Newport Wine Expo 2002 Review

The Wines of Kahn

We had a great time talking with Sahara Saude at the Kahn winery table. I did mention today was the day for interesting labels and names, right? These labels definitely caught our eye as we went past, with their beautiful art deco design. Sahara explained that the winemakers went through several graphic designers before one presented them with this set, modelled after Absinthe labels. The winemakers fell in love with the labels instantly.

The winery is named after Andrew Kahn, the winemaker. His partner, Christian Garvin, was at the festival with Sahara. Both Andrew and Christian are in their late 20s and learned the industry by working at Fess Parker when they were younger. As Christian explained, "they got a free education for not a lot of money" and now have put that knowledge to excellent use.

The Sauvignon Blanc was crisp and delicious, with hints of vanilla in it. Sahara explained that this wine does really well with the sushi restaurants and related a story about one Japanese restaurant owner buying up several cases after trying this with caviar.

I was really interested in the Cab Frank, which is one of my favorite wine grapes, and sported a picture of Frank Sinatra on it in homage to the great singer. Unfortunately they weren't able to pour that wine at the festival, but I'll keep my eyes open for it.

Christian explained that the winery created very small lots compared to others in the area - from 400 cases to 200 cases to 90 cases of certain wines. That lets them hand craft the wines and work on projects they enjoy. Their syrah is doing well, but while they enjoy their Viognier blend a great deal, the market isn't there yet for strangely named white wines. Being a huge viognier fan, I hope this will change soon!

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