GALAHAD: Our Wine Journey
We were blessed to participate in the Vines Global journey to the Tuscany Montalcino wine region in October, 2023. We embraced the opportunity to produce our own Brunello di Montalcino- 2020 DOCG vintage. After intense and educational blending sessions with the elite winemaking team at Cupano Winery, we developed our signature Sangiovese sourced wine, using grapes from different plots on the Cupano estate. The “juice” had already been aged in French oak barrels for 3 years. After fine tuning our blend, we split a full barrel with cool friends who are also Vines Global members. Each barrel produces 25 cases of wine so our ownership share is 150 bottles. Bottling was completed in late 2024 and we expect delivery of our exquisite Brunello in the next 60 days. Very exciting.
Experimenting with the blends and making final choices was obviously the most critical element of the process. Those choices define the wine. BUT, work (actually another round of fun) remained on our agenda. In close consultation with the team of Vines Global and the Vines of Mendoza, we embarked on the design of our wine label- heck branding is everything! Our first decision was not to use the Dona Amalia label we use for the wine we produce at the Vines of Mendoza in Uco Valley, Argentina. We have proudly been making 50 cases a year since 2013. We make 25 cases of Malbec and 25 vases of a Gran Corte blend each year. We love our label for Dona Amalia and you can see it on the cover page of this blog. After a period of reflection, we concluded it was wiser to establish a “clean” identity for our Brunello- avoid unnecessary confusion for friends, family and colleagues.
The development of our Brunello label was a serious intellectual and creative exercise. Many decisions- a lot of back and forth- edits and re-edits. We needed to draft a label consistent with our mission. What message do we want to send with this wine? Decisions abound- do we want to honour the grape varietal, the winemaker, the region? Finally, we decided the label should represent the underlying qualities of the wine in the bottle. The label will tell the consumer what they should feel when they taste the wine. It is a “values” driven label. Fortunately, for Brunellos, with an incredible winemaking history, there is no shortage of desirable qualities to highlight. We quickly pooled our thoughts and identified serenity, balance, power, elegance, harmony, purity and beauty as the appropriate Brunello symbols. Great terroir, a sense of tradition, a commitment to excellence- all leading to a complex, refined, regal wine drinking experience. We had several false starts. We initially focused on Italian adjectives or nouns symbolising the wine. We also searched for Tuscany backgrounds; local trees, beautiful sunsets and rolling hillsides and olive groves. We considered Elegante, Prezioso, Serenita, Cielo, Passione, Raffenita, Sinfonica, Opulento, Sogno. Then we combined those titles with Riserva or Nobile. The team produced a host of labels , but we never felt the vibe- didn’t think we had hit a homerun. Maybe a little gimmicky, a little cute and not particularly original. We went back to the drawing board.
Plan B was activated. We decide to name the wine after a person, living or legend, present or historical, who best exemplified the inherent Brunello qualities we cited above. We identified purity, strength, nobility and harmony as the fundamental characteristics. BINGO- GALAHAD flashed into my consciousness. I always loved the Knights of the Round Table. Camelot is awesome! King Arthur, Lancelot, Guenivere, the sword in stone, the search for the Holy Grail- inspiring stuff for a young fellow. Arthur is the boss and Lancelot is the most daring (but flawed), but Galahad was literally the prototype Knight in Shining Armor. A spiritual warrior prince. He was flawless- a beacon of integrity and perfection. Purity of purpose, only fighting for righteous causes, marital prowess, a defined moral code. A MAN IN FULL! I always said I would use Galahad as my code symbol if I ever held a job that required such a moniker- eg- “Ice” and “Maverick” in Top Gun and “Renegade” the Secret Service shorthand for Barack Obama. Alas, not going to happen, but I was prepared to say “Galahad” works for me. Luckily, it is now a great fit for a wonderful Brunello di Montalcino vintage.
The match was not forced- it came naturally because the essence of Galahad’s character translates beautifully to a great wine. Purity, clarity, honest expression of terroir, a natural relationship with the spirit and the land. This Brunello vintage will balance strength and elegance. Note the harmony between fruit, tannins and acidity. The texture and structure will reflect Galahad’s search for perfection and truth. Galahad actually found the Holy Grail and hopefully our wine will integrate all the elements that led to his success. Galahad was from noble lineage- the son of Lancelot and our wine is born from the rich and regal Montalcino terroir. I am bordering on poetic and will shut it down now. Needless to say, we are comfortable with GALAHAD as our Brunello and look forward to sharing it with friends and family.
The label also features the traditional Galahad coat of arms- required some research! A white symbol with a vermilion cross- a the same symbol employed by the Knights Templar. It is hard to get more distinguished - more historical- or a better representation of integrity and excellence.
We go to Piedmont with Vines Global in October, 2025. Perhaps, we make a Barolo or Barbaresco- already thinking Lancelot may work as our label. Watch and wait!
