Between The Wines Between The Wines march march 2023 2023

Hidden Hidden Treasures Treasures

It might be incongruous to cite this winery under the heading of ‘Hidden Treasures’ since we sell thousands of cases of their wines a year However, Hope Family Wines like most successful wine companies sells a range of wines/brands and Hope Family Wines happens to also sell the long successful value brand Liberty School (which readers may not know was a sortof joint venture with the Wagner Family of Caymus). Liberty School Cabernet way overperforms in its price range, and customers are smart so we sell tons. But there are a few other brands under their umbrella which also over-deliver: Treana, Quest, Troublemaker and Austin Hope.

A close 2nd in the values from this family is Troublemaker: a nonvintage kitchen-sink blend of things like Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Zin, & Petite Sirah.

We have had much success with their Treana brand as well: the super-delicious red is a blend of Cabernet and Syrah and it too is a value in its category. Then there is Quest, a Cabernet-Cab Franc blend that blows away all comers in its price range (about $25 retail). And finally, is the Austin Hope brand (Austin being the current President of the winery as well as head winemaker, overseeing all wine production). This is the brand that many of our customers are missing out on. Though Paso Robles was originally recognized as a place to grow value-type grapes when the Hopes started growing grapes there back in the 70’s, its quality reputation has grown way, way beyond that and Paso’s best can compete with the best from anywhere in California (and they are still values in their class).

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Quotation of the Month: “Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it ”

Julia Child

Hidden Hidden Treasures Treasures

Continued.. Continued..

Since the operation crushes tons and tons of grapes each harvest, it allows the winemaking team to triage the fruit so to speak, cherrypicking the best fruit to steer towards their top range Austin Hope where they produce a Cabernet, a Cabernet Reserve (and a bit of Grenache). The wines are pretty close to extraordinary, and when you consider the pricing (around $70 retail for the Cabernet Sauvignon), well, they are extraordinary. Do yourself and your customers a favor next time you need a special wine: Buy Austin Hope!

Quotation of the Month:

Julia Child