Happy Hour Wine Tasting Featuring Hendry Winery from Napa Valley with Special Guest Therese Brown Thursday, March 23rd 6pm



Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me…


Vizzini, The Princess Bride (1987)


The choices are not that hard at our Happy Hour tastings at Wine Watch, we have nine wines on the table, you can drink whatever you like!


The casual belly up to the bar, hang out with your friends’ style wine tasting is back at the wine bar.  Whenever we have one of our good friends visiting South Florida from wine country we want to welcome them at Wine Watch.  So when I heard that Therese Brown from Hendry Winery was in town from Napa Valley we put a date on the calendar to share some wines from this great property with our “Wine Drinking People”.


We will be serving the entire like-up of wines from this great winery chefs Toni and Dani will be making some tasty treats to accompany the wines.  The food is casual, this is not a sit-down dinner- but a true “Happy Hour” style event… with GREAT wines. 


This tasting starts at 6pm and chef Toni will be making some appetizers to accompany the tasting wines.  The fee for this tasting is $55 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.


 


Engineering drawing  Description automatically generated with medium confidence Therese Brown, Wine Educator and Sales Rep


 


HENDRY WINERY NAPA VALLEY HAPPY HOUR WINE TASTING

WITH SPECIAL GUEST THERESE BROWN

Thursday, March 23, 2023

6:00 PM


2020 HENDRY 'HENDRY VINEYARD' ALBARINO, NAPA VALLEY, USA

2019 HENDRY 'HENDRY RANCH' UNOAKED CHARDONNAY, NAPA VALLEY, USA

2019 HENDRY CHARDONNAY BARREL FERMENTED NAPA VALLEY, USA

2019 HENDRY ZINFANDEL HRW NAPA VALLEY, USA

2018 HENDRY ZINFANDEL BLOCK 7 & 22 NAPA VALLEY, USA

2018 HENDRY VINEYARD RED BLEND NAPA VALLEY, USA

2019 HENDRY VINEYARDS MERLOT NAPA VALLEY, USA

2017 HENDRY HENDRY VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA, USA

2016 HENDRY CABERNET SAUVIGNON HENDRY VINEYARDS NAPA


Menu

Cheese and Charcuterie

Roasted Butternut squash, fried shallot and Creme Fraiche Shooters

Red Snapper Ceviche, Citrus Vinaigrette, Fennel and Aji Rocoto Peppers

Lamb Sliders with Pickled Cucumbers Tzatziki Sauce

White Chocolate and Oreo crust Mousse pie with passion fruit coulis


The fee for this tasting is $95 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.


All the Hendy Vineyard wines available at Wine Watch on SALE:


 


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2020 HENDRY 'HENDRY VINEYARD' ALBARINO, NAPA VALLEY, USA

Price: $27.00     Your Price: $23.76          Quantity in Stock: 7

Winery Notes Color: pale straw-yellow. Peachy, citrus and floral aromas. Flavors include tart green apple and nectarine, with mouthwatering acidity, lemon and lemon rind on the finish. Pair with foods that are light in weight but bold in flavor. This wine’s bright, green apple acid and full, fruity palate


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2019 HENDRY 'HENDRY RANCH' UNOAKED CHARDONNAY, NAPA VALLEY, USA

Price: $27.00     Your Price: $23.76

The Hendry Vineyard is located on benchlands just west of the town of Napa. The Chardonnay vines grow on thin, stony soils between 200 and 300 feet above sea level. The vineyard is at the intersection of the cooler Carneros appellation and the greater Napa Valley, which becomes warmer as you travel northward. Morning fog and afternoon breezes from the San Pablo Bay moderate the climate, giving us long, warm summer days and cooler nights.


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2019 HENDRY CHARDONNAY BARREL FERMENTED NAPA VALLEY

Price: $39.00     Your Price: $34.32

2017 HENDRY CHARDONNAY BARREL FERMENTED NAPA VALLEY

Price: $39.00     Your Price: $34.32          Quantity in Stock: 2

A good amount of juicy tropical fruit on the nose with a hint of banana notes of vanilla bean crème brulee and white flowers.  Rich and creamy on the tongue with a nice touch of lightly toasted oak spice, nice richness but bright and fresh at the end.  Finish 45+         Excellent +


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2019 HENDRY ZINFANDEL HRW NAPA

Price: $21.00     Your Price: $18.48          Quantity in Stock: 3

Grapes for the HRW series wines come from our Napa vineyard, as they do for all of our wines. The grapes we use for HRW are individual blocks from our vineyard or barrel lots that are very nice for everyday drinking, but do not have the complexity we require for our Hendry label. The production is small—often just a few hundred cases. These wines were our “around the ranch” wines before the launch of HRW, which stands for Hendry Ranch Winery.

Medium purple-ruby color. Cedary spice, tea leaves, briar, dark berries and pepper on the nose. Light to-medium-bodied, with a bright, fruit-driven palate. On the palate, flavors of cocoa, blackberry jam and strawberry. Easy drinking, moderately structured. Ideal for pastas, burgers, barbecue, chili or a meaty Bolognese lasagna. Good everyday value for those who prefer fruity but dry--not sweet--Zinfandels.

14.5 % alcohol.  659 cases produced


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2018 HENDRY ZINFANDEL BLOCK 7 & 22 NAPA

Price: $43.00     Your Price: $37.84

A mixture of old and young vines in this cuvee with a good amount of brambly red berry fruit rhubarb and strawberry jam with notes of green and black tea spice.  Bright and zesty spicey on the tongue with a good amount of alcohol 15.6% but nice structure with layers of red berry fruit a nice hand of spice and some tannins on the  finish, nicely balanced for a big Zin.  Finish 40+             Excellent


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2018 HENDRY VINEYARD RED BLEND NAPA VALLEY

Price: $54.00     Your Price: $47.52


48% Cabernet Sauvignon (Block 8)

13% Petit Verdot (Block 15)

13% Cabernet Franc (Block 26)

13% Malbec (Block 14)

13% Merlot (Block 13)


The Hendry Vineyard is located on benchlands west of the town of Napa. The vines grow on thin, stony and clay soils, between 200 and 300 feet above sea level. Morning fog and strong afternoon breezes from San Pablo Bay moderate our climate. Our vineyard is the sole source for grapes for all of our wines. It has been home to the Hendry family since 1939.


Each year, we pick each of our small blocks of Bordeaux varieties, ferment them individually and then barrel age them for approximately one year. After the first year of barrel aging, George Hendry creates the final blend. His aim is to make a wine with a concentration, complexity and potential for aging, but with more subtle tannic structure than a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wine.


In 2018, budbreak in these blocks was March 31st-April 6th. Bloom was between May 25th and the 31st. Veraison occurred August 3rd through August 15th, and harvest was September 10-27th for the early varieties (Merlot and Malbec) and October 1st-15th for the later types (Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon). Average bloom-to-harvest was 128 days, ranging from 108 days for Block 14 Malbec to 139 days for the Cabernet Sauvignon in Block 16A. Yield was an average of 2.1 tons per acre in the Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, and 3.63 tons per acre in the Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet blocks.


These wines were aged for a total of 18 months in French oak barrels, approximately 70-75% of which were new. In a reversal of his typical strategy, George relied on Cabernet for the base of this blend, at 48%, with the remaining varieties in equal percentages at 13% each. Opaque purple-ruby. Cabernet is prominent in the pleasant aromatics, as expected, leaning toward dark fruit, with the spice, smoke and cedar of the oak underpinnings just detectable behind round, dried-blueberry-like purple fruit. On the palate, tannins are soft at first, gradually building.


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2019 HENDRY VINEYARDS MERLOT NAPA

Price: $51.00     our Price: $44.88

Hendry Merlot is planted in blocks 13A (Clone 3), and 13B, (Clone 14). Block 13B is our oldest Merlot block, planted in 1995. In 2019, budbreak for the Merlot occurred on April 2nd, bloom on May 28th, median veraison on August 3rd, and harvest was on September 10th. Bloom to harvest was 106 days.

Each year, we pick and ferment the Bordeaux varietals barrels in small lots, aging them individually, each according to its own recipe. After approximately one year of barrel aging, George Hendry selects the blend for our RED blend. In some years, we also choose to bottle small quantities of the individual components separately. This wine was aged a total of 15 months in French oak barrels, approximately 40% of which were new.

Medium-ruby color. On the nose, deep, dark berries, toasted bread, evergreen, spice. On the palate, light-to-medium body, moderate tannins, and pleasant, dark berry and cherry fruit flavors, finishing with mouthwatering acidity. Balanced, flavorful, complex enough to return to in the glass for reexamining.


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2017 HENDRY 'HENDRY VINEYARD' CABERNET SAUVIGNON, NAPA VALLEY, USA MAGNUM

Price: $159.00   Your Price: $139.92

2017 HENDRY HENDRY VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA, USA

List Price: $75.00            Your Price: $66.00


2016 HENDRY HENDRY VINEYARDS CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA, USA MAGNUM

Price: $155.00   Your Price: $136.40

2016 HENDRY CABERNET SAUVIGNON HENDRY VINEYARDS NAPA

Price: $67.5       Your Price: $59.40          Quantity in Stock: 11

This is 100% varietal with a good amount of dark cherry and currant berry fruit sweet tobacco spice, a bit of a balsamic character to the nose, hints of dark coco and a touch of fresh plowed earth but very fruity.  A big and fruity wine with lots of everything here and in balance with a long layered finish.  Finish 45+       Excellent +


2006 HENDRY 'HENDRY VINEYARD' CABERNET SAUVIGNON, NAPA VALLEY, USA MAGNUM

Price: $195.00   Your Price: $171.60


Hendry Blocks 8, 16, 17 and 18 are located on bench lands west of the town of Napa. The vines grow on thin stony soil between 150 and 300 feet above sea level. Morning fog and strong afternoon breezes from San Pablo Bay moderate our vineyard’s climate.

The vines in Block 8 were planted in 1974 and are 35 years old. They are spaced 8’ x 10’, cordon-trained. The clone is U.C.D. 7, grafted to St. George roots. A seven-foot vertical trellis system supports the cordon and the canopy. Average production is approximately 2 tons per acre. Blocks 16, 17, and 18 were planted in 1996, 1996, and 1997. They are also on St. George rootstock. They are grafted to U.C.D. clones 7 and 4, and 337/15. Their inclusion in our Cabernet Sauvignon marks a milestone in the vines' maturity. At 12 and 13 years old, they have reached a significant level of depth and complexity.

In 2006, the median budbreak was April 15- 17th. Median bloom was June 4 and median veraison was August 9th. Harvest was October 10 – 17th. Yields averaged 2.2 tons per acre throughout the Cabernet blocks. After a warm extended maceration, the wine was aged for 21 months in 100% new French oak barrels. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Release notes: The majority of the grapes for this wine (54%) still come from the venerable Block 8, one of our oldest and most consistently distinctive blocks. Silky entry, surprisingly rich upon first opening, though patience is rewarded. Textbook Cabernet aromas of berry/currant, cocoa, mint, eucalyptus and cedary oak reveal themselves with time and air. Structured, fine-grained tannins.


Some information about Hendry Vineyards


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HENDRY RANCH BEFORE 1939

Portions of what is today the Hendry Ranch were some of the first vineyards planted in Napa. Pioneering winemakers Frederick and John Sigrist began planting in 1859 and soon had one of the most extensive vineyards in Napa. By 1880, the ranch was owned by George Barth and John Buhman, and all of the available land was planted to grapevines. For Napa, the planting boom of the late 1800’s was followed by an equally severe bust. In this case it was an insect pest called phylloxera.


BETWEEN PHYLLOXERA AND PROHIBITION - 1888

Phylloxera is a native north American insect that feeds on grapevine roots. North American vines are resistant, but Vitis vinifera, the European vine that produces our wine grapes, is not. Phylloxera was accidentally introduced to Europe, and the subsequent decline of vineyards, and European wine imports, was a factor in Napa’s early success. By planting vinifera on its own roots however, Napa growers inevitably faced the same fate. The vineyards of Buhman and Barth, some of the oldest in the valley, were among of the first to fail.


 


The solution to the problem of phylloxera was to graft to North American roots, and by the early 1900’s, the practice was catching on and vineyard acreage was recovering. The next blow to viticulture in Napa was even more serious, however: Prohibition. Prohibition began in 1920, and ended in 1932, but its effects lasted much longer. In 1890, vineyard acreage in Napa surpassed 20,000 acres, and that number was not reached again until 1974.


HENDRY RANCH – 1939

Margaret Munn and George W. Hendry married in 1932. At the time, they lived in Point Richmond, California, and George, an agronomy professor, divided his time between teaching at the University of California campuses of Berkeley and Davis. In 1939, after the birth of their sons George O. and Andrew, George and Margaret purchased the Hendry Ranch, and moved to Napa.


George W. was a teacher, a photographer, historian and adventurer. His professional interests included wheat and other grain crops, root vegetables, and beans. He had a talent for combining his interest in history and travel with his vocation.


In the 1920’s, George traveled around the world documenting and studying agricultural practices in many different countries. Another of one of his hobbies was locating, documenting and researching the buildings associated with the earliest Spanish settlement of California. By studying the composition of the plant material found in the old adobe bricks, he was able to document the earliest varietals of wheat in California, and study the existence and spread of wheat pests.


Wherever he went he carried his camera. Striking black and white images recorded his adventures, travels, and research. Many of them can still be found in the archives of U.C. Berkeley and U.C. Davis.


MARGARET MUNN HENDRY

We are proud of the fact that we have owned and farmed our land for more than 75 years. No one deserves more credit for this accomplishment than Margaret Hendry.


On April 15, 1944, just 5 years after they had purchased the property, her husband George Whiting Hendry died suddenly and unexpectedly from a heart attack. The ranch was left to Margaret, and their two sons George O. and Andrew.


For the next 30 years, the resilient and resourceful Margaret single-handedly maintained and managed the ranch, raised her two children, and cared for her ailing father. During that time, she oversaw the farming of grapes, prune-plums, walnuts and cattle. In addition, she took in boarders at the house, and for a time taught in the local school to make ends meet through tough times. She made certain that both her sons understood the privilege and responsibility of a good education, and that their education included musical training as well. She was able, somehow, to put them both through university. Her eldest, George, graduated from U.C. Berkeley, and her younger son, Andrew, from U.C. Davis.


NAPA IN THE 1940S 50S AND 60S

Napa is widely perceived as a well-established grape growing region, but the Napa of these three decades is barely recognizable today. Following prohibition, and as late as 1960, the value of Napa’s prune crop exceeded its grape crop. Grape acreage remained at about half of its 1890 level, and grape prices climbed very slowly from as low as 17 dollars per ton in 1940 to only 120 by 1965. The six acres of vineyard around the house continued to produce grapes, but the rest of the ranch remained as prune orchard and pasture.


GEORGE O. HENDRY

With his parents and brother, George moved to Napa in 1939 at the age of two. He grew up on the ranch and learned to tend the goats, the cows, the prune orchard and the grapevines. He completed his undergraduate degree at U.C. Berkeley in 1959 and after two years in the navy, completed a masters degree in 1963. Following graduation, George began working for a company called the Cyclotron Corporation. (Cyclotrons are a type of particle accelerator primarily used for the production of radio isotopes used in medical imaging.)


Over the next 40 years, at various companies including his own, George distinguished himself as a cyclotron designer. Many of his designs and innovations are in use in cyclotrons and hospitals around the world. George’s latest innovative cyclotron design was completed in 2008, and he continues to consult for the company he founded. When he wasn't designing cyclotrons, George was usually working on the ranch.


MID-70S PLANTINGS AND CHANGES IN NAPA

The late 1960s and early 1970s saw a profound change in Napa’s wine industry. The price of grapes was rising rapidly, the focus of wineries was shifting from quantity to quality, and vineyard plantings were on the rise. With his engineering earnings, George built a reservoir, and in 1973, 74, and 75, replanted most of the ranch to vineyard. Some of these plantings returned vineyard to land that had been fallow for nearly 100 years.


 


Initially, George grafted only Zinfandel and Pinot Noir, but with time, and a growing understanding of the ranch’s potential, George re-grafted 20 acres of the Zinfandel to Chardonnay, and 20 acres to Cabernet Sauvignon. In the 1970s, Robert Mondavi was a rising star in Napa’s wine industry, and was soon buying the grapes from the ranch.


By the late 80s Mondavi was buying all of the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and dividing the Cabernet Sauvignon with Opus One. Kent Rosenblum was buying the remaining 9 acres of Zinfandel and bottling a “George Hendry Reserve”. After 50 years of growing, the Hendry Ranch was beginning to develop a reputation for its grapes.


MAKING WINE - 1992

With the 1970s plantings now well established, and the vineyard on firm financial footing, George began to make wine. The first vintage in the Hendry label was 1992, and included Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel. Over the next 10 years, George sold smaller and smaller quantities, and crushed more for his own wines. George’s cyclotron business partner Jeff Miller, and neighbor Susan Ridley became partners in the winery business, and helped with its expansion.


VINEYARD EXPANSION - 1994

Another significant development in the history of the ranch was the expansion of the vineyard through the purchase of a neighboring property in 1994. This property is a continuation of the gently sloping bench lands of the original Hendry Ranch and contains 47 plantable acres. All of these acres however, were grafted to AXR-1 rootstock and were dying from phylloxera, Napa’s second epidemic. AXR replanting began in 1993, and continued until approximately 2001, eventually totaling nearly 70 acres. The removal and redevelopment of these vineyards created new blocks, included new varietals such as Pinot Gris, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Primitivo, Cabernet Franc. With this property addition, the Hendry Ranch now totals 114 vineyard acres and is divided into 49 blocks.


MIKE HENDRY


George’s brother Andrew moved from the ranch after high school, and pursued a career in education. This path eventually led him to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and the University of Alberta where he completed his Ph.D. in 1975. Upon the completion of his degree, he accepted a job working for the province of Alberta in the administration of adult vocational schools. Andy and Alice Hendry had two sons, Michael and Andrew.


 


Each year, the family would spend spring break at the Ranch, and for Michael, these spring trips fostered an interest in viticulture. In 1987, Mike spent the summer in Napa working in the vineyard. After his high school graduation, in 1988, Mike spent the next year working in the vineyard. After completing degrees in Physics and Engineering, Mike began to manage the vineyard full time in January 2001.


WINERY CONSTRUCTION - 2000

The next major step in the evolution of the ranch was the construction of the winery building. By 2000, production in the Hendry label had increased to the point that the construction of a winery on the ranch property made sense, practically and financially. George spent almost 5 years considering various design ideas, and once again, re-invested his cyclotron and vineyard earnings back into the ranch. Groundbreaking for the winery began in the fall of 2000, and the building was ready just in time for the 2001 harvest. The expansion of winery equipment continued for several years, and ended in 2008 with the addition of a bottling line. Now all aspects of the winemaking business are conducted on the ranch property.


EIGHT DECADES OF FAMILY FARMING

At Hendry, we are proud of the fact that we have been continuously farming the ranch for eighty years. George, Mike, and our vineyard and winery crew thank you for your support, and we look forward to the interesting and productive decades that lie ahead.

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