“The barn…often had a sort of peaceful smell—as though nothing bad could happen ever again in the world.”
– E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web
If you have ever driven by the Estate Tasting Room and Farmstead, you would have seen the iconic old 1916 barn on the property. Barns are fascinating to me. They are homes to animals, big and small. They dot the landscape with their decades of secrets and history. My fascination with barns started with Charlotte’s Web and continued when I married Andy and moved into a circa 1903 apartment in an iconic barn at Grant’s Farm.
At the beginning of our marriage, Andy and I lived in the Baurenhof apartment, an incredible German-style barn that also housed Clydesdales, mini horses, and multiple generations of mice. When our boys misbehaved, someone (usually their grandmothers) asked, “Were you raised in a barn?” They were able to say, “Well, actually, Gammie, we were!”
When Andy and I started Folded Hills we knew that we wanted to pay tribute not just to our St. Louis roots but to the fantastically beautiful land and history that was our new home. If you look at our wine labels, our “Heritage” wines feature the Folded Hills logo, but our “Reserve” wines feature photos of life here at Folded Hills Ranch. The Estate Grenache features a photo of the perfectly ramshackle 1916 barn across from the Tasting Room and next to the Farmstead.
This Estate Grenache is one of my favorites of our wines. I find the Grenache grape to be almost feminine in its qualities. Most mornings, the slope where the grenache is grown is blanketed in fog or mist. This lends the grape a romantic softness while the sun gives its warmth to round out the flavors.
Grenache’s strength is in its versatility. Pairing beautifully with vegetables and lighter meats, this grape also loves a chocolate dessert. It is subtle and smooth with a depth of palate that holds up to nearly any dish. While our Grant Grenache is our beloved weeknight staple, this Estate Grenache never fails to give me a little rush of anticipation when I open it.
We hope you, too, will find a little sigh of joy at your first sip. We’ll be featuring this Estate Grenache in the tasting rooms this month, so come in and see if this is one of your favorites as well.
Click on the image below for a printable copy of a delicious pairing recipe for the Estate Grenache.
Cheers!
