I first learned of Cavallo Winery while at a Tignanello tasting, where the gentleman across from me was raving about a winery located in Surrey, BC. It seemed a bit surreal to be sitting in front of glasses containing several vintages of Tignanello (what is widely considered an iconic Italian wine) and this guy could not stop praising his favourite local winery. Needless to say, I was intrigued.
Cavallo Winery began production at their newly built facility in 2016. They bottled their first vintage in 2018 with winemaker, President and CEO, Frank Gigliotti at the helm.
Cavallo sources their grapes from select California vineyards in Napa Valley and Lake Country. All of their grapes begin processing within 36 hours of harvest. The grapes are cold soaked and pressed using a pneumatic press, which does not exceed one atmosphere of pressure. The team at Cavallo feel that this gentle pressing allows them to extract a cleaner and more flavourful free-run juice. The wines are fermented at low temperatures and then aged in oak barrels for 12-24 months.
I recently had the opportunity to try the 2018 Cavallo Zinfandel and it’s the perfect wine to warm you up on a fall day with some hearty comfort food, like baked pasta.
2018 Cavallo Zinfandel $49.00
The grapes for this Zinfandel were sourced from a vineyard in Amador County, California, located in the Sierra Foothills.
After four hours in the decanter there are aromas of dried cherries, black plums, dried blackcurrants, dried figs, liquorice and clove. This is a slightly off-dry, full-bodied wine with moderate acidity and tannins. The palate offers concentrated flavours of cherry pie filling, strawberry confections, pomegranate, star anise and clove with a medium finish.
Cavallo Winery is located at 150 – 19288 22 Avenue, Surrey, BC and they are open daily for tastings. Contact Cavallo Winery for more details.