Semper Fi

• Posted on 17 May 2022
• Posted in chardonnay, grenache, Syrah, temprinillo, verdicchio, zinfandel
• 0

This Sunday morning, May 22, participants in the 2022 Marine Corps Historic Half will take to the streets of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Participants will pass 13.1 miles of scenic and historic landmarks around town, like the Clock Tower, Confederate Cemetery, Kenmore Plantation, and many more. To add to the excitement, there will be live entertainment set up at various mile markers around town.

The downtown area will become Thunder Alley, as local businesses and spectators alike will sound cowbells (More cowbell!), clap, and cheer everyone on! The course will take the participants right past our City Vino entrance and window display. The shop won’t be open at that early hour, so the participants won’t be able to jet in and pick up a celebratory bottle for later, but we do hope that some will stop by with their race bibs to receive a 10 percent discount on a bottle of wine purchased in the store.

For online orders, we have established a special 10 percent discount code “MARINE” that is valid on purchases of any of our weekly featured wines listed below. 

Our first featured wine is definitely for the post-race celebration, and is the General’s Ridge Vineyard Semper Fi Sparkling Wine NV. General’s Ridge Vineyard is located in Hague, Virginia. The owners are Rick and Linda Phillips. Rick was a Marine Corps flyer for 35 years, and retired as a Major General. Oh, the stories he can tell!

The Semper Fi Sparkling wine is an off-dry blend of Chardonnay, Chardonnel, and Vidal Blanc, and was produced via carbonation. It has crisp notes of light citrus and freshly picked apple. It is named after the Marine Corp tradition of Semper Fidelis meaning Always Faithful. Hoorah!

Our next featured wine is the 2019 Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superior, from the Marche, in Italy. The wine is 100 percent Verdicchio, with an intense straw yellow color, along with aromas of apple blossom, peach, lemon, and fennel. On the palate, we found lemon curd, lemon zest, orange, golden delicious apple, almond, almond skin, and chalk. This wine has bright acidity with a bit of a rich texture, making it a medium-bodied white, with lots of complexity. A nice wine to start the meal off, especially with fresh soft cheeses.

Our next featured wine is the Wade Cellars Three by Wade Rose California 2021. This is fresh and new to the shop this year. NBA star Dewayne Wade turns to making wine with this fun rose. The wine is an unspecified percentage red blend with Syrah, Grenache, Temprinillo, and Zinfandel. Hailing from California, this will have bright fruit notes that go into tropical, strawberry, and melon notes.

The next featured wine is the 2018 Leone de Castris Primitivo Rossa Villa Santera Primitivo Di Manduria DOC, from Puliga, in Italy. This wine is made from 100 percent Primitivo di Manduria (also known as Zinfandel). This deep, dark-purple wine sits in your glass as aromatics of ripe plum, blackberries, and cherries, along with notes of vanilla and ginger. On the palate, expect some dried fruit like prunes, figs, raisins, and cooked plums and cherries. The wine has a moderate finish with silky tannins, and is a great wine for those post-race grilled meats.

City Vino is a veteran-owned business, and as such offers a 10 percent “thank you for your service” discount all year round for active-duty personnel upon presentation of their ID card. Semper Fi!