2004 Golden Mile Cellars Cabernet Franc

[dananne]

When you talk to winemakers in the S. Appalachians from, say, VA to GA, most think the best red vinifera planted around here is Cab Franc. Some folks have done nice things with Malbec or Tannat or Touriga National, but many people are doing good things with CF around here. Why so few on the left coast seem able to is a puzzler. One winemaker I met at a pre-Wine South event was talking about this, and he said, "Well, the people who grow Cabernet Franc are the ones that can't grow Cabernet Sauvignon." While at first I thought he was talking about vineyards (soil, climate, etc.) I realized that he was talking about $ and marketing. I suppose that's at least part of the story -- why make a wonderful CF and sell it for $25 when you can make a middling CS and sell it for $50?