Introducing Sherwin Family Vineyards' Cellar Scraps

One of the most popular wines at Sherwin Family Vineyards, a Spring Mountain winery, is our special blend called Cellar Scraps. With the harvest season in full swing, a new vinting of Cellar Scraps is just around the corner so we thought a little information about the wine and how it came to be would make an interesting topic.

Cellar Scraps at a Glance

Most wines are made from a single vinting, but not Cellar Scraps. It is a multi-vintage blend consisting of multiple varietals. The blend changes each year and is determined by the varietal leftovers after our other red wine production has finished. The blend is primarily the current year’s Cabernet Sauvignon, but other end cuts are mixed in as well, including:

  • Cabernet Franc
  • Merlot
  • Petite Sirah
  • Syrah

The exact blend changes yearly and typically includes a blending of two previous vintages of Cellar Scraps to maintain a consistent final product and create a truly multi-vintage wine.

The Origin of Cellar Scraps

Early on, we noticed that our cabernet blend did not always blend equally. This resulted in a few barrels being left over after each blend. After a couple of years, we noticed that these leftover barrels were beginning to accumulate, taking up valuable space in the back of the cellar. The solution was to blend these excess barrels together, creating a brand new blend that could be served in our estate tasting room. Our visitors loved the wine and began requesting bottles of this unique blend to take home. That is how blends of some of the best wines available from Sherwin Family Vineyards became one of our bestselling products.

End Cuts of Premium Wines

Cellar Scraps is far from being the dregs of the barrel. Instead, it is blended from many of Sherwin Family Vineyards’ most sophisticated wines. As each varietal is blended, the end cuts-- the leftover barrels after blending-- are carefully blended together with the Cellar Scraps from previous vintages. So it may be our cellar scraps, but our scraps are still premium quality wine.

“Call It What It Is”

We had a new product, and it was popular with our visitors, but we didn’t have a name for it. One night the Sherwin’s had dinner and wine with some close friends and we began brainstorming a name for this new wine. At some point, Steve Sherwin suggested that “We may as well call it what it is!” And the name Cellar Scraps was born. Not really scraps of wines, but the final barrels of some of our best blended into one. A prime mix of premium wines, if you will.

Today, we are offering our 13th vinting of Cellar Scraps, and we look forward to many more to come. We encourage you to stop by our, Spring Mountain winery, Sherwin Family Vineyards, for a tour of the estate and wine tasting in our private tasting room. You can get a first-hand feel for the quality and taste of Cellar Scraps, and we think you will agree that it is some of the best wine you have had the pleasure of trying. Better yet, take a bottle home and share some Cellar Scraps with your wine-loving friends.

Sign up for our Cellar Scrappers Club, visit us for a tasting and attend some of the many fall events happening during harvest on Spring Mountain.

Written by Matt Sherwin