Wine in its many forms has been gracing tables, parties, flasks and more for hundreds of years. With technological advances and better production some things have changed, some things have stayed the same and some things have been forgotten. But in celebration of the Bard himself, Shakespeare Santa Cruz and the spirit of exploration Sones Cellars has created their very own Sack. Oxidized, fortified and sweetened – Sack was once what passed for white table wine in Elizabethan England. White wine was imported from Italy or Spain. But given the limitation of the times upon arrival in England the wine would have spoiled and been oxidized. To return it to a drinkable state it would have been fortified with either brandy or sherry and then sweetened. After doing the research the Sones’ created their own – awesome – version. Served warm, cold or mixed in a cocktail it is a fun taste of history.

Last night I joined the Sones family and the Sones Cellars Family – for a picnic and a wonderful – and Sones Cellars sponsored  – performance of Henry V in the UC Santa Cruz Sinsheimer-Stanley Festival Glen. (Shakespeare is always better when it’s performed outside, don’t you think?)

The past two seasons, Shakespeare Santa Cruz has put on performances of Henry IV Part 1 and Part 2 – the inspiration for the research, creation and bottling of the Sones Cellars’ Sack. Of course, much of the historical record about Sack comes from Falstaff’s famous drunken soliloquy in Henry IV Part 2. It follows then that this year the festival added Henry V to the line up.  If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area I highly encourage you to make the trip to Santa Cruz visit the Sones Cellars tasting room to try some Sack and enjoy a performance of either Henry V or Taming of the Shrew. I can say that Henry V was magical and I can’t wait to see Taming of the Shrew.

Click here to visit the Sones Cellars website.

Click here to learn more about Shakespeare Santa Cruz.