Tasting Cupcake Vineyards’ Award Winning Wine with Winemaker Adam Richardson

With the economy continuing to struggle, interest in wines under $15 has exploded.

WineEnabler.com has tried to keep pace with this trend, so we were thrilled when I was asked to meet winemaker Adam Richardson, International wine director for Underdog Wine Merchants. Adam was in Austin to promote his latest venture with Underdog, Cupcake Vineyards. Launched in 2008, Cupcake Vineyards offered a Chardonnay, a Merlot, a Cabernet and a Petite Sirah.

I had the chance to taste the 2007 Chardonnay at the First Annual North American Wine Blogger’s Conference as part of the speed blogging round. The WineEnabler.com crew liked the wine. It was well packaged – sort of feminine with nice balance, and we thought it was an excellent buy for about ten bucks. Apparently we were not the only ones. Later that year, Wine Spectator awarded Cupcake’s ‘07 Chardonnay a score of 88.

In fact, Cupcake’s wines were so well received that three more wines were added to the portfolio; a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, a Malbec from Argentina and a Riesling from Yakima Valley, Washington. These wines have also met with WS approval. The Sauvignon Blanc garnered the magic score of 90 from the Spectator. Not bad for wines with a suggested retail price of $13.99, and if you look around, you can find them for less then that.

While we talked, Adam let me taste his most recent releases. All of the wines displayed good varietal character with a restrained New World style. My favorites were the whites. The Sauvignon Blanc was typical NZ with lots of citrus/grapefruit and plenty of acid. Citrus in a glass is not my favorite Sauvignon Blanc style, but it is very popular. If you like a citrus-forward wine, but without the herbaceous tone of freshly mowed grass, this wine is for you. The ’08 Chardonnay is a pleasant drink with a subtle dose of oak and good mouth feel. My favorite was the Yakima Valley Riesling. Showing lots of tropical fruit with some citrus, this is a balanced wine with enough acid to pair well with food.

All of the reds, except for the Malbec, are sourced from the Central Coast region of California. I think the Central Coast is better suited for growing Pinot and Rhone varietals, however, the red offerings from Cupcake showed well, particularly for the price. The ’07 Cab displayed dark fruit, oak and a good finish. The ’07 Petite Sirah was also an acceptable drink, but it lacked some of the spice and heft I enjoy in a Petite. That being said, you would be hard pressed to find a Petite with lot of muscle for under $14. Cupcake’s ’07 Merlot was also a nice wine. Finally, the Malbec showed good varietal character and was enjoyable, but there is plenty of competition from other Argentinean Malbecs in this price range.

After tasting Adam’s wines, there was just one question, asked by a fellow wine drinker, why Cupcake? Adam’s reply was he wasn’t involved in picking the name — it was a marketing decision. I am sure that Underdog put plenty of effort into researching the name and developing the image. Obviously, it was a good business decision: Cupcake wine is widely available and sales are good. However, the best decision Underdog Wine Merchants made was to have Adam make the wine.

Check out these related posts:

1. Speed tasting at the Wine Bloggers Conference
2. The grapes Syrah vs. Shiraz vs. Petite Sirah — What’s the difference?
3. Great Chardonnay, old vine Zinfandel, and Pinot Noir from Davis Family Vineyards
4. A list of good, but cheap, wines for these hard times
5. Inexpensive white and red house wines