Why is Your Wine More Expensive than Wine at the Grocery Store?

Wines readily available at retail are mass marketed and mass produced, with thousands or tens of thousands of cases made each year. We make our wine one barrel at a time, approximately 300 bottles. Hand picking, hand sorting, constant attention during fermentation and frequent attention while in the barrel all add costs. We also pay for top quality fruit and the finest French oak barrels (for example, for our Pinot Noir we use Francois Freres, considered be the “gold standard” and costing close to one thousand dollars per barrel).

While we do try to keep costs reasonable, we do not compromise on quality. Our wine making standards are competitive with other ultra premium small wine makers who often charge far more, especially wine makers with more established marquee or “cult” reputations.

How Should I Store and Serve Calicaro Wines?

Storage: Wines like peace and quiet. Keep away from light, vibration and heat. Ideally this would be a cellar, but if not available we would suggest a wine cooler or cool closet. With our Pinot, if you have received a shipment, give the wine time in the bottle before opening to settle back down, ideally six months or so, but if not, then at least a couple of months.

Serve: Whites can be chilled but not too much. Best served about 50º give or take a few degrees. Several hours in the fridge can easily accomplish this. Reds can be served slightly chilled to cool room temperature, i.e. about 58º to 68º. We generally do not fine or filter our wine so you may wish to decant. Allowing the wines to breathe a bit before serving is recommended- at least 30 minutes and preferably an hour.

Availability of Our Wines?

For now, we are selling through our website and mailing list. As we grow, we may place wines with select restaurants and retail locations. Check out our Bottletree Club on our website for discount pricing on larger volumes or multiple purchases of wine. Then check back later for restaurant and retail locations. For now, in order to purchase click on our purchase button and follow instructions. And thanks for your business!

What Should I Serve With Calicaro Wines?

Consistent with our philosophy, we make “big” but food friendly wines. As a broad rule of thumb, our red wines go well with meats and stronger cheeses and our white wines (which we intend to make in future years) will go well with seafood, poultry, fruit and mild cheeses.

Why the Name “Calicaro”?

Cali for California and Caro for Carolina. Our “roots” are in California and our heads and hearts are in South Carolina. Calicaro sounds Spanish or Italian- we like the association with the great winemaking traditions of both of those countries

How Do You Live on the East Coast and Make Exceptional West Coast Wine?

There are two important factors. First, we have great partners in California. From our growers to our wine makers, we are fortunate to work with exceptionally talented, experienced and dedicated people who have consistently produced 90+ point wines.

Second, we are in constant connection via phone, email, Fed Ex and air travel. We go to California for important “hands on” work such as the harvest crush, barrel sampling and blending and we provide much of our daily oversight by other means, including dedicated computer links. We could not do this without our partners in California.

What is on the Horizon for Calicaro?

We are initially making single vineyard designated Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA in Monterey, California and from the Petaluma Gap area of the Sonoma Coast AVA in Sonoma County, California. These are two incredible areas for making intensely flavorful Pinot. We want to expand to offer several other single vineyard Pinot Noirs and other varietals such as Cabernet, Syrah, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier.

Let us know what interests you or how we can better serve you. Email us here or call 864-483-9972.

What are the General Characteristics of the Different Varietals?

Here are some very short descriptions of some of the major varietals. Recognize that wine makers frequently deviate from these general descriptions.

• Pinot Noir. Medium, elegant, complex, silky, red.
• Cabernet. Big, complex, powerful, intense, red.
• California Chardonnay. Medium, complex, buttery, citrus, tropical, white.
• Syrah. Medium to big, meaty, smoky, robust, red.
• Zinfandel. Medium to big, peppery, intense, robust, red.
• Sauvignon Blanc. Light, crisp, bright, grassy, summery, white.