Liquor & Spirits

Fortified & Dessert Wine

Dessert Wine

QUADY

Wines and Spirits

Essensia: From 100% Orange Muscat with an aroma reminiscent of Orange Blossomand Apricot, and a lingering refreshing aftertaste, this is a dessert ina glass or the perfect accompaniment to one.

Elysium: From 100% Black Muscat with an aroma of roses and complex litchilike favor, it is another dessert in a glass. Great with vanilla, dark chocolate,Blue cheeses, and candlelight.

Electra: This is a picnic wine, light delicate and refreshing, like a breathof springtime, a bouquet of flowers and the taste of peach and melon. Only4% alcohol, from Orange Muscat, Electra goes well with spicy picnic foods,salads pastas, and dessert.

Starboard Batch 88 Vintage character port from 75% Tinta Roriz, the balanceFrank's vineyard, this has great fruit, a chocolate character and a wonderfulrich smooth taste. Ready to enjoy now.

Vintage Starboard From Frank's Vineyard, planter mainly to Tinta Cao andTinta Amarela, 1987 and 1989) have been declared. Following the Portuguesepractice, declared vintage port is aged no more than 2 years in barrel beforebottling, these are rich spicy wines with a healthy level of tannin, darkcolor, and a long life. The 1987 is harder and needs more bottle aging thanthe lush 1989.

LBV, 1991 late bottled vintage port, from Frank's Vineyard, it was agedextra time in wood and fined to make it drink well when released. This isan elegant port, beautifully ready to drink.

1986 Vintage Port - Frank's Vineyard The last '"vintage port"made by Quady since he now calls these "Starboard," the 1986 maturedbeautifully great complex aroma, full firm favors.

Spirit of Elysium: 80 proof spirit twice distilled in Cognac style pot stillfrom Black Muscat. Floral aroma and very smooth clean flavor. Double goldwinner and National champion for grappas.
The Quady Winery Story

In 1971, Andrew and Laurel Quady left Southern Californiasmog and Andy's pyrotechnics job and headed north. Andy enrolled in themaster's program at U.C. Davis, graduating in 1973 with a Master of Sciencein Food Science, specializing in Enology. He worked for several differentcompanies in Lodi but it was at the now defunct Lodi Vintners, at the urgingof friend Darrell Corti, where he made the first Quady port, from AmadorCounty Zinfandel.

In 1976 he joined Hcublein's United Vintners winery in Madera but continuedmaking port, moonlighting in a small winery behind His House. The turningpoint came in 1980 when an experiment with Orange Muscat (named becausethe grapes have an aroma reminiscent of orange blossom) resulted in an extraordinarynew wine with an amazing floral fruit character and suppleness. Essensiawas a success and Andy was no longer moonlighting.

Meanwhile, in 1978, he had arranged planting of a vineyard of traditionalPortuguese port varieties on a ranch in Plymouth owned by Frank Alviso andJohn Hahn. The vineyard was named Frank's vineyard. In 1981, to acquireadditional missing port varieties, Andy visited Portugal with Davis ampelographer,Dr. Harold Olmo. They brought back a new collection of Portuguese varieties,two of which have now been released from quarantine.

In 1983, Don Gallagher, a grower from Manteca, offered Quady a load of BlackMuscat, a black skinned muscat grape which can have a rose like aroma. Theformer buyer, Novitiate, had gone out of business. These grapes became thefirst Elysium, magenta in color with a haunting rose-like aroma.

1984, a new modern winery was completed, and Michael Blaylock, a FresnoState graduate, and now co-winemaker, joined the staff.
One result of the Portugal trip was the discovery that a major port variety,Tinta Roriz already exists in California but under the name Valdepenas.In I985, Quady began making port from Tinta Roriz (Valdepenas) which isnow the basis of his Starboard - Batch 88. Light in tannin with rich fruitand a chocolate flavor, Roriz is a perfect base for vintage character styleport.

Since 1985, Essensia and Elysium have been favorites in the U.K. But tosell his port in the EEC, a new term was needed ("port" is a protectedplace name). Recognizing that the word port has more than one meaning, Quadytrademarked "Starboard," the perfect euphemism for a port whichis not from Portugal. Starboard Batch 88 (a blend of several different years)is a ready to drink vintage character port. Vintage Starboard, like vintageport is meant to be aged in the bottle.

In 1989, he double distilled in the cognac manner two muscat distillates.Crystal clear but not at all like grappa, Spirit of Elysium and Spirit ofMalvasia are clean, smooth and aromatically muscat.

In 1990, Quady decided to produce a new type of dessert wine, light, delicateand very refreshing. He tasted Orange Muscat juice as it was turning intowine. When the juice was just on the verge - half way between wine and grapejuice, he bottled a small test batch. The wine tasted wonderful, but thealcohol was only 4% (most wines are at least 12%). Using sterile filtrationto prevent refermentation, he bottled it anyway and named the new creationElectra.