A Night of Cleavage Creek Wines
Earlier this week I wrote about a breast cancer survivor who is participating in the Dallas Three-Day. As a follow up to that I thought this column should be about a winery that supports the fight against breast cancer.
Budge Brown was married to his wife, Arlene, for 48 years. When she lost her battle with breast cancer in 2005, he launched Cleavage Creek wines to wage an attack on breast cancer. The label of each bottle of Cleavage Creek features the image of an actual breast cancer survivor whose story is told on the Cleavage Creek website. Ten percent of gross sales are donated to cutting edge research in the fight against breast cancer.
Because I’ve been pretty active in the fight against breast cancer through my work with Susan G. Komen for the Cure and having watched the battles that my friends and family have faced with breast cancer, I am passionate about the Cleavage Creek cause. This week I thought it was a great time to invite some friends over to taste the wines provided to me by Cleavage Creek.
Two of my closest girlfriends and I gathered at my house with three sets of Riedel glasses at our disposal. I loved the story, I loved my correspondence with the winery on Twitter and I really wanted to love the wines. I held my breath and started opening bottles.
First we tried the 08 Secret White, which retails for $18. Fermented in stainless steel, I loved the apricot, pineapple, honey and tropical fruit with great acidity. This wine got rave results from the group, one of who is not a fan of white wine. This bottle quickly disappeared.
The 08 Tracy Hills Reserve Chardonnay had a floral essence and smelled like butterscotch to me. I also got citrus and honeydew. It’s aged for eight months in new French oak and retails for $18. For Chardonnay lovers, it’s a traditional Chardonnay.
Our last wine was the 07 Tracy Hills Merlot Shiraz was described as “wine you can eat with a spoon.” We got big raspberry and blackberry tastes and a smooth finish. A very enjoyable wine and a great deal at $18.
So Budge – as a mom, sister and daughter I thank you for dedicating your life to honoring your wife and doing so much for a world without breast cancer. As a wine blogger, I hold my glass up to you and thank you for making some good wines. Cheers!
