SSU Winesense Board for Holiday Wine Tasting with Freemark Abbey
Contributed by Erica Schreckenghaust – For our final meeting of the semester we had the pleasure of welcoming Kate Hansen from Freemark Abbey. She was kind enough to share 6 fabulous wines to help us celebrate the holiday season and forget final exam stress for a couple of hours.
Unique History of Freemark Abbey
Freemark Abbey has a history of standing out from the rest, as it was the first winery built by a woman in the United States in 1886, by Josephine Tychson. The unique name was a combination of the three owners names: Charles Freeman, Marquand Foster and Abbey Ahern. In 1976 Freemark Abbey was the first American winery to have two wines, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, entered into Stephen Spurrier’s Judgment of Paris blind tasting which brought worldwide attention to Napa Valley. They are also known for being the first winery in Napa to use stainless steel tanks.
Favorite Wines of the Evening
A group of thirty-five students tried six different wines including, 2013 Riesling, 2013 Chardonnay, 2012 Cabernet Franc, 2012 Merlot, 1998 Cabernet Bosché and 2010 Cabernet Bosché . All of the wines were a hit but the two stood out from the rest as decided by students were the:
- 2012 Cabernet Franc from Napa Valley
- 1998 Cabernet Bosché, a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from the Bosché Estate in Rutherford
Freemark is full of historically fantastic wines and was the perfect way to kick off the holiday celebrations. On behalf of the WineSense Executive Board, we wish you a holiday season filled with great food, friends and family, and some spectacular wines! Cheers!