Pop quiz. If you had Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk's kind of money and wanted to create a great wine at a reasonable cost, how would you do it? I believe the Aquilini family has done it. Originally from a farming background in northern Italy, the Aquilini family became successful in North America through hard work and demanding standards. Today, the family is headed by brothers Francesco, Roberto, and Paolo, and Aquilini is one of the wealthiest family-owned businesses in Canada. Not to sit on their money, they are active investors; owners of the Vancouver Canucks National Hockey League team, along with restaurants, digital media companies, a film set, a hardwood tree nursery, residential housing developments, and a few golf courses. The Aquilini family also has a presence in agricultural products. They own a dairy farm, apiaries (bees), and several blueberry and cranberry farms. In fact, Aquilini is one of the world's largest blueberry producers, with acreage in both the Pacific Northwest and Australia. Along the way, they traveled the world and enjoyed some of the finest wines at the most highly regarded restaurants. A worldwide search began to find the best spot to make wine in 2013.

They looked in Tuscany, in Australia, in the Okanagan (Canada), Napa, Sonoma. In 2013, Luigi Aquilini, Francesco's father, found out about this land auction in Washington State at Red Mountain. The irrigation district had a parcel of raw land, with water rights, available for auction, and at least 40 different top wineries showed an interest in what is acknowledged as superior wine terroir. The Aquilini family saw the auction flyer on a Friday and moved fast. They sent an anonymous bidder for that weekend's auction—representatives from Chateau Ste. Michelle, Duckhorn Vineyards, and local vineyards were interested in bidding on a portion of the parcels. Still, the stranger in attendance surprised everyone with his winning bid of $8.2M for the "whole kit and caboodle." The acquisition also included 100+ acres located in the Columbia Valley AVA. By Monday, the Aquilinis were the biggest landowners in the AVA. They now own 30% of the Red Mountain AVA. So, what makes Red Mountain so unique? Well, that is another great story.

About 12,000 years ago, the valleys of western Montana lay beneath a glacial lake nearly 2,000 feet deep. Glacial Lake Missoula formed as the Cordilleran Ice Sheet dammed the Clark Fork River just as it entered Idaho. Glacial Lake Missoula was as big as Lakes Erie and Ontario combined. The lake measured about 3,000 sq mi and contained about 500 cu mi of water, half the volume of Lake Michigan. The rising water behind the glacial dam weakened it until water burst through in a catastrophic flood that raced across Idaho, Oregon, and Washington toward the Pacific Ocean. Thundering waves and chunks of ice tore away soils and mountainsides, deposited giant ripple marks, created the scablands of eastern Washington, and carved the Columbia River Gorge. Over the course of centuries, Glacial Lake Missoula filled and emptied over 40 times during 2,000 years. The flood waters ran with a force equal to 60 Amazon Rivers. Car-sized boulders embedded in ice floated some 500 miles; they can still be seen today. The small geographic region that comprises the Red Mountain AVA was formed by the repeated ice-age flooding of Glacial Lake Missoula. The flood waters redesigned the landscape, configuring the soft mountain slopes and depositing nutrient-rich top soils over sand, silt, and gravel – as if to anticipate the introduction of wine grapes to the region. The predominate soils of Red Mountain are not found anywhere else in the world.

The Aquillini Red Mountain AVA project started immediately after they acquired the land by planting one-year-old vines in 2013. Since then, about 600 acres have been planted, about 85% of the plantable acreage, and became the second largest Red Mountain grower, topped only by Shaw Vineyards. Cabernet Sauvignon makes up about 80% of the plantings. The other plantings include Merlot, Syrah, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Sauvignon Blanc. The initial vintages are being made at a crush facility operated by the nearby Fidélitas Estate Winery. Construction on the Aquilini Red Mountain winery has begun, sited in an abandoned quarry just right for a gravity-flow design.

Aquilini Wines' umbrella of wines contains eight brands, with different winemakers and marketing strategies for each. Chasing Rain wines are focused on the terroir of Red Mountain. The name Chasing Rain refers to the lack of rainfall Red Mountain endures every year, on average 5" a year. Add to that soils with a blend of sand, silt, and rock left behind by 15,000-year-old receding glacial floods; an idyllic heat profile with steady breezes from the west makes an ideal terroir for first-class red wine grapes. Red Mountain has already made a name for itself by consistently producing award-winning, 95 to 100-point vintages from neighbors such as Hedges Family Estate, Kiona Vineyards, and Col Solare. Wines made from Red Mountain fruit express a unique terroir with exceptional color, strength, and richness, while demonstrating a remarkable balance of fruit, acidity, and tannin.

Chasing Rain's winemaker, Josh Maloney, is a seasoned veteran and the former red winemaker at Chateau Ste. Michelle. In his career, he has vinified blends as small as 71 cases to as large as 300,000 cases and earned more than 100 scores of 90 or higher from the major wine publications (so far). He has a deep understanding of soil, sun, wind, and rain, along with a passion for crafting great wine that is evident in the bottle.

Josh’s thoughts on the 2019 vintage of Chasing Rain Cabernet Sauvignon.

"The 2019 was the first vintage we made the Chasing Rain Cab in Walla Walla, using small lot fermenters and adding French oak to the barrel lineup. Making wine at such a small scale usually starts at wines that retail for at least $40 a bottle and is typically reserved for wines even more expensive than that, so it felt like a luxury for me to make this wine using the same small lot/high-end techniques."

"We are currently farming 712 acres of Red Mountain vineyards. By growing as much as we do, we can offer a bottle of wine with a suggested retail price of $24.00. Red Mountain wines will typically retail starting at $40.00 on the shelf, and these wines are about half the price of some excellent Napa Valley wines. At $24.00 a bottle, Chasing Rain offers an outstanding value to consumers."

The Chasing Rain 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is a pure Red Mountain. Scorching days and gusty nights imbue this wine with hints of blackberries, cherry cola, hints of mocha, and dried herbs. Full-bodied with generous density on the fore palate, leading to a pleasing mid-palate. Long finish dominated by black cherry and vanilla. 

Aromas of dark fruit and berries, pine and fresh mint. Full-bodied with fine, slightly firm tannins. Rich fruit with good focus and balance. Leather and charcoal at the earthy finish. 95% cabernet sauvignon, 3% malbec and 2% petit verdot. James Suckling 91 pts

The 2019 Chasing Rain Cabernet Sauvignon is layered and full on the palate. This wine boasts aromas and flavors of black fruit, licorice, and oak. Enjoy Wine.com 90pts

Chasing Rain Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

I had a big group when we tasted this wine. To say we were wowed is an understatement. It poured a dark ruby color aromas of maple smoked bacon, boysenberry, and a touch of of vanilla. On the palate, it had weight, jammy fruit without being cloying, white pepper, lean pineapple, coffee, and more boysenberry. Fine-integrated tannins with an acid balance kept the fruit jumping. A long, dry red fruit finish. We all agreed this was an outstanding wine, which is bad news because I could only get 35 cases of this wine. Considering most Red Mountain Cabernets sell for over $50 a bottle. At a regular price of $19.99, it is a bargain. At a sale price of $11.00 a bottle, it is obscene. I just want to apologize now for selling out so quickly. Limit one case per customer. I already have my case.

Regular Price: $19.99

*Sale Price is on 12 or more bottle purchase

 Wine is packed in a 12-bottle case

*Wine pricing for these wine promotions are held for two weeks after the email offer.

We can hold wines in unpaid reserves for two weeks to allow you time to pick up your wine. If it takes you longer than that to pick up your wines, give us a call, and we can process your wine and move it to paid reserves.

Place your order now with the store contacts above, while you've got all the information at your fingertips.

Cheers!

John Hannum,

Fine & Rare Wine Specialist

Attleboro

628 Washington St.

Norwood

942 Providence Hgwy.

Sturbridge

376 Main Street.

Swansea

207 Swansea Mall Dr.

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