FEATURED WINE OF THE 12-WINES-OF-XMAS PACKAGE = WEEK SIX VIRTUAL

WINEMAKING NOTES: Because Kacaba’s vineyards are situated on the Escarpment Bench, the soils here help produce quality wine even during an average Niagara growing season. The landscape’s elevation and dense clay/loam soils naturally stress the vines which concentrate the flavours in the fruit. This concentration, coupled with strategic crop thinning, produces balanced tannins with ripe fruit flavours. Regardless of the conditions in a given growing season, Kacaba Vineyards has the ability to produce award-winning wines. All fruit for this 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon was carefully harvested to ensure only the best fruit would be processed. After picking, the clusters were gently destemmed and allowed to cold soak on skins for two days prior to being inoculated with select yeast strains for fermentation. Manual pump-overs and punch-downs were performed twice daily for the 14-day duration of the fermentation. After finishing the primary fermentation, the wine was pressed from the skins and racked into a combination of French and American oak barrels. There, the wine finished malolactic fermentation and remained to mature in oak for 18 months. Finally, the wine was racked, filtered and bottled in late August 2025.

TASTING NOTES: On the nose, notes of blackberry, black currant, dried herbs, cedar, and cocoa. Complex with a long finish of firm tannins. The palate is intense and rich with notes of cassis and warming spice, supported by the deep flavours of dark fruits and dark chocolate. Perfect for social sipping but also a great match for roast beef or rack of lamb.