We tried tonight (7/12/17) some Cana’sFeast Wines:
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Cana’sFeast PinotBlanc AndreasVnyd/WillametteVlly (11.8%; www.CanasFeastWinery.com) PatrickTaylor/
Carlton/OR 2015: Light gold color; strong melony/appley/PB/spicy/nutmed light perfumed talc/stony rather
aromatic nose; rather tart/lean melony/appley/PB/spicy light stony/perfumed talc somewhat austere flavor;
very long tart/lean/metallic bit austere strong melony/appley/PB/spicy light stony finish; not as lean/austere
as Alsatian PB but more towards AltoAdige PB w/o the earthiness; a rather pure expression of PB at a great
price. $18.00
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Reustle/PrayerRockVnyds PinotGris CanaBloc/PRV/UmpquaVlly (13.9%; EG; 100% SS frmtd; 205 cs;
Drk: 2014-2016) 2013: Light yellow color; rather fragrant mango/lemony/PG/floral slight valve oil bit complex
nose; bit soft/ripe/lush dried mango/lemony/floral/PG slight valve oil/earthy flavor; very long soft/lush/ripe
dried mango/dried pineapple slight earthy finish; a rather interesting PG in a bit of an Alsatian style;
still in good shape but fading a bit. $13.80 (vSK)
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Cana’sFeast Cinsault KingFujiRanch/ColumbiaVlly (13.1%) 2014: Med.light color; very strong cherry/black cherry/
strawberry somewhat earthy/loamy fairly spicy attractive nose; lightly tart cherry/strawberry/quite spicy
bit peppery slight earthy/loamy flavor w/ light brisk tannins; very long cherry/strawberry/Cinsault light
spicy/peppery slight earthy finish w/ modest lean tannins; lots of high-toned cherry/strawberry character
yet shows some of the rustic/earthy side of Cinsault; one of the best Cinsaults I can recall. $28.00
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Cana’sFeast Counoise ColumbiaVlly (13.6%) 2013: Med.light color; less fragrant more earthy/loamy/rustic bit
coarse/rustic slight black cherry/licorice interesting nose; bit soft rather earthy/loamy slight black cherry
bit rustic/coarse flavor w/ light coarse tannins; med.long rather earthy/loamy slight black cherry/licorice
finish w/ modest coarse tannins; rather typical rustic/coarse side of Counoise; remind some of AltoAdige
Lagrein. $28.00
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Cana’sFeast BriccoRed ColumbiaVlly RW (14.3%; 44% Sangio/20% Barbera/13% Primitivo/9% Syrah/8% Nebbiolo/
6% Malbec) 2013: Med.dark color; lovely cherry/black cherry/Sangio/quite spicy light earthy/Italian dried herbs
very Sangio nose; quite tart/tangy very cherry/bright/Sangio/spicy light earthy/Italian herbs bit complex flavor
w/ some brisk/tangy tannins; very long tart/tangy/lean strong cherry/Sangio/bright/very spicy finish w/ modest
brisk tannins; a bit Italian in character but very clearly bright cherry Sangio at a great price. $18.00
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Cana’sFeast Primitivo NorthRidgeVnyd/ColumbiaVlly (15.5%) 2014: Med.dark color; beautiful Zin/blackberry/
boysenberry/raspberry very fragrant/perfumed bit alcoholic light vanilla/oak nose; lightly tart very bright/
high-toned very spicy/Zin/blackberry/raspberry slight alcoholic light vanilla/oak flavor w/ modest tangy/brisk
tannins; very long very spicy/bright/Zin/blackberry/raspberry light oak finish w/ light crunchy tannins;
a very bright/spicy/fragrant Zin much like a DryCreekVnyds or a Nalle. $32.00
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Cana’sFeast Barbera DestinyRidgeVnyd/ColumbiaVlly (14.4%) 2014: Dark color; very strong Barbera/spicy/Italian
sausage/dried Italian herbs slight earthy/dusty quite lovely perfumed nose; quite tart/tangy/bit metallic
strong dried herbs/Barbera/Italian sausage/very spicy some Piemonte-like flavor w/ modest tangy/bitey tannins;
very long very spicy/Barbera/dried Italian herbs/Italian sausage finish w/ light brittle tannins; a really lovely
Barbera along the style of a Barbera d’Asti w/ its brightness. $32.00
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Cana’sFeast Nebbiolo Ciel du ChevalVnyd/RedMtn/ColumbiaVlly (13.9%) 2013: Med.light color; lovely floral/Nebb/
violets/lilacs very spicy light earthy/dusty rather aromatic classic Nebb nose; quite tart/lean/hard/angular
rather dusty quite floral/lilacs/violets/Nebb slight tangy/pungent/tarry flavor w/ light tangy/brittle tannins;
very long tart/tangy/hard strong floral/lilacs/Nebb/violets slight pungent/tarry light earthy finish w/ light
crunchy tannins; a lovely floral expression of Nebb; needs more age. $32.00
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Cana’sFeast Syrah DestinyRidgeVnyd/ColumbiaVlly (14.8%) 2013: Very dark color; very attractive floral/violets
very strong blackberry/Syrah/very spicy light toasty/oak bit complex beautiful nose; lightly tart very spicy/
blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry some floral/violets/high-toned flavor w/ light smooth/ripe tannins; very long/
lingering slightly tart some floral/violets strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah light toasty/oak some complex
finish w/ light smooth tannins; a beautiful Syrah w/ lots of high-toned character and sidesteps the somewhat
oafish side of some WashState Syrahs; very well-priced at $32.00.
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Cana’sFeast Chinato d’Erbetti Vino Digestivo (17.4%) NV: Med.some browning color; very strong barky/
beet root quite herbal very earthy/dusty/Kansas root cellar very complex nose; lightly sweet bit austere/
earthy/dusty some tannic/bitey strong beet root/barky/herbal slight alcoholic very exotic flavor; very
long/lingering slightly sweet earthy/dusty strong beet root/barky/herbal some tannic/hard finish; a bit
on the hard/austere side but very exotic/interesting. $49.50
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bebe Chinato Vermouth Aromatic Wine (Aged 8 yrs in oak barrell; 29 cs bttld in 2016; 16.5%) HarringtonWines
NV: Dark very slight browning color; more bright floral/Nebb very spicy slight orangey/cardamon slight tobaccoy/
earthy quite spicy complex high-toned nose; rather dry/hard/austere some floral/Nebb/earthy/dusty bright complex/
exotic flavor w/ ample hard tannins; very long/lingering earthy/dusty light floral/Nebb rather dry/austere finish
w/ ample hard tannins; lovely exotic high-toned nose but a bit austere/hurtey on the palate and could use a bit
more RS; beautiful stuff. $35.00/500ml
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BelColle Verduno BaroloChinato Vino Aromatizzato (16%) NV: Med.color w/ some browning; strong sugary/grape
concentrate/brown sugar bit barkey light medicinal/quinine rather grapey/floral slight sweaty tennis shoe/
adhesive bandage very complex/exotic nose; quite sweet tannic brown sugar/grape concentrate bit hot/alcoholic
some floral/Nebb/tarry/pungent light barky/quinine/bit medicinal slight earthy flavor w/ light tannins; very
long/lingering grapey/grape concentrate/brown sugar quite sweet slight Nebb/floral/tarry some medicinal/quinine/
barky/herbal finish w/ light tannins; a bit atypical of BaroloChinato in that it not as barky/quinine/medicinal
as most; one of the better BaroloChinatos I’ve had; quite exotic/complex. $47.00/500ml (EVN)
More stupid thoughts from TheBloodyPulpit:
- Chinato: Barolo Chinato is one of the larger genre of Italian Amaro, which is a subset of Vermouths. It’s made
by infusing alcohol w/ various herbs/spices/botanicals/fruits. This is than added to a base DOCG Barolo wine and
then sweetened w/ a sugar solution. In the case of BaroloChinato, quinine is usually the dominate flavor, which
makes for a very bitter beverage, hence the sweetening. It is very much an aquired taste. I find it tastes a
lot like the wretched Buckley’s Cough Medicine my Mother forced on me. Chinato is, I find, one of the few drinks
that can stand up to a pairing w/ chocolate. There is a new book entiteled “Amaro” out that is an outstanding
read on this subject. It’s a genre of beverage that should be more appreciated.
Chinato is not a drink that’s going to make much inroads into the US wine industry. Only made by a few folks
who have an appreciation for the original BaroloChinato and want to see what they can make. The my knowledge, the
Harrington and the Cana’sFeast are the only two being made in the USofA.
Of these three, I slightly preferred the BelColle, probably because of the higher RS. The bebe and Cana’sFeast
were more tannic/austere on the palate. But I thought they both nailed BaroloChinato pretty darned good.
- Cana’sFeast: As I was tracking down folks making Nebbiolo from JimHolmes Ciel du Cheval vnyd, I came upon Cana’s
Feast, located in Carleton,OR. Run by PatrickTaylor. I took a look at his tableau of wines and found lots that
interested me. So I ordered a few of the Nebbs and a mixed case to try w/ my group.
I was quite impressed w/ what Patrick is doing at Cana’sFeast. The thing that most impressed me was the purity
of fruit all the wines showed. The Barbera/Syrah/Primitivo are all wines that can go mano a mano w/ the best of
those varieties, even around the World. And the wines struck me as very reasonably priced. A real discovery
for our group.
Tom