CheapWineFinder Podcast
Talking about remarkable wines that pair nicely with your wallet! Because we like to keep it cheap but excellent.
CheapWineFinder Podcast
Summer Sippers: The Federalist Lodi Cab
Have you ever discovered a $10 wine that drinks like it should cost twice as much? The Federalist Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 is exactly that kind of delightful surprise – a summer-ready red that delivers serious bang for your buck without compromising on flavor or character.
This affordable gem comes from Terlato Wines, the same company that revolutionized American wine drinking by introducing Pinot Grigio to our shores fifty years ago. Their experience shines through in this Lodi Cabernet, which offers a beautifully balanced profile featuring blackberry, raspberry, and plum notes complemented by hints of black licorice, toasty vanilla, and mocha. The wine benefits from 15 months in oak barrels (35% new), creating just enough complexity without overwhelming the fruit-forward character that makes it so approachable.
What makes this wine special is partly its terroir. Lodi sits in California's Central Valley where dramatic temperature swings – sometimes 50 degrees between scorching days and cool nights – create ideal conditions for developing full flavors while maintaining crucial acidity. These unique growing conditions, combined with thoughtful blending (93% Cabernet Sauvignon with touches of Zinfandel and Petit Syrah), result in a crowd-pleasing wine that's perfect for casual occasions. With its smooth texture, good weight, and inviting acidity, it pairs beautifully with everything from burgers to tacos. For under $10, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more satisfying everyday Cabernet that demonstrates why exploring beyond premium wine regions can yield such rewarding discoveries. Try it at your next gathering and watch how quickly the bottle disappears!
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Welcome, it's Domain Dave. Again CheapWineFoundercom. Like always, Today we've got a summer sipper, a red wine. We do three wines a week value-priced wines and then we do the podcast along with them so you can get a little bit of reading and writing and hearing. And today this is the Federalist Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon 2022.
Speaker 1:The Federalist is a brand from Terlato. They've been around for 50 years. They're a huge wine and spirits company. You know their wines, even if you might not know them, and you should know them because they are the people that brought Pinot Grigio to the United States. Before they came out with their Santa Margarita brand, the average drinking public didn't know what the heck Pinot Grigio is and without too much time afterwards it was everywhere and I think it was like $18 a bottle even back then. So it was a huge success. Pinot Grigio is everywhere. Matter of fact, probably the last Pinot Grigio you had wasn't Santa Margarita. At one time they kind of dominated the market. Now it's so popular, there's so many out there. But that's who Terlato is, and anybody who breaks a wine in the in a country makes a lot of money. Being the first one to the table is a good thing to do, and Terlato is a fine wine company and the Federalist. At one point there was pictures of Thomas Jefferson and Lincoln and Ben Franklin on it and each one had a different you know different statesman on there. Now it's just American Eagle holding a banner. They kind of just, and they all, all the wines.
Speaker 1:This one's from Lodi We'll get into Lodi in a minute but there's like Central Coast wines and Brose's and Red Blends and Zinfandels and Chardonnays. They do the whole thing. I'm going to take a sip. This is kind of a crowd-pleasing wine. It has a touch of nectar sweetness to it. This isn't a. This is a dry wine, but there's a little touch of sweetness to it. It's got good rounded fruit. It's like nectar sweetness is like when you bite into a plum or something. It's not sugary, it's not like a candy bar, but there's a little bit of sweetness there. That's kind of pleasing. I'm going to take another sip. There's good blackberry. There's uh, maybe black licorice. There is raspberry plum, good spice, um, toasty vanilla.
Speaker 1:This was in oak barrels for 15 months, 35% new oak. When they when there's a lot of used barrels, they don't want to over oak the wine because then it takes longer for the wine to come together and to release. So they want to use use barrels, because every time you use a barrel there is less oak for the uh oak influence for the wood to release. So you know, 35 new sounds pretty good and the rest were all like a math problem of just how much it is. So and this is a 2022 and 2025, so it's been sitting out there for a little bit of time, so it's got a little decent amount of age for a wine I found for $9.99. And I think a lot of it was American oak, because you're getting chocolate, you're getting vanilla In this. I didn't get chocolate chocolate, I got more like a mocha, some coffee, that type of thing. Got more like a mocha, some coffee, that type of thing.
Speaker 1:They didn't specify which oak they used and maybe both the Cabernet Sauvignon all came from a single sub-AVA that there's only one winery in, though there's other vineyards. So this is not like a. It's not like a. It's like, it's not like from everywhere. There's some, there's some thought put into where the grapes come from. There's also like a 5% Zinfandel and a little Petit Syrah and all that type of stuff in there, but it's 93% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Speaker 1:Cabernet Sauvignon likes to have a blend. That's what Bordeaux Reds are. They always blend them. Adding a little bit of something is always good, because you start getting a little bit of this, a little bit of that adds to the flavor. Take another sip that adds to the flavor. Take another sip. It's smooth on the palate but it's got a little bit of weight to it. It's got good acidity Red wines don't normally have and it's not quite lip smacking, but there is some kind of there is that kind of it kind of beckons you to take that second sip. And that's what this is. This is a crowd pleasing wine. This is not a wine that you're gonna bring and bust out for your when you went and splurged on some expensive steaks or whatever. This is sitting around maybe having a burger, getting a bag of tacos, that type of thing, and this would do just well with that. So it's the Federalist Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon 2022.
Speaker 1:Lodi is a great place for value-priced wine because it's in Central Valley. It's in the River Valley from the San Pablo Bay, so you get cool breezes shooting down the River Valley and you get the fog in the morning. During the day, Sometimes too much heat, it can get to be 100 degrees, but when it gets down like 50 degrees difference between night and day, the vines, which are like, overly stressed during the day, just calm themselves down and then the next day you can get a full growing season and it's a place where you can get value-priced wines. Napa Valley is not that far away and those wines you don't get value-priced that often Lodi, you can get value. So that's it for me. Domain Dave, this is the Federalist. Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon 2022. Adios, keep it cheap. I'll be talking to everybody in a couple of days and it looks like it's going to be warm out there, so stay cool. Bye-bye.