American Wines and Spirits for July 4th

The 4th of July was practically invented for Bedrock’s Heritage Wine. Born from the oldest continuously farmed vineyard in California—now Regenerative Organic Certified—this field blend of ancient Zinfandel, Carignan, Mourvèdre, and more is as American as wine gets. Morgan Twain-Peterson started making it from just six barrels back in 2007; today it’s grown into one of the most coveted reds in the state, and the 2024 is among the finest yet. Low yields concentrated everything into the core blocks at the crown of the vineyard, producing a wine of depth, confidence, and pure California character. Fire up the grill—this one was made for smoke and heat.

• Certified Regenerative Organic
• 62% Zinfandel, 19% Carignan, 10% Mataro, and 8% from 20+ other varietals in the field blend (Syrah, Petite Sirah, Tempranillo, Trousseau, Castets, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Alicante Bouschet, Grand Noir, Lenoir, et al.)
• Sonoma Valley AVA
• Vines planted in 1888
• Elevage 10 months in 28% new oak, the rest neutral oak
• Native Yeast Fermentation

Bedrock Wine Co. is first and foremost a mission-driven operation dedicated to preserving and rehabilitating old vineyards around California. These vineyards, planted by California’s viticultural pioneers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, are living pieces of history.

The San Andreas Fault Pinot Noir has become the definitive expression of what that wild, windswept terroir can produce. Named for the fault line that runs just half a mile from the vineyard, this wine draws fruit from some 30 distinct farming blocks, weaving them together into something that feels both primal and precise. The 2023 vintage delivers everything that makes Hirsch legendary: taut red fruit, earthy complexity, and a cool-climate energy that lingers long after the glass is empty. It’s the kind of Pinot that earns its place at any serious summer table—and makes everyone slow down and pay attention.

• Practicing Biodynamic
• 100% Pinot Noir
• Fort-Ross Seaview, West Sonoma Coast AVA
• Clonal breakdown: 49% Pommard-Wädenswil, 18% Swan, 18% Dijon 114/777, 14% Mt. Eden, 1% Calera
• Fruit sourced from 34 distinct farming blocks of Hirsch Vineyard
• Each block farmed, harvested, and vinified separately
• Vine age: 49% from the 2000s, 50%  from the 1990s, 1% from the 1980s
• 12% whole cluster inclusion
• Aged in French oak barrels (34% new)
• 3,600 cases
• 13.5% ABV

In the wines of Hirsch Vineyards, you find a natural balance and consistency in the harmony of Nature. This complex, unique site produces fruit and wines of unusual acidity and balance with a vintage-specific concentration of pinot noir or chardonnay fruit.

Forget your standard Bloody Mary—this is the summery tomato drink your 4th of July spread has been waiting for. Veso’s Tomato Vermouth is the kind of quirky, California-born creation that makes people stop and ask “wait, what is this?” in the best possible way. Founder Chris Beyer macerated heirloom Cherokee Purple and Early Girl tomatoes in neutral grape spirit for months, then blended the infusion with local white wine and botanical additions—tomato leaves from Sonoma’s Sunray Farm, local red beets, wild kombu foraged off the Mendocino coast—to create something savory, herbal, and completely irresistible. Serve it over ice as a low-ABV aperitif, swap it into a dirty martini, or make the boldest, most garden-fresh Bloody Mary anyone at the party has ever tasted.

• Limited release tomato-flavored extra dry vermouth produced by Veso in Sonoma, California
• Botanicals include organic, California-grown Cherokee Purple heirloom tomatoes, Early Girl tomatoes, young tomato leaves, red beets, wild foraged kombu, and purple carrots
• Base of locally sourced white wine (variety and source may vary batch to batch)
• Fortified with neutral grape spirit distilled in California
• Sweetened to ~20 g/l using cane sugar
• Finished with a touch of sea salt
• A vinous nose of ripe tomato, marjoram, pineapple, and a hint of Castelvetrano olive precedes a silky palate bursting with the savory umami of freshly pressed tomato juice, finishing with mouthwatering and moreish notes of lingering tomato skin and herbaceous tomato leaf
• Beer and Wine License eligible
• Naturally colored using purple carrots
• 18% ABV

Veso Spirits is a producer of contemporary wine-based aperitifs and vermouths based in Sonoma, California. Founded in 2021 by Chris Beyer, Veso leans into modern and experimental flavor profiles to craft fortified wines that are approachable, innovative, and delicious.

Leave it to St. George Spirits—California’s original craft distillery—to turn a love story into one of the best coffee liqueurs in the country. Distiller Dave Smith fell in love in New Orleans, and NOLA is his liquid ode to the city: Ethiopian coffee beans, French chicory root, Madagascar vanilla, and organic cane sugar, cold-infused and custom roasted by Oakland’s Jewel Box Coffee Roasters. The result is rich, bittersweet, and deeply aromatic. Mix it into an Espresso Martini for your late-night 4th of July crowd, or pour it over ice cream and call it dessert. Either way, it’s a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

• Coffee liqueur produced by St. George Spirits in Alameda, California
• Made with Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee beans
• Botanicals include French-roast chicory and Madagascar vanilla beans
• Coffee beans are locally roasted to varying roast levels by Jewel Box Coffee Roaster then cold-macerated at the distillery; chicory and vanilla are macerated in the resulting infusion
• Sweetened with organic cane sugar
• Freshly brewed coffee and semi-sweet chocolate on the nose lead to tobacco, black pepper, and hazelnut skin on the palate with lingering cold brew on the finish
• 25% ABV

Based in Alameda, California, St. George Spirits is an independently owned and operated distiller of gin, whiskey, vodka, brandy, liqueur, and more with a reputation for excellence spanning over four decades.

Two proud Atlanta institutions—ASW Distillery and Big Green Egg—have joined forces to create a bourbon worthy of any backyard cookout that takes itself seriously. Fiddler’s wheated bourbon is finished with long-seasoned white oak staves that have been smoked, toasted, and charred directly on a ceramic Big Green Egg cooker, imparting layers of smoky, caramelized depth that echo the flavors of whatever’s on the grill. The result is rich, complex, and deeply satisfying—a bourbon that rewards slow sipping but also holds up beautifully on the rocks or in a cocktail. Pour it for your guests who know their whiskey; it will make an impression.

• Wheated bourbon whiskey aged, finished, and bottled by ASW Distillery (in collaboration with Big Green Egg) in Atlanta, Georgia
• A vatting of 2 wheated bourbon whiskeys, 8 barrels total: 6 barrels distilled at MGP in Indiana and 2 barrels distilled at Wilderness Trail in Kentucky
• MGP mash bill is 51% corn, 45% wheat, and 4% malted barley
• Wilderness Trail mash bill is 64% corn, 24% wheat, and 12% malted barley
• The MGP distillate is double oaked in a blend of barrels with #3 and #4 chars for 4 years, followed by barrels with a medium-plus toast for 2 years
• The Wilderness Trail distillate is single oaked in a char #5 barrel
• Each barrel is finished with a minimum of 15 Georgia white oak staves hand-harvested in north Georgia and seasoned outdoors for at least 2 years; staves are then smoked, toasted, and charred in a Big Green Egg ceramic smoker over a mix of oak and hickory wood
• Alluring rosy gold in the glass, this whiskey offers the manifold pleasures of American white oak with a firm hand and a nuanced touch, with everything from fine-grained barrel to sappy, fresh-cut timber, to campfire perfume in a steady parade across the nose. The palate provides a satisfying counterbalance in the form of honeysuckle, ripe plums and peaches, and brown sugar frosting. The finish is long, offering sensations of nutmeg, a last touch of barrel, and spice-toned proof that hints at smoked chilies.
• No added color
• Non-chill filtered; bottled at 50% ABV

Fiddler is the flagship label of American whiskey from ASW Distillery in Atlanta, Georgia. Opened by Jim Chasteen and Charlie Thompson in 2016, ASW is Georgia’s largest distillery and easily its most decorated.