2018 Red Wine – Napa Valley

Our seven exemplary founders came together in 1909 in Brooks Hall at Barnard College looking for friendship, support and a home away from home. This inaugural bottle in our Founders series remembers with fondness our two Roses – Rose Salmowitz Marvin and Rose Gerstein Smolin.

Rose Gerstein was named “Best Natured” by Barnard Who’s Who in 1911. Rose was a Latin and Greek major who taught Latin and English at the high school level. Later she switched to teaching accounting and even wrote a textbook. She raised her family in Brooklyn, New York and was active in Brandeis University National Women’s Committee, Hadassah and National Council of Jewish Women.

Rose Salmowitz was described in the Barnard Mortarboard (yearbook) as “the tower of strength which stood four-square to all the winds that blew.” Rose became a teacher while also managing the family-owned newspaper, “Long Island Daily Press.” Rose, and her family, lived in Queens and she was known for her work for Brandeis University serving three years as president of the Manhattan chapter of the National Women’s Committee and on the national board.

The two Roses were shining examples for generations to come, inspiring all of AEPhi to bloom and grow.

We introduce you to Two Roses. This proprietary red blend – from our award-winning winemaker Todd Heth – exhibits dark blackberry, bing cherry, and plum notes perfectly into layers of coffee and tobacco. The finish is dry with long-lasting berry fruit. Silky but firm tannins, this wine is enjoyable now but has the ability to age well in the cellar.

Sparkling Blanc de Noirs – Méthode Champenoise – Napa Valley

It was October 24, 1909, when seven young Jewish women came together in Brooks Hall at Barnard College in New York City to form what would become Alpha Epsilon Phi Sorority.

For more than 110 years, women from Atlantic to Pacific have continued to enjoy the special bonds of sisterhood that Founder Tina Hess Solomon said was “beautiful in its ideals and dominated by the ideals of true friendship.”

We introduce you to 1909 Reserve. This premium sparkling wine – meticulously and artfully made in the traditional champagne method – rivals anything found from the best Champagne houses in Épernay and Reims. Blended superbly from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, this magnificent Napa Valley Brut exhibits rich fruit aromatics of strawberry and delicate white cherry that follows through to a creamy mid-palate accompanied with highlights of lime and wet minerality and a lingering vibrant finish.