Quady Elysium Black Muscat 37.5cl Half Bottle

Description

Quady Elysium Black Muscat is a sweet red dessert wine made by Quady Winery in California. It is known for its unique flavour and rose-petal aromas. It is a firm favourite with dessert wine aficionados.

The founder of Quady Wines is Andrew Quady. Andrew’s change of career from making fireworks to making wine began when he moved to California’s San Joaquin Valley in 1975 looking for a change in lifestyle whilst studying oenology at University of California, Davis. He initially started off producing a sweet port-style wine made from Amador County Zinfandel grapes but things really took off when he discovered some Orange Muscat grapes (known in Italy as Moscato Fior d’Arancio) and began producing the Quady Essencia Orange Muscat. It was an instant success and until 1985 he could simply not make enough to satisfy demand. Today Quady is the foremost American winery specialising entirely in dessert and fortified wines, as well as some interesting vermouths, and continues to win medals worldwide.

The Creation of Quady Elysium Black Muscat

The sweet, red Quady Elysium Black Muscat dessert wine was first created in 1983 when Andrew acquired a quantity of Black Muscat grapes. The grapes were originally intended to be used for making sacramental wine for a local church but the church ceased operations (some sort of divine intervention on behalf of Quady!). Black Muscat is just one of many underappreciated muscat grape varieties. In Europe, it is known as the table grape variety, Muscat Hamburg, one of the few black-skinned muscats.

Winemaking Process

Quady Elysium Black Muscat is made from 100% Black Muscat and is classified as a Liqueur Wine of USA. It is made a bit like a mistelle such as Pineau des Charentes or Floc de Gasgogne. The black muscat grapes are allowed to ripen fully. When ripened to about 25 brix, they attain a rose-like aroma and lychee-like flavour. After harvest the grapes are crushed, chilled and allowed to macerate. Fermentation is then stopped with the addition of wine spirit. This means the sugar is not all fermented into alcohol leaving a naturally sweet drink. The addition of alcohol means that the finished wine is usually bottled at around 15% abv.

Why Is It Called Elysium?

The rose-like aromas of the wine led to it being named Elysium, Greek for heaven or “state of eternal bliss”. The label was designed by Andrew’s wife Laurel and the heart adorning the label was drawn by artist Ardison Phillips.