
Huw and Dale Morris
are partners in a winemaking venture called Wild Hogge. Huw lived
in Bermuda for almost 27 years, and worked as an anaesthetist at the
King Edward VIIth Memorial Hospital. For the last 25 years on the
Island he was the president of The Bermuda Wine Circle, a wine tasting
group which started off with about 35 members and grew to over 200
members meeting once a month to taste wines from around the world.
Wild
Hogge came into being in 2005 when they moved from Bermuda to the
east side of Paso Robles on the Central Coast of California. They
live in an area surrounded by vineyards and decided to make wine from
Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown on a south facing hill nearby. The
vineyard produces about 3 tons per acre of grapes, which result in
a wine with concentrated fruit flavors, and soft tannins. Local conditions
during the ripening phase result in afternoon temperatures in excess
of 100 deg. F, but cooled by Pacific Ocean breezes, to the mid 60s
F at night. These conditions are ideal for producing ripe fruit with
high sugars, resulting in a wine with about 15% alcohol content.
The label is based
on a watercolor by the American artist Winslow Homer who visited the
island of Bermuda on several occasions at the end of the 19th and
beginning of the 20th centuries. The painting on the label here is
called 'Bermuda Settlers 1901', and depicts the wild pigs that originally
inhabited the Island. Bermuda lies in the Atlantic ocean about 650
miles east of North Carolina and is surrounded by coral reefs. In
the 1500s, some of the sailing ships traversing the Atlantic got too
close to the island and became shipwrecked on the reefs. The pigs
they had on board, as a source of fresh meat, were able to swim ashore
and became the first 'residents' of Bermuda.
The
Spanish explorer Juan de Bermudez first sighted the Island around
1505, but considered it too insignificant to explore. Subsequent mariners
who sailed by were frightened away by the footprints of the cloven
hoof made by the hogs, and Bermuda was for some time called the Isle
of Devils. The English Admiral, Sir George Somers, on his way to Jamestown
Virginia in 1609, was shipwrecked on the Island during a hurricane,
and the survivors became the first colonists of Bermuda. The news
of Sir George Somers adventures reached London, and in 1610 Shakespeare
wrote his play 'The Tempest', based on the Island.
Today, the one
cent coin of Bermuda depicts the head of Queen Elisabeth II on one
side, and the 'Wild Hogge' on the other. It is known on the Island
as a hogpenny, and a version of it is depicted on top of the capsule
of Wild Hogge wine.
2005 WILD HOGGE
The weather conditions
in 2005 were close to perfect, with warm days extending into mid October
when the grapes were harvested at optimum ripeness. Fermentation was
carried out in one ton bins and lasted 10 days, after which the grapes
were pressed and the wine matured in French oak barrels (40% new oak
and 60% neutral). After 2 yrs. in the barrel, the wine was bottled,
and will be ready for release in August 2008. This
first vintage has a deep, red colour with a powerful bouquet reminiscent
of berry fruit and forest floor. It has a great texture with soft,
rounded tannins and plenty of rich flavours. This full body should
last well into the next ten years.
2006
WILD HOGGE
After
a very hot summer, the fall was rather cool and the sugar levels didn't
reach ripeness until October, allowing plenty of time for the tannins
to mellow out. The wine spent 18 months in the barrel before bottling
in April 2008. At bottling, the wine showed good colour, slightly
more acidity than 2005, giving it a bright quality that enhances the
fruit flavours. It should be ready for release at the end of 2008.
Copyright© Wild Hogge 2008 Design
by Gayle Force Design
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 Huw Morris |
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Bermuda Settlers 1901 by Winslow Homer
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 English
Admiral, Sir George Somers
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 The Hogpenny |
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