-Canadian Ice Wine & NW Ice Wine Style Wines

  Including late harvest and port style wines

Ice wines are made by a surprising number of Oregon and Washington wineries. TRUE ice wines, those mind boggling expensive bits of ambrosia are almost entirely produced in North America by a few wineries in British Columbia. We offer both types.

Did you know that the Northwest produces some of the most highly rated sweet wines? Ice wines from British Columbia's Inniskillin and Jackson Triggs wineries win top ratings internationally, the highest rating ever for Chateau Ste Michelle was 97 points from Wine Spectator for a very limited ice wine, and at lower price points, Oregon and Washington wineries make world class "Ice wine styled" wines, ports, fruit based desert wines, and late harvest wines.

Ice Wines

A speciality of regions that get really cold after harvest, ice wines are fabulous ultra-sweet dessert wines. The most famous regions for ice wine are Germany, Austria and Canada, and British Columbia makes some of the world’s best.

Until recently, British Columbia's Ice Wines were not available in the US. Now, we are thrilled to offer the BC Ice Wines of Inniskillin and Jackson Triggs, and continue to offer the ice wines of Chateau Ste Michelle, Covey Run, Kiona, and Andrew Rich, all NW producers.

Washington State produces a few Ice Wines, not usually as highly rated (or nearly as expensive as BC Ice Wines) but quite worthy, highly rated "stickies".

Oregon has Andrew Rich, whose Gewurztraminer Ice Wine is a perennial highly rated, highly prized Ice Wine at a bargain $22 price.

For more Sweet Wines Check out these Pages:

Sweet & Dessert Wines
(including late harvest wines)

Honeywood Fruit Wine

Inniskillin

Jackson Triggs

Paradise Ranch


 

What is an "Ice Wine"

To make a "true" Ice Wine, grapes are left on the vine long after harvest and are picked by hand once temperatures reach a certain level, usually about 17 degrees Fahrenheit
(-8 Celsius). Typically wineries will trudge through snow in the middle of the night to pick the grapes when it’s cold enough. These marble-hard grapes then are crushed. Since they’re frozen, just a few drops of sweet juice comes out and ultimately fermented. Because it’s so hard to make and just a little results from the harvested fruit, ice wine tends to be very expensive and usually comes in half-bottles.

The best ice wines are those that retain natural acidity in the face of late harvests and high sugars. This is why Riesling is one of the finest varieties for ice wine. A few wineries also are experimenting with red ice wines, using Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.


Frozen Grapes about to be Crushed for Ice Wine

A little ice wine is made in Washington and Idaho. Some wineries make “ice wine” by picking late-harvest grapes, then freezing them. The resulting wines are not nearly as good as the real thing, and changes in the law in 2003 has forced wineries that make such wines to label them as something other than ice wine. So when you see “ice wine” on the label, you know you’re getting a true ice wine.


Grapes on the Vine, Ready to Pick

Grapes are left on the vine well into the winter months. The resulting freezing and thawing of the grapes dehydrates the fruit, and concentrates the sugars, acids, and extracts in the berries, thereby intensifying the flavours and adding complexity to the wine made from it.

Genuine icewine must follow VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) regulations that prohibit any artificial freezing of grapes. The grapes are painstakingly picked by hand in their natural frozen state, ideally at temperatures of -10 to -13 degrees C -- sometimes the picking must be done at night to take advantage of the temperature. Yields are very low, often as little as 5-10 percent of normal.

The frozen grapes are pressed in the extreme cold. The water in the juice remains frozen as ice crystals, and only a few drops of sweet concentrated juice is obtained. This juice is then fermented very slowly for several months, stopping naturally.

The finished icewine is intensely sweet and flavorful in the initial mouth sensation. The balance is achieved by the acidity, which gives a clean, dry finish. The nose of icewine recalls lychee nuts. The wine tastes of tropical fruits, with shadings of peach nectar and mango.

Icewine is winter's gift to the wine lover: one of the best-kept secrets of the wine world that garners gold medals in virtually every competition in which it is entered.

The greatest of international accolade for Canadian Icewine was bestowed on Inniskillin 1989 Icewine at Vinexpo, Bordeaux, in June 1991. This wine, judged by an international panel, was accorded the fair's highest award, Le Grand Prix d'Honneur.

   


Price: $257.89

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Ice Wine Case Pack - 15% Off Retail!

Save $45.51

The Pacific Northwest offers values like no where else. We offer the rare
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$25.16 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $27.95

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Kiona Ice Wine 07 received 93 points from Wine Advocate (Parker) 7/08. They said: "The 2007 Ice Wine is a Chenin Blanc-Riesling blend with 20% residual sugar. The aromatics are qu
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$38.21 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $42.45

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The Okanagan VIneyards Chardonnay Ice Wine combines the scent of of golden dried grapes, apples and peaches with flavors of mango, papaya, and candied pineapple. Phenomenal with French Vanilla ice cre
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$17.95 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $19.95

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From the winery: "Our Ice Wine is made by hand picking Riesling grapes from our Winery Hill Vineyard and pressing the clusters while still frozen. Because the water is frozen, the sugars, acids and fl
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$22.45 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $24.95

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Kittling Ridge's Infusion Ice Wine is a blend of Kittling Ridge's VIdal Ice wine with seven year barrel aged brandy, lowering the sweetness and introducing the subtle oak flavors of brandy withou
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$44.05 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $48.95

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Kittling Ridge Vidal Ice Wine is made in British Columbia and is internationally known as one of the higest rated ice wines in the world. A rich, exotic nectar offers up aromas of honey, mango, graham
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$21.55 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $23.95

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Andrew says: "Seduction in a bottle. Give in. You know you want to. Just give in."

"I hadn't tasted this wine much since it was bottled last spring, so when I brought a sip of it to my
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$80.95 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $89.95

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HIGHLY RECOMMENDEDFrom the winery: "This wine is both intensely aromatic and varietally distinct, from an incredible Icewine vintage. Portraying aromas of herbs, eucalyptus, strawberry, baked r
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$71.10 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $79.00

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Oh my oh my. Just amazing. All the richness of ice wine, plus a wonderful sparkling spritz that seems to accentuate the flavors. Pure delight. Very very limited.

Wine Spectator rating 89

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$19.30 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $21.45

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Simply exquisite, a small bottle lessens the sticker shock, a wonderful size bottle for gift giving, for taste testing the marvel of nature that is British Columbia Ice Wine. The wines has rich tropic
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$49.01 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $54.45

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The grape is "Vidal" and the flavors are exquisite. The nobility of this vintage shines with an alluring assortment of fresh nectarine, papaya, litchi, tangerine and orange blossoms. These exquisite f
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$66.56 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $73.95

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Wine Spectator rating 93 points for 2002 vintage: "Racy and intense, this ice wine jolts the palate with its dried apricot, blood orange and mint aromas and flavors. It's very sweet, yet offset with
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$62.95 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $69.95

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Wine Spectator rating 90 points: "Rich and thick, with a sweet/tart character, mango, guava and apricot flavors and a vibrant structure. An up-front style that's sure to please. Drink now thro
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$18.86 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $20.95

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Made in an ice wine style from artificially frozen Pinot Blanc grapes, this Glace is always a big hit and sells fast. Truly a beautiful nectar. Sweet hints of peaches and crisp pear followed by notes
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$35.96 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $39.95

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Chocolate raisin, hints of sweet tobacco with light caramel flavors with black cherry undertones. Candied orange peel and hazelnut finish. 100% Cherry Hill Vineyard Pommard Clone Pinot noir fruit.
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$23.36 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $25.95

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This wine highlights the pure fruit of the Pinot Blanc. The wine has benefited from patience at each step as the grapes were frozen, pressed slowly over 36 hours, and then slowly fermented. Extensive
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Harris Bridge "Shortline" Pinot gris Dessert Wine 05

$20.66 - Case price (any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $22.95

The Harris Bridge Shortline Dessert Wine is delicately sweet with an aroma of lilac and honey. There's a hint of apricot and sweet must on the finish.
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$35.05 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $38.95

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Wine Spectator rating 90 points: "Rich and thick, with a sweet/tart character, mango, guava and apricot flavors and a vibrant structure. An up-front style that's sure to please. Drink now through 200
...read more


$35.96 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $39.95

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Madrone Mountain's Mundo Novo dessert wine is inky black. The wine is almost impenetrable to light; some dark purple at the rim; stains on the glass as the wine swirls; great extraction. On the n
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$27.86 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $30.95

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60% Riesling, 32% Gewurztraminer and 8% Muscat. While Riesling supplies the weight of this wine with fresh pear, apricot and honey notes the Gewurztraminer and Muscat add spiciness and aromatics, r
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$23.36 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $25.95

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The madron Mountain Starthistle Cuvee 07 is a blend of 74% Riesling, and 26% Huxelrebe. On the nose, notes of mint, lilac and cream. On the attack, intense acidity supporting a parade of fruit: peach
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$17.50 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $19.45

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Barnard Griffin Port is a dark plum, deep dark cherry flavored sweet wine with hints of bittersweet chocolate and espresso bean. Try with cheese and fruit.
...read more


$17.95 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $19.95

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Selaks Ice Wine is made by Darryl Woolley, one of New Zealand's best known winemakers. Classic ice wine, he describes the wine as a optimal balance between the sweetness of the riesling and gewurztra
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$25.20 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $28.00

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Hold your hats on... We named this 2:1 for the ratio of skins to juice - twice the extraction for this concentrated juice gives this wine an intensity. Rich berry, bold tannins and complexity that
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$17.95 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $19.95

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HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Made by Ray Walsh, who was winemaker at King Estate from 1992 to 2005, this is a spectacular dessert wine, rich yet well balanced, with lovely fresh crisp acidity of

...read more


$26.32 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $29.25

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Beautiful amber color. Aromas of apricots, white raisins, acacia honey, lychee, rose, Turkish Delight, and roasted nuts explode out of the glass. Thick and viscous on the palate, the wine is very swee
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$22.91 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $25.45

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The King Estate Vin Glace Ice Wine is a crowdpleasing apricot and peach flavored "stickie" with nice citrus hints that refresh.
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$14.18 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $15.75

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David Hill Winery's Sweet Simplicy Dessert wine is made from 68% Semillon and 32% Sylvaner. The aromas remind you of a tropical paradise where bananas, pineapples, citrus and coconuts abound. The
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Sineann Sweet Sydney 07 375 ml

$21.60 - Case price (any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $24.00

Sweet Sydney is a Zinfandel Icewine named for the winemaker's beautiful and, well, sweet daughter, Sydney. Freezing Zinfandel effectively removes water as ice crystals concentrating sugars, flavors a
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$26.99 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $29.99

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Elegant, cedary and complex, our 2004 is a true vintage wine in the tradition of the great port houses of the Douro Valley and Oporto. Showing a rich mid-palate of dark chocolate, spice and berry,
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Covey Run Semillon Ice Wine 05 375 ml

$21.55 - Case price (any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $23.95

Covey Run Semillon Ice Wine 05 is only available in our Ice Wine Case Pack (15% off retail)


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$24.30 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $27.00

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Beeswax, honeysuckle and lychee bouquet. Full, round mouthfeel with ripe mango, stone fruits and melon. Bright, fresh acids on the mid-palate balance the substantial sweetness. Rose petal notes on the
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$16.20 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $18.00

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There is a tantalizing displacement in the nose of the LHW '04. The late harvest character of the chardonnay takes that grape's tropical notes to new places altogether. Then gew?rztraminer adds lych
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$18.00 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $20.00

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Really special dessert wine made from Pinot gris-- Jim has quite the knack for making dessert wines.
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$24.07 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $26.75

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Aromas of honeysuckle, rose petals, crisp apples and tangerines. A sweet and thick coating on the palate aligns itself with good balanced acidity. Flavors of orange blossoms, honey, almonds, minerals
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$40.01 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $44.45

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The David Hill Vineyard Tawny Port is Solera aged. It has been held in a 500L French oak puncheon its entire life. This very smooth brandy fortified wine is not too sweet for Port, neither too rich, h
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$23.62 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $26.25

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This wine really swept us away. This wine and dessert were clearly lovers in a past life. It's hard to know where to start without totally gushing. First of all, this is a Port style wine. Twenty per
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$28.35 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $31.50

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Huge aroma of blackberry and oak, with rich velvety tannins and texture on the palate. Loads of plum and currant in a warm progresion onto the finish.
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$20.66 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $22.95

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The dark cherry aroma hints at a liqueur, a delicate progression of warmth, bery and a hint of citrus on the finish.
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$36.00 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $40.00

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Barking Frog's Dulcis is made from frozen Syrah grapes picked when extremely ripe and loaded with sugar. Scents of passion fruit, kiwi, and tropical fruit are echoed in the sweet flavors of this v
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$24.25 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $26.95

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Eola Hills Vin d'Epice is a Late Harvest Gewurztraminer. Wine Press NW says: "A delicious late-harvest wine with aromas of poached fruit and flavors of baked apples dripping with spicy honey. Hints o
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$24.25 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $26.95

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Eola Hills Vin d'Or dessert wine is a Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc. It is a sweet, viscous "sticky" with intense peach and apple flavors.
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$12.60 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $14.00

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An intense nose of dried apricot and spiced figs leads into an explosively flavorful palate of fresh, ripe succulent fruit. While lush in every way, it manages to avoid being at all cloying finishing
...read more


$23.80 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $26.45

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Rich, unctuous, with great layers of sweet fruit and acidity to keep the wine refreshing. Made from frozen grapes in the style of an ice wine, this wine opens with the floral notes of the white narcis
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$13.90 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $15.45

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Parker says: 89 POINTS!

"The Tualatin Semi-Sparkling Muscat is a clone of an Italian Moscato d'Asti. Its boisterous orange blossom and raspberry aromas lead to a fresh, zesty, medium-bodied pe

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$8.96 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $9.95

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Huck is a white wine with huckleberry juice added. A deep rose color leads to aromas of ripe apricots, peaches and essence of huckleberry. Huckleberries are collected from the wild in Washington State
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$39.55 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $43.95

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Duck Pond Semillon Ice wine is introduced by a bouquet of honeyed almonds. The fruit shows up both bright and rich like caramelized pears and sweet, ripe apricots. Silky throughout the palate, the win
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$22.45 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $24.95

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Phelps Creek Vin Dore 07 (golden wine) was produced by drying. Grapes from Washington's Oak Ridge Vineyard were picked very ripe before placing on racks to partially dry, intensifying their flavors r
...read more


$22.45 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $24.95

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A Ruby style Port, a rich blend of juicy Malbec and deep spicy Zin. Medium-bodied with a flavorful profile of cherries, strawberries and raspberries backed by spice and plum notes. A very special w
...read more



$18.00 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $20.00

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