Ironstone Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
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1998-
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The story of Ironstone Vineyards started in the hands of John Kautz, a young row crop farmer from Lodi who saw the future in growing wine grapes in Lodi. With 12 acres in 1948, John quickly built an excellent reputation as a premium wine grape supplier, amassing over 5,000 acres of grapes in Lodi and the Sierra Foothills and eventually becoming one of the top ten wine grape growers in California.
In 1988, John, his wife Gail and their children dedicated themselves to the creation of a wine of their own. While still maintaining grape sales to top wineries around the world, they brought award-winning winemaker Steve Millier aboard to launch Kautz wines, which would evolve into Ironstone Vineyards, a wine brand dedicated to the production of exceptional wines of unparalleled quality, outstanding value and everyday approachability.
In 1989, using dynamite, pick axes and shovels, a crew of miners carved through limestone and Calaveras Schist Rock on Gail’s family ranch in Murphys, California and fashioned the site of Ironstone’s wine aging caverns, which in the beginning, also served as the facility’s first tasting room., Ironstone Wines and the Ironstone Winery have each grown and become famous in their own way. John, Gail and each of their four children - Stephen, Kurt, Jack, and Joan - remain actively involved in the growth of both the winery facility and the wine brand.
Lodi is justifiably lauded for its old vine Zinfandels, but it is a production powerhouse when it comes to Cabernet Sauvignon. Lodi and its surrounding area (San Joaquin County) rank third in the state in acres planted to Cab, behind Napa and Paso Robles/San Luis Obispo County. But in total tons crushed Lodi is number one by a wide margin, surpassing Napa and Paso combined. In other words, Lodi produces more Cabernet Sauvignon than anywhere else in the U.S. This more volume-driven approach to viticulture makes possible the value-oriented bottlings that so many wine drinkers reach for on an everyday basis. These offer the varietal’s classic profile of dark fruit, oak influence, subtle herbal and green pepper notes and solid structure. Try Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon from wineries like Cosentino, Ironstone, Lapis Luna and The Federalist.