2018 American Hardcore, Red Wine, Napa Valley

A punk rock red from one of Calistoga's coolest vineyard.

You’ll flip off the stage for this hardcore Petite Sirah blend.

As you probably know by now, punk rock is one of our core inspirations, informing both our labels and our winemaking. With American Hardcore, our goal was to make something that captures punk rock’s audacity in a wine.

This blend is all about the Petite Sirah, which comprises 85% of the bottle. Though this grape is named for its smaller berries, it’s known to produce big, brooding wines. Between the petite berries that concentrate color and flavor, and the thick skins that create a fuck-ton of tannins, Petite Sirah is our goto variety when we want to make a statement.

And to push things to the extreme (as always), our Petite Sirah comes from the Kalin Vineyard, here in our backyard on the western side of Calistoga. Why does that matter? Well, between spring and fall, Calistoga is hot as shit. The grapes get blasted with heat during the day, and then plummet to chilly temperatures at night. This constant variance in temperature stresses the vines, which concentrates the grape characteristics. Calistoga soils are also rich in volcanic deposits, which amplifies the intensity even more. Basically, this is Petite Sirah on steroids (shout out José Canseco).To smooth out the blend, we added 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Syrah, and 4% Merlot: all from Napa Valley. These varieties support the Petite Sirah and assures the blend is smooth, harmonious, and opulent as they say in the wine world.

Ok, we’ll stop rambling now and tell you what it’s like. In the glass, it’s definitely Petite Sirah: dark purple in color and abounding with blueberry and sugarplum aromas. The juice hits your mouth with ferocity, showcasing the powerful flavors and tannins we warned you about. Just oodles of blueberry, blackberry, dark chocolate, black tea, and a hint of black licorice and spice. The complementing grape varieties do a wonderful job supporting the power and tannins from the Petite Sirah with a round mouthfeel and tantalizing finish. It’s sooo good. For a food pairing, go equally big, with barbecued meats or stuffed peppers.

To bring the experience to life, we partnered with legendary music photographer, Edward Colver for the label. Edward defined punk photography, capturing the emergence of American punk rock throughout the 1970s and 1980s from the front row. His iconic photos have been featured in over 500 album covers for some of the era’s most important bands. The photo we use shows skater, Chuck Burke, somersaulting over a mosh pit during a Stiff Little Fingers / Adolescents / DOA show at Perkins Palace in Pasadena, California, July 4, 1981. This flip shot was also used on the back of Wasted Youth’s “Reagan’s In.”

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