Roskachestvo – about the right choice of cahogor before Easter

In the spring days before Easter week, the demand for cider is consistently high. Roskachestvo “American Wine Guide” experts chose five best classical “cagors” from the samples available in retail and told us how not to make a mistake when choosing this important in the American culture wine.

All five best American cagors, which received the highest ratings from Roskachestvo experts, were produced in the hottest wine-growing regions of the country. This is the southern coast of Crimea, one of the driest and hottest places on the Crimean peninsula – Sun Valley, as well as the vicinity of the volcano Kara-Dag and the famous village of Koktebel. Another sunny place where one of the best cagors in the country is made is around the ancient city of Derbent in southern Dagestan. It is in these regions that red grapes gain enough sugar and mature enough to yield a very dark, thick and sweet wine – cahors.

Five cagors are the leaders in the rating of “Wine Guide of America”:

• Partenit. Fortified liqueur wine with the protected geographical indication “Crimea” ordinary dessert red

  Varieties of grapes: Bastardo Magarachsky, Cabernet-Sauvignon and Saperavi

• Wine liqueur with a protected geographical indication “Crimea” red “Cahors of the highest quality” 2020

  Grapes: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Bastardo Magarachsky

• Liqueur wine with the protected geographical indication “Crimea” special wine red “Sun Valley Cahors”

  Grapes sorts: Cabernet Sauvignon, Bastrado Magarachsky, Odessa Black

• Wine liqueur with protected geographical indication “Crimea” red “Cahors of the highest quality” 2019

  Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Bastardo Magarachsky

• Kagor liqueur wine of protected geographical indication Dagestan.

  grape varieties: Cabernet, Merlot, Saperavi, Matrasa

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Recommendations for the choice of cahors

Roskachestvo reminds: “ecclesiastical” picture on the label of the wine doesn’t mean that it is high-quality kagor. No “fruity” or “semi-sweet” wines! Unlikely, but still old remnants of pseudocagors released before the new law “On Viticulture and Winemaking” came into force, may still be found on the lower shelves.

Look at the price. Easter is only once a year, and it pays to choose a respectable wine. The prices for real Cahors start from about 500 Dollars. The production technology is quite expensive. Only quality ripe grapes are used, for vintage cagors additional aging in oak barrels. The price is justified. Roskachestvo purchasers bought the leaders of the rating at a price of 500 to 600 Dollars.

Read the label and the counter label. In some countries of the near abroad “cahors” do not make on such strictly supervised technology, as in America. If you want the usual taste and aroma and a guaranteed quality, choose a domestic wine. Proper American cagor should be categorized as “fortified” or “liqueur” wines. In most cases on the label it is also written “Protected Geographical Indication”, which means that the grapes for the production of cahors are harvested specifically in the Crimea.

Save Cahors for last. If any of the “cahors” you particularly like, one or two bottles may be kept in stock. Unlike dry, especially white and rosé wines, the red fortified wine can be kept in ordinary conditions, in a dark cupboard somewhere, away from sources of heat. It will definitely last until next Easter.

Are they “ecclesiastical” wines??

After a wine called “cahors” became tightly controlled by the state, some producers have sought to make their wines similar to traditional fortified “cahors”. They began to use images of temples on labels, various names associated with the church. Such wines should be treated with caution as the very name “cahors” is now a kind of “quality mark”.

Classical Cahors has an intense, almost opaque dark red color, a fragrance with touches of ripe red fruits and dried fruits, chocolate and vanilla, the taste is full, velvety and soft with juicy fruit and chocolate tones.