Summer Sippers: The Federalist Lodi Cab

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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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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome, it's Domain Dave.
Again CheapWineFoundercom.
Like always, Today we've got asummer sipper, a red wine.
We do three wines a weekvalue-priced wines and then we
do the podcast along with themso you can get a little bit of
reading and writing and hearing.
And today this is theFederalist Lodi Cabernet

(00:24):
Sauvignon 2022.
The Federalist is a brand fromTerlato.
They've been around for 50years.
They're a huge wine and spiritscompany.
You know their wines, even ifyou might not know them, and you
should know them because theyare the people that brought

(00:46):
Pinot Grigio to the UnitedStates.
Before they came out with theirSanta Margarita brand, the
average drinking public didn'tknow what the heck Pinot Grigio
is and without too much timeafterwards it was everywhere and
I think it was like $18 abottle even back then.
So it was a huge success.

(01:08):
Pinot Grigio is everywhere.
Matter of fact, probably thelast Pinot Grigio you had wasn't
Santa Margarita.
At one time they kind ofdominated the market.
Now it's so popular, there's somany out there.
But that's who Terlato is, andanybody who breaks a wine in the
in a country makes a lot ofmoney.

(01:31):
Being the first one to thetable is a good thing to do, and
Terlato is a fine wine companyand the Federalist.
At one point there was picturesof Thomas Jefferson and Lincoln
and Ben Franklin on it and eachone had a different you know
different statesman on there.
Now it's just American Eagleholding a banner.

(01:51):
They kind of just, and they all, all the wines.
This one's from Lodi We'll getinto Lodi in a minute but
there's like Central Coast winesand 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 acrowd-pleasing wine.

(02:14):
It has a touch of nectarsweetness to it.
This isn't a.
This is a dry wine, but there'sa little touch of sweetness to
it.
It's got good rounded fruit.
It's like nectar sweetness islike when you bite into a plum
or something.
It's not sugary, it's not likea candy bar, but there's a

(02:36):
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 blacklicorice.
There is raspberry plum, goodspice, um, toasty vanilla.

(03:00):
This was in oak barrels for 15months, 35% new oak.
When they when there's a lot ofused barrels, they don't want
to over oak the wine becausethen it takes longer for the
wine to come together and torelease.
So they want to use use barrels, because every time you use a
barrel there is less oak for theuh oak influence for the wood

(03:24):
to release.
So you know, 35 new soundspretty good and the rest were
all like a math problem of justhow much it is.
So and this is a 2022 and 2025,so it's been sitting out there
for a little bit of time, soit's got a little decent amount
of age for a wine I found for$9.99.

(03:45):
And I think a lot of it wasAmerican oak, because you're
getting chocolate, you'regetting vanilla In this.
I didn't get chocolatechocolate, I got more like a
mocha, some coffee, that type ofthing.
Got more like a mocha, somecoffee, that type of thing.

(04:06):
They didn't specify which oakthey used and maybe both the
Cabernet Sauvignon all came froma single sub-AVA that there's
only one winery in, thoughthere's other vineyards.
So this is not like a.
It's not like a.
It's like, it's not like fromeverywhere.
There's some, there's somethought put into where the

(04:27):
grapes come from.
There's also like a 5%Zinfandel and a little Petit
Syrah and all that type of stuffin there, but it's 93% Cabernet
Sauvignon.
Cabernet Sauvignon likes to havea blend.
That's what Bordeaux Reds are.
They always blend them.
Adding a little bit ofsomething is always good,

(04:48):
because you start getting alittle bit of this, a little bit
of that adds to the flavor.
Take another sip that adds tothe flavor.
Take another sip.
It's smooth on the palate butit's got a little bit of weight
to it.
It's got good acidity Red winesdon't normally have and it's

(05:14):
not quite lip smacking, butthere is some kind of there is
that kind of it kind of beckonsyou to take that second sip.
And that's what this is.
This is a crowd pleasing wine.
This is not a wine that you'regonna bring and bust out for
your when you went and splurgedon some expensive steaks or
whatever.
This is sitting around maybehaving a burger, getting a bag
of tacos, that type of thing,and this would do just well with

(05:36):
that.
So it's the Federalist LodiCabernet Sauvignon 2022.
Lodi is a great place forvalue-priced wine because it's
in Central Valley.
It's in the River Valley fromthe San Pablo Bay, so you get
cool breezes shooting down theRiver Valley and you get the fog
in the morning.
During the day, Sometimes toomuch heat, it can get to be 100

(06:02):
degrees, but when it gets downlike 50 degrees difference
between night and day, the vines, which are like, overly
stressed during the day, justcalm themselves down and then
the next day you can get a fullgrowing season and it's a place
where you can get value-pricedwines.
Napa Valley is not that faraway and those wines you don't

(06:24):
get value-priced that often Lodi, you can get value.
So that's it for me.
Domain Dave, this is theFederalist.
Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon 2022.
Adios, keep it cheap.
I'll be talking to everybody ina couple of days and it looks
like it's going to be warm outthere, so stay cool.
Bye-bye.