2020 Closing Bell

Closing Bell is a “Vintage Port” wine which we can’t call Vintage Port because of a European Union trade rule which bans the word “port” unless the wine is made in Portugal. Thus, we were tasked with coming up with what the industry calls a “fanciful name” for our Port-that-cannot-be-called-a-Port. We stewed for quite a while until one evening, over a few (or maybe it was many) glasses of wine, we hit upon the name Closing Bell. You see, Al Scheid, founder of Scheid Vineyards, began his career on Wall Street as an investment banker with E.F. Hutton & Co. (if you’re over 50, you’ll remember “when E.F. Hutton talks, people listen”). A “closing bell” rings on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange each day to signify the end of the stock trading session and a port-style wine is typically served at the end of the meal. Our 2020 Closing Bell is a luscious dessert wine with flavors of blackberry, plum and fig, and notes of black tea, cardamom and vanilla. The sweetness and alcohol are well-balanced and the dark black fruit finishes long on the palate. It is a perfect ending to a meal.