2023 Puppione Family Wines Festa Rosso Red Blend, California
Sonoma County’s #1 Summertime Red Wine | Ziggy the Wine Gal
Tasting Notes
The FESTA wines are made to honor Lucia Festa Puppione–the matriarch of the Puppiones in America–who brought her family to Oakland, CA in 1913.
Everyone’s favorite red crusher–our FESTA Rosso–is back with its signature lively ruby red translucent hue. The visual allure is accompanied by a slight effervescence, promising the refreshing experience you have come to expect from this chillable gem. Floral notes of violet and lavender intermingle with the brightness of crushed red berries, while gentle flickers of black pepper and an herbal bouquet add layers of complexity to the nose. Juicy red berries electrify the palate, providing a burst of sweetness that is lifted by a zesty citrus character framed subtly with spiciness and depth. A vibrant acidity imparts a lively and energetic feel, while silky tannins provide a gentle grip as the FESTA Rosso finishes crisp and invigorating, leaving behind a trail of red fruit flavors and a hint of herbal freshness.
She wanted to make the baby a blanket. He was secretly planning to make them all a wine. But no one knew that they were going to start a winery.
And yet, we realized we were in a moment we wanted to honor and commemorate. Making wine is something we do together year after year—a purple-footed rite of passage—a ritual performed in gratitude for all we have enjoyed and endured.
Every family has traditions. Some of them are more formal than others, but they all celebrate togetherness—a connection with those who came before us, those gathered presently, and those we welcome in the future. Nothing on this earth marks the time quite like a wine.
So this is our tradition.
With two barrels, one ton of fruit, and a little help from our friends, we launched Puppione Family Wines in 2017 with the wine made to welcome our daughter into the world. With each vintage, we chronicle our family stories and capture them in cork and bottle for all to appreciate for the years to come.
When opening these wines with others, you create community in a moment. It is wine the way we like it; made with those we love most. It is our family tradition and we invite you to join in with every bottle.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
New to me blend. My sister is here for a couple weeks so she’s helping with the rattage tonight.
Bottle arrived yesterday after spending the weekend in a ups warehouse or truck. Let it rest until this evening. First thoughts, what’s with the seepage around the cork? Is this going to be okay or is it bad?
Open and pour, smells ok. Definitely some fruit, no alcohol, though kinda smells old? There’s some sediment on the cork and in the neck of the bottle which I removed with some paper towel. First sip…I’m getting vinegar. Not good at all. She sipped her glass and says it’s bitter and smells familiar and doesn’t want to be anywhere near it. Not a good start. She agrees to the vinegar flavor, after I mentioned it.
The Internet says we should mix this with seltzer and a squeeze of lemon, so I grabbed some fresh market branded Italian sparkling water with lemon. I did not like it, but she did. Turns out she mixes lots of wines with seltzer…who knew?
Back to the glass. After sitting open for about an hour, the vinegary taste is gone. I’m eating some peppered burger patties and I think the fattiness helps. Cranberry sweet and tart flavors are in the forefront and the alcohol is more pronounced. The finish is rather long. The flavor lingers for many minutes but I don’t think this is for me.
Sis drank her glass with the seltzer and said it’s just ok. Overall, she’s not a fan.
The cork has dried and has sparkly sediment on it. I guess that’s sugar crystals?
Thank you for letting us rat again. Hopefully the weekend in a hot Florida warehouse didn’t cause the bottle to fail. I’m willing to concede that i was expecting the worst when I saw the unopened bottle with a leaking cork…I did my best to not let that taint my observations. We have a couple glasses left and will revisit tomorrow.
@cole103@jaybird I’m used to seeing tartrate crystals in older wines and with some residual sugar. I would not expect them in such a young, dry wine, unless the bottle had been subjected to very cold temperatures (or refrigerated for an extended period). FYI, my rat wine cork also had it. Perhaps this is related to the wine being unfiltered/unfined.
@baldwino0@chipgreen@cole103@jaybird though isn’t it true that some winemakers intentionally skip that step to keep the wine as original and unaltered as possible? though for smaller producers it might also be lack of equipment or staffing.
@baldwino0@cole103@jaybird@pmarin
That sounds about right. The mostly boutique type wineries represented on Casemates tend to be minimal interventionalists. If they are going to forego fining/filtering, as many or even most of them do, it’s not surprising that they wouldn’t cold stabilize either.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2023 Puppione Family Wines Festa Rosso Red Blend - $35 = 21.20%
2023 FESTA Rosso Red Blend, Puppione Family Wines Russian River/Alexander Valley/Sierra Foothills; 12.7% Alcohol
Always happy to offer my LabRat experience. Thank you, Alice and the whole crew at Casemates/WCC. And greetings to my recurring rat partner, @jaybird.
Tremendous challenge this time with a “summer sipper” arriving for review in Michigan in advance of a winter storm tomorrow, and another one Saturday. No balmy patio tasting. Indoors with the furnace set at 66°F. Did Robert Parker suffer so much? (Probably.)
Advertised as 44% Syrah (RRV), 34% Cabernet Sauvignon (Alexander Valley), and 22% Friulano (Sierra Foothills). All the details are above, I’m sure.
I would humbly submit that I smell all three, maybe that AV Cab slightly dominant. Also red plums. Overall, not complex, but very nice. It’s not supposed to be complex. It’s supposed to be a patio/deck chilled red wine when it’s 85 degrees. Co-tasting partner offered her initial affirmation of herbal/lavender aromas. I will say at this point that my bottle fared better than @jaybird’s, and unlike his, I served it fully chilled, which would support suppressed aromatics.
Color is as advertised… “translucent lively ruby red.” Bottled unfined & unfiltered. Bottom of the bottle confirms that… an attractive layer of sediment. Don’t agitate!
I have nothing to add to the winery’s tasting notes (but especially confirming dominant “silky tannins”), but a couple of things to subtract. There was no effervescence in this bottle. That’s too bad… I was kind of looking forward to a slight spritz. I got no “black pepper” in aroma or palate. Not sure what “citrus” I’m supposed to be getting… maybe a hint of Meyer lemon. Finish is generous and with slightly mouth-drying tannins.
The Friulano’s effect, for me, was to take the punch out of the young reds in the blend. I don’t mean that in a bad way; just noting the young red juice seems softer, without sharp edges. But this is no rosé, @chipgreen.
We didn’t plan our day around this tasting (chaotic day), so I have no food matches on which to report. I think a cheese and charcuterie tray would work nicely. Picnic food. Cold cuts.
For the residual sugar worriers… this is very dry. No worries. For the oak worriers… a mere 4 months in stainless before bottling, no oak.
I agree with the advice to try this with a little seltzer and a slice of citrus fruit. Or go full cocktail mode and do a FESTA riff on a Negroni Sbagliato, maybe 3 parts of the FESTA (in place of vermouth) to 1 part each Prosecco (or seltzer) and Campari. (Just brainstorming here.) Or make Sangria!
Really curious to see what the offer price will be. Also curious to see if this is a mixed offer – there is a FESTA Bianco, 100% Friulano, which sounds delicious. EDIT: alas not to be. Maybe we will see it in a future offering.
I recommend the Rosso as a buy at this price, but maybe swallow the price differential and go with the 4-pack if you’re feeling hesitant.
@jaybird We have 1/3 bottle left, too. Don’t know if this is still on sale tomorrow, but I’ll try to post 2nd-day notes. Probably will let it warm up a bit… 55F instead of 40F. Maybe I’ll try the cocktail I imagined.
2023 Puppione Family Wines Festa Rosso
4 bottles for $54.99 $13.75/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $129.99 $10.83/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2023 FESTA Rosso Red Blend, Puppione Family Wines Russian River/Alexander Valley/Sierra Foothills; 12.7% Alcohol
OK, I did it. A big pour of FESTA Rosso, gin (yeah that’s me), Aperol (because dammit, I’m out of Campari), and some seltzer. And lemon, because I’m all out of oranges, having just made Cara Cara marmalade earlier today. Pretty darned tasty! Honestly, I think the winery would approve.
Maybe the first time I’ve seen a Casemates offer for a mixer. What say you, @jaybird? Honestly, I think the winery would approve.
Got home late tonight, cooked some sirloin and tossed a salad. Poured the last 2 glasses. No vinegar, but very tart and bitter on the front end and a glob of unfiltered sediment in the bottle. The steak and butter cut through and made it much more enjoyable. Last night I was ready to write this one off. Tonight I’m thinking there is still something bothering me about it, but I would gladly share a glass of it were offered. Perhaps it needs some age to it.
@chipgreen@karenhynes
While I ~can~ move it, I cann’t preserve your name as the OP; it will default to me. I can give you credit however, if that’s what you want me to do.
If you just post a null message, I can move it to that post and you’ll retain credit/ownership as the OP
@chipgreen@InFrom@karenhynes@rjquillin That seems better than just creating a post that says “DUMMY!” and perhaps starting a forum war with the previous posters if the magic editing is delayed.
@chipgreen@InFrom@karenhynes@Mark_L
Ok, so I should have called it a “null content” post. But the system won’t accept that, so it must contain some content; I called it “dummy” for lack of a better term. Is there some more acceptable term to convey the intent; to preserve the OP handle as the originator of the post?
2023 Puppione Family Wines Festa Rosso Red Blend, California
Sonoma County’s #1 Summertime Red Wine | Ziggy the Wine Gal
Tasting Notes
Specs
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$432.00/Case for 12x 2023 Puppione Family Wines Festa Rosso Red Blend, California at Puppione Family Wines
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Mar 3 - Wednesday, Mar 5
So, it’s… almost… a Rosé? Looking forward to rats, but a couple questions for the winery;
Were the grapes co-fermented?
and
What is the Residual Sugar %?
@chipgreen Not even close to a rosé. The Friulano softens the reds, but this is absolutely a red wine with requisite tannic grip.
New to me blend. My sister is here for a couple weeks so she’s helping with the rattage tonight.
Bottle arrived yesterday after spending the weekend in a ups warehouse or truck. Let it rest until this evening. First thoughts, what’s with the seepage around the cork? Is this going to be okay or is it bad?
Open and pour, smells ok. Definitely some fruit, no alcohol, though kinda smells old? There’s some sediment on the cork and in the neck of the bottle which I removed with some paper towel. First sip…I’m getting vinegar. Not good at all. She sipped her glass and says it’s bitter and smells familiar and doesn’t want to be anywhere near it. Not a good start. She agrees to the vinegar flavor, after I mentioned it.
The Internet says we should mix this with seltzer and a squeeze of lemon, so I grabbed some fresh market branded Italian sparkling water with lemon. I did not like it, but she did. Turns out she mixes lots of wines with seltzer…who knew?
Back to the glass. After sitting open for about an hour, the vinegary taste is gone. I’m eating some peppered burger patties and I think the fattiness helps. Cranberry sweet and tart flavors are in the forefront and the alcohol is more pronounced. The finish is rather long. The flavor lingers for many minutes but I don’t think this is for me.
Sis drank her glass with the seltzer and said it’s just ok. Overall, she’s not a fan.
The cork has dried and has sparkly sediment on it. I guess that’s sugar crystals?
Thank you for letting us rat again. Hopefully the weekend in a hot Florida warehouse didn’t cause the bottle to fail. I’m willing to concede that i was expecting the worst when I saw the unopened bottle with a leaking cork…I did my best to not let that taint my observations. We have a couple glasses left and will revisit tomorrow.
@jaybird The color is much more purple than the photo on the homepage.
@jaybird I just read over the summary above, this was not chilled.
@jaybird Ahoy, ratmate! “Hot Florida warehouse” sounds pretty nice right now from where I sit (in the yellow).
For me, that is; not wine storage.
@jaybird Crystals on the cork are tartaric acid—not a bad sign.https://tablascreek.typepad.com/tablas/2011/05/whats-in-my-wine-tartrate-crystals.html
@cole103 @jaybird I’m used to seeing tartrate crystals in older wines and with some residual sugar. I would not expect them in such a young, dry wine, unless the bottle had been subjected to very cold temperatures (or refrigerated for an extended period). FYI, my rat wine cork also had it. Perhaps this is related to the wine being unfiltered/unfined.
@baldwino0 We weren’t privileged to show on the map (just left of the I-94 sign) but still getting 2-4”
Get those shovels out!
@baldwino0 @ttboy23 aww I want snow!
@baldwino0 @cole103 @jaybird
The tartrate crystals are a result of the wine not being cold stabilized during production.
@baldwino0 @chipgreen @cole103 @jaybird though isn’t it true that some winemakers intentionally skip that step to keep the wine as original and unaltered as possible? though for smaller producers it might also be lack of equipment or staffing.
@baldwino0 @cole103 @jaybird @pmarin
That sounds about right. The mostly boutique type wineries represented on Casemates tend to be minimal interventionalists. If they are going to forego fining/filtering, as many or even most of them do, it’s not surprising that they wouldn’t cold stabilize either.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2023 Puppione Family Wines Festa Rosso Red Blend - $35 = 21.20%
2023 FESTA Rosso Red Blend, Puppione Family Wines
Russian River/Alexander Valley/Sierra Foothills; 12.7% Alcohol
Always happy to offer my LabRat experience. Thank you, Alice and the whole crew at Casemates/WCC. And greetings to my recurring rat partner, @jaybird.
Tremendous challenge this time with a “summer sipper” arriving for review in Michigan in advance of a winter storm tomorrow, and another one Saturday. No balmy patio tasting. Indoors with the furnace set at 66°F. Did Robert Parker suffer so much? (Probably.)
Advertised as 44% Syrah (RRV), 34% Cabernet Sauvignon (Alexander Valley), and 22% Friulano (Sierra Foothills). All the details are above, I’m sure.
I would humbly submit that I smell all three, maybe that AV Cab slightly dominant. Also red plums. Overall, not complex, but very nice. It’s not supposed to be complex. It’s supposed to be a patio/deck chilled red wine when it’s 85 degrees. Co-tasting partner offered her initial affirmation of herbal/lavender aromas. I will say at this point that my bottle fared better than @jaybird’s, and unlike his, I served it fully chilled, which would support suppressed aromatics.
Color is as advertised… “translucent lively ruby red.” Bottled unfined & unfiltered. Bottom of the bottle confirms that… an attractive layer of sediment. Don’t agitate!
I have nothing to add to the winery’s tasting notes (but especially confirming dominant “silky tannins”), but a couple of things to subtract. There was no effervescence in this bottle. That’s too bad… I was kind of looking forward to a slight spritz. I got no “black pepper” in aroma or palate. Not sure what “citrus” I’m supposed to be getting… maybe a hint of Meyer lemon. Finish is generous and with slightly mouth-drying tannins.
The Friulano’s effect, for me, was to take the punch out of the young reds in the blend. I don’t mean that in a bad way; just noting the young red juice seems softer, without sharp edges. But this is no rosé, @chipgreen.
We didn’t plan our day around this tasting (chaotic day), so I have no food matches on which to report. I think a cheese and charcuterie tray would work nicely. Picnic food. Cold cuts.
For the residual sugar worriers… this is very dry. No worries. For the oak worriers… a mere 4 months in stainless before bottling, no oak.
I agree with the advice to try this with a little seltzer and a slice of citrus fruit. Or go full cocktail mode and do a FESTA riff on a Negroni Sbagliato, maybe 3 parts of the FESTA (in place of vermouth) to 1 part each Prosecco (or seltzer) and Campari. (Just brainstorming here.) Or make Sangria!
Really curious to see what the offer price will be. Also curious to see if this is a mixed offer – there is a FESTA Bianco, 100% Friulano, which sounds delicious. EDIT: alas not to be. Maybe we will see it in a future offering.
I recommend the Rosso as a buy at this price, but maybe swallow the price differential and go with the 4-pack if you’re feeling hesitant.
@baldwino0
I too thought it might work well in a sangria. I’m hoping the remaining sample is better tonight. Fingers crossed.
@jaybird We have 1/3 bottle left, too. Don’t know if this is still on sale tomorrow, but I’ll try to post 2nd-day notes. Probably will let it warm up a bit… 55F instead of 40F. Maybe I’ll try the cocktail I imagined.
@baldwino0 @jaybird Yes, it’s on sale until 9pm PT tomorrow.
2023 Puppione Family Wines Festa Rosso
4 bottles for $54.99 $13.75/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $129.99 $10.83/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2023 FESTA Rosso Red Blend, Puppione Family Wines
Russian River/Alexander Valley/Sierra Foothills; 12.7% Alcohol
OK, I did it. A big pour of FESTA Rosso, gin (yeah that’s me), Aperol (because dammit, I’m out of Campari), and some seltzer. And lemon, because I’m all out of oranges, having just made Cara Cara marmalade earlier today. Pretty darned tasty! Honestly, I think the winery would approve.
Maybe the first time I’ve seen a Casemates offer for a mixer. What say you, @jaybird? Honestly, I think the winery would approve.
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMQ5bmgp1HUleSYmsyMghgiTT6M645x9R1sKXWG
@baldwino0 that looks fun.
Got home late tonight, cooked some sirloin and tossed a salad. Poured the last 2 glasses. No vinegar, but very tart and bitter on the front end and a glob of unfiltered sediment in the bottle. The steak and butter cut through and made it much more enjoyable. Last night I was ready to write this one off. Tonight I’m thinking there is still something bothering me about it, but I would gladly share a glass of it were offered. Perhaps it needs some age to it.
Sorry for the chaos. Can’t seem to edit posts.
@baldwino0 You get only 5-10 minutes to edit.
@baldwino0 @klezman
Yeah, 5.
More Stolpman rose please
moved here for @chipgreen
@chipgreen
Looks YUM!..but me thinks you’ve wandered into the wrong thread.
@karenhynes
Doh! Maybe @rjquillin can move it for me?
Apologies…
@chipgreen @rjquillin
I’ve done the same thing a couple of times. No biggie. I’m sure our hero, Ron, can save the day!
@chipgreen @karenhynes
While I ~can~ move it, I cann’t preserve your name as the OP; it will default to me. I can give you credit however, if that’s what you want me to do.
If you just post a null message, I can move it to that post and you’ll retain credit/ownership as the OP
@karenhynes @rjquillin
Thanks for the helping hand!
@chipgreen @karenhynes
Go put a dummy post there so I can move it to you as the OP.
@karenhynes @rjquillin
I am not sure what a dummy post is? It looks fine to me the way it is, anyway.
@chipgreen @karenhynes @rjquillin I think he wanted you to go to the other thread and post this:
/image Jerry Mahoney
@InFrom @karenhynes @rjquillin
@chipgreen @InFrom @karenhynes
Exactly! And then the dummy will morph into the orig post.
@chipgreen @InFrom @karenhynes @rjquillin That seems better than just creating a post that says “DUMMY!” and perhaps starting a forum war with the previous posters if the magic editing is delayed.
@chipgreen @InFrom @karenhynes @Mark_L
Ok, so I should have called it a “null content” post. But the system won’t accept that, so it must contain some content; I called it “dummy” for lack of a better term. Is there some more acceptable term to convey the intent; to preserve the OP handle as the originator of the post?
@chipgreen @InFrom @karenhynes @rjquillin I understood exactly what you were referring to by a “dummy post”.
@chipgreen @karenhynes @Mark_L @rjquillin No duh, so did I, obvs!
@InFrom @karenhynes @Mark_L @rjquillin
Well, I posted a single period this morning but I haven’t seen the magic yet!
@chipgreen
missed it