work with them to provide the best quality fruit as well as experimenting with new varietals.
Weāre long time members of the St J wine club, and can heartily endorse both the Sherry and the Port- especially at the huge case savings.
We added a bottle of each of these to our last shipment from them as weāve found that they are always nice to have on hand and youāll never feel guilty about opening one up for a glass or two. (if no more rats soon, Iāll open a bottle of your popular vote choice after work).
Very glad to see our midwestern vintners on Casemates!
So i am totally new to sherry. Can anyone help me out on what i might pair it with? It is just a dessert thing?
And any San Diego interest? Even the 6-pack looks too voluminous for my personal consumption. But iām happy to get a sixer or a case local to split out.
@radiolysis I love sherry, especially Amontillado, and feel it is underappreciated, high QPR wine. It is a bit idiosyncratic, however, and seems poorly understood by even highly experienced wine drinkers. Most sherry isnāt sweet, for example, but is very strong, so when do you drink it? Chilled as an aperitif (which is commonly recommended)?
I personally prefer dark, dry sherries and drink them after dinner in lieu of a sweeter dessert wine, but you can do whatever you want, of course. Hopefully this helps.
@radiolysis
sorry too far away
Iād have preferred a 4 pack but found a splitter at work who is willing to take 2 of the ports as Iām in port overflow right now.
@Cerridwyn@radiolysis Same problem here; drowning in ports and light on sherry.
Iāll gladly accept two sherry and a port, and perhaps raise you a Riesling.
Totally agree with the comment above that Iād love to see more sherry. Iām most interested in ātrueā sherry from Jerez (especially Amontillado) but will consider any and all options.
Coincidentally I bought a bottle of this port a few weeks ago. We drink a fair amount of port here to get through Upper Peninsula winter. Upon pop-n-pour, I was dismayed - out of balance, much too much alcohol heat. Tried it the next day and it was quite good, even better the following. So I think it really needs to breathe, but when it does, it is tasty indeed. And the case price is just over half what I paid for that first bottle.
Thankfully I can pass on this, as Sherry wonāt go into much of anything in my house except cooking. If this was icewines and related we might be in trouble.
To preface all of this, I do need to say I will typically avoid dessert wines, and donāt have a lot of experience with them. Even with a tasting pairing, Iām the person thatāll ask for something floral or minerality with dessert to avoid the raisin bomb port at the end of a meal.
I appreciate having chance to try something new though, and these were both interesting. Sampled both in a small amount without any food.
Overall, I like the sherry a lot more than the port to be honest. I think that the winery provided description is accurate - toasted nuts are at the forefront for me, especially pecan. As I drink more of it the burnt caramel comes out more, which gives it just a little hint of bitterness thatās enjoyable to balance out the sweetness. Some of the so so sherry Iāve had before comes out very hot and boozy, and this is very smooth. I donāt know that itās converted me to dessert wine, but itās much better than I expected, and I can easily imagine someone who likes sherry enjoying this particular one.
The port is sweet. I had a harder time with this one. It isnāt as raisiny as some that Iāve had, a little more balanced with some other darker fruit like cherry. Leans more to caramel and currant instead of raisin and chocolate. Lighter in the mouth than I expected, nothing syrupy about the wine. The heat lingers on the tongue a bit, but it doesnāt give me that cough medicine coating the mouth feeling like other port I have not enjoyed. Iād really rather be enjoying this with a cigar than having it by itself, unlike the sherry, which I can imagine enjoying after a meal, or especially with some cheese.
Sounds really interesting. I like port but donāt often drink it. Sherry is new to me, so looking forward to that the most I think. In for a half case:
/giphy herbivorous-gnarly-club
Solera Cream Sherry, 500ml
Tasting Notes
Best of Class & Double Gold, Michigan Wine Competition
Specs
Cathermans Port, 500ml
Tasting Notes
Silver, Michigan Wine Competition
Specs
Included in the Box
Price Comparison
$192.40 for a Case of 6 of each at St. Julian Winery
About The Winery
Winery: St. Julian Winery
Owners: David R. Braganini
Founded: 1921
Location: Paw Paw, MI
St. Julian Winery is a family-owned and operated company. Grapes coming from the heart of one of the oldest and best grape growing regions highlight our best growers on the best soil and in the best locations in Michigan to produce the highest quality wines possible. Our combination of tradition and technique have helped make St. Julian Michiganās oldest, largest, and most awarded winery. We invite you to visit one our tasting rooms one of our tasting room locations or visit us at the Main winery in Paw Paw the next time you visit Michigan to experience our āItalian Roots ā Michigan Soilā.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OR, PA, RI, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Thursday, January 30th - Monday, February 3rd
St. Julian Dessert Wine
6 bottles for $49.99 $8.33/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $89.99 $7.50/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
Solera Cream Sherry
Cathermans Port
So this is kind of funā¦ I am a past Rat, but not a Rat on this one, however I happen to have a bottle of the Solera open right now. We do a multi-course Christmas dinner each year and I went to three different stores because THIS is the sherry that I wanted to finish Anthony Bourdainās mushroom soup recipe. We used Michigan morel mushrooms in the soup, so we wanted to match the quality and the locale in the sherry. It was a huge hit. This is a beautiful sherry: rose-gold in color with toasted pecan and dried fruit on the the nose, it is full and rich on the front. The sugars are well-balanced and have significant honey notes. Since I had the opportunity (excuse) to taste it with a few things tonight, I found that when paired with a mild cheese like Midnight Moon goat cheese, the honey notes really came forward. When paired with a sweeter food, like ice cream or chocolate, the hazelnut notes were prominent. Picking up on the hazelnuts, I decided to try it with Nutella and that was pretty smashing. The finish is lengthy and has just a hint of bitterness which cleans up the sugars and you are left with the lingering notes of the Niagra grape. There is a little bit of the original batch in every bottle and you can taste the history. This sherry is a great deal at list price and at Casemates pricing, it is a steal. I donāt have a bottle of the port right now, so I canāt give tasting notes, but from past experience it is equally enjoyable. (And the chambourcin is an underrated grape - not one you usually find in a port.) Donāt let the low price fool you, this case is definitely worth your time.
Been quite a while since weāve seen St. Julian.
Last I recall was March of '13, and before that April of '12.
Still have a few of thoseā¦
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
St. Julian Dessert Wine - $10 = 9.99%
Going to have to post a labrat when I get home, work blocks the casemates site now. Sorry for the delay
This is one where I would probably be pulling the trigger if FedEx was still in the picture. I have enjoyed previous orders of St. Julian wines from WW and even visited the tasting room while vacationing in MI a few years back.
I enjoyed the cream sherry in the tasting room although did not try the port. I tasted (and bought) a different dessert wine, the āPolar Vortexā. I am interested but not interested enough to make the extra effort required to pick this up from a UPS hub.
@chipgreen Want one of each??
@chipgreen I agree. Iām about done with these UPS driversā¦boxes broken open, missed deliveries (and we were home on BOTH occasions) and Iāve requested text alerts multiple times to no avail. We really miss our āhighly trainedā (by us) Fedx driver!
@Boatman72
Sure, if you still have them available.
In reference to the voting, my comment is, that Iād like to see more Sherry (inclusive) offered.
Also have a question for the winery, if they are on here today, and that is, What year(s) of grapes does this Port comprise of?
I used to live in Grand Rapids in the 80ās going to Paw Paw during wine festival was an experienceā¦lot of people then, canāt imagine what it would be like now.
@winecaseaholic The Port is a blend of years it varies, but usually the last 5 years worth of grapes for us!
Solera system started in 1973 so that is comprised of grapes since then.
Wine and Harvest Festival is amazing and 2021 is our hundredth so we are prepping for a great festival!
@NotSwank
Associated with the winery?
In what capacity?
If so, welcome!
@winecaseaholic
I spent a fair bit of time in the Paw Paw area (Three Mile Lake) as a kid. St Julian was the first winery I ever visited. I was about 7, I think.
@rjquillin yes! I am the CIO in charge of the data and tech, but have been in many roles at the company over the years. Thank you!
@NotSwank Again, welcome. Youāre now official, with your own grape badge so others will know who you are.
Some here are a bit geeky. Any other interesting insights for these or your vineyards you could chat about?
@rjquillin thanks! Our Port and Sherry are excellent! Solera Cream Sherry is our most awarded product, itās won the Jefferson Cup a handful of times and countless Gold / Double Gold awards. The three tiered system provides for excellent creaminess and constancy year over year. Fun fact this is the only product not housed in Paw Paw, the 3 barrel system is housed in our Frankenmuth location and can be toured their as well!
The Cathermanās Port is named after Chas Catherman, a former Winemaker here and still friend of the Family! Itās a excellent Ruby Red port with a perfect balance of sweet and fortification! I personally love using it in a meatball sauce!
@rjquillin also we pride ourselves in being Pure Michigan. We have our own estate vineyard and contract growers within a 45 mile radius of the winery so the fruit we use is locally grown! Our winemaking team has a close relationship with all our growers and we work with them to provide the best quality fruit as well as experimenting with new varietals.
Weāre long time members of the St J wine club, and can heartily endorse both the Sherry and the Port- especially at the huge case savings.
We added a bottle of each of these to our last shipment from them as weāve found that they are always nice to have on hand and youāll never feel guilty about opening one up for a glass or two. (if no more rats soon, Iāll open a bottle of your popular vote choice after work).
Very glad to see our midwestern vintners on Casemates!
So i am totally new to sherry. Can anyone help me out on what i might pair it with? It is just a dessert thing?
And any San Diego interest? Even the 6-pack looks too voluminous for my personal consumption. But iām happy to get a sixer or a case local to split out.
@radiolysis I love sherry, especially Amontillado, and feel it is underappreciated, high QPR wine. It is a bit idiosyncratic, however, and seems poorly understood by even highly experienced wine drinkers. Most sherry isnāt sweet, for example, but is very strong, so when do you drink it? Chilled as an aperitif (which is commonly recommended)?
Iām no expert, but my reading has lead me to understand that Sherry from Jerez is a fortified wine fermented in open casks under extreme conditions of oxygen and temperature (high!) It is made from the white Palomino grape but also can be made from Pedro XimĆ©nez, another white grape (which is used to make sweet versions.) Sherry styles include Fino, Amontillado, Olroso, Palo Cortoda and Sweet (ranging from lightest to darkest in color and oxidation levels.) The darker sherries are aged in wood and often use a solera system of mixing vintages, so each subsequent batch contains a small amount of old wine. This gives many sherries flavor notes more similar to whiskey than white wines. Another peculiarity about true sherry is the amount of oxidation found desirable. For the majority of wine production, oxidation is a fatal flaw. For sherry, it is just Fino that became Amontillado. Then, of course, there are the sweet sherries like Cream or Pedro Ximinez, which are made with incredibly sweet dried grapes.
I personally prefer dark, dry sherries and drink them after dinner in lieu of a sweeter dessert wine, but you can do whatever you want, of course. Hopefully this helps.
@radiolysis half or third split would work for me.
@rjquillin Of a case? or a sixer?
@radiolysis kinda difficult to split a sixer in half, but 3(2+2) of a case works well, or I could go heavy on the sherry of a sixer.
@radiolysis
sorry too far away
Iād have preferred a 4 pack but found a splitter at work who is willing to take 2 of the ports as Iām in port overflow right now.
@rjquillin got a sixer, but happy to cancel and get a case if anyone is interested. Two sherry and a port to you would be fine with me.
/giphy wondrous-zippy-pork
@Cerridwyn @radiolysis Same problem here; drowning in ports and light on sherry.
Iāll gladly accept two sherry and a port, and perhaps raise you a Riesling.
@rjquillin sold! i forgot i was holding on to a Riesling for you. Iāve moved into a larger wine ācellarā so iām actively rearranging.
I really enjoyed the Rancho de Philo triple cream that @merrybill brought for the Temecula meetup so iām hoping this cream sherry fits the bill.
@radiolysis
Too funny, I had no idea.
That comment was totally tongue-in-cheek.
@rjquillin haha. too many wine jokes flying around, someone is bound to get hit.
@radiolysis What Riesling?
Totally agree with the comment above that Iād love to see more sherry. Iām most interested in ātrueā sherry from Jerez (especially Amontillado) but will consider any and all options.
Coincidentally I bought a bottle of this port a few weeks ago. We drink a fair amount of port here to get through Upper Peninsula winter. Upon pop-n-pour, I was dismayed - out of balance, much too much alcohol heat. Tried it the next day and it was quite good, even better the following. So I think it really needs to breathe, but when it does, it is tasty indeed. And the case price is just over half what I paid for that first bottle.
/giphy stereotyped-shaggy-wheel
Thankfully I can pass on this, as Sherry wonāt go into much of anything in my house except cooking. If this was icewines and related we might be in trouble.
Itās been a long while since Iāve had a good port. In for 6!
/giphy respective-subdued-income
To preface all of this, I do need to say I will typically avoid dessert wines, and donāt have a lot of experience with them. Even with a tasting pairing, Iām the person thatāll ask for something floral or minerality with dessert to avoid the raisin bomb port at the end of a meal.
I appreciate having chance to try something new though, and these were both interesting. Sampled both in a small amount without any food.
Overall, I like the sherry a lot more than the port to be honest. I think that the winery provided description is accurate - toasted nuts are at the forefront for me, especially pecan. As I drink more of it the burnt caramel comes out more, which gives it just a little hint of bitterness thatās enjoyable to balance out the sweetness. Some of the so so sherry Iāve had before comes out very hot and boozy, and this is very smooth. I donāt know that itās converted me to dessert wine, but itās much better than I expected, and I can easily imagine someone who likes sherry enjoying this particular one.
The port is sweet. I had a harder time with this one. It isnāt as raisiny as some that Iāve had, a little more balanced with some other darker fruit like cherry. Leans more to caramel and currant instead of raisin and chocolate. Lighter in the mouth than I expected, nothing syrupy about the wine. The heat lingers on the tongue a bit, but it doesnāt give me that cough medicine coating the mouth feeling like other port I have not enjoyed. Iād really rather be enjoying this with a cigar than having it by itself, unlike the sherry, which I can imagine enjoying after a meal, or especially with some cheese.
Sounds really interesting. I like port but donāt often drink it. Sherry is new to me, so looking forward to that the most I think. In for a half case:
/giphy herbivorous-gnarly-club