Triple Creek Ranch Wine & Spirits Director Angela Gargano suggests bottles to pair with C.M. Russell.
Horsepower Vineyards, The Tribe Vineyard, Syrah, Walla Walla Valley, Milton-Freewater, Oregon, 2016
“Is there any figure that symbolizes the West more than the horse? The art of C.M. Russell is filled with images of horses, so this new wine project by iconic Walla Walla winemaker Christophe Baron of Cayuse Vineyards seems like the perfect wine to sip on while contemplating his art. This teeny-tiny production wine is biodynamically produced and eschews machinery for draft horses to work the vineyards. Made in the same old-school way that wines would have been made the year Charlie Russell was born, this is a deep, dark, and gamey syrah with notes of smoke, black pepper, and graphite surrounding a core of blackberries and red cherries.”
Bedrock, Monte Rosso Vineyard, Zinfandel, Sonoma Valley, 2016
“In the early 1880s Charlie Russell made the move to Montana, realizing his dream of living the cowboy life in the West. He worked as a wrangler by night and sketched scenes of the cow camp during the day. At the same time in California, immigrants were planting the iconic Monte Rosso Vineyard that this wine comes from. Planted before automation, these heritage vines continue to grow in terraces backbreakingly carved into steep slopes of rich red soils — a living snapshot of this era in American history. Aromas of crushed herbes de Provence and licorice give way to voluptuous notes of brambly raspberry and inky blackberries and a long peppery finish.”
Colter’s Creek, Koos-Koos-Kia, Red Blend, Lewis & Clark AVA, 2016
“This wine hails from the newly established Lewis & Clark AVA in Northern Idaho — the nearest established wine-growing region to Russell’s beloved Montana home. This blend of estate-grown cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc is cultivated on an incredibly steep and rocky hillside in the western frontier of the wine world. Winemaker Melissa Sanborn has crafted a wine with an elegant core of black currant, black cherry and dried plum which is well-integrated with rich notes of cocoa, cinnamon and clove. We think that this would be perfect for sipping by an open pit fire after a long day of wrangling and cattle-driving!”
Pair your Western wine with …
Western art with Triple Creek Ranch's Craig Barrett
Triple Creek Ranch recipes
Photography: Images courtesy Bread & Butter PR
