2020 Red Wine – Napa Valley

The Founders Red Series commemorates the seven young men who wanted something better in a fraternity during their collegiate experience, and from that recognition, a dream was born – the fraternity of Sigma Chi. This wine is the second of a seven-year series.

William Lewis Lockwood, MIAMI (OHIO) 1858, the only one of the seven Founders who was not a member of DKE, was born in New York City and was 18 years old at the founding of Sigma Chi. He is best remembered as the businessman or organizer of the group and for bringing the element of cultural refinement. His organizational skills were largely responsible for the survival of the Fraternity.

Of him, Benjamin Piatt Runkle, MIAMI (OHIO) 1857, recalled: “He was cultured and had been partly educated in the East. He was a slender, fair-haired youth with polished manners, and was always dressed in the best of taste.”

After graduating in 1858, Lockwood returned to New York, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1860. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he fought for the North where he became a first lieutenant and then later a captain. He greatly distinguished himself in battle but suffered a severe shoulder wound in 1863 and never fully recovered. Unable to practice law because of his poor health, he bought the local woolen mills and formed the firm of Lockwood, Alpin & Co. In 1867, he became the first of the Founders to enter the Chapter Eternal, and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.

The 2020 In Hoc “Integrity” Founders Red Wine is an artful red blend created by winemaker Todd Heth.This wine 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.

This bottle is signed by Michael Codina, MD, CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO 1993, 22nd Grand Historian.

2018 Sparkling Brut – Méthode Champenoise – Napa Valley

Marching toward Rome on October 27, 312 A.D., Emperor Constantine’s forces were pursuing the armies of Maxentius, a challenger to the crown. According to legend, before going into battle, Constantine saw a cross in the sky that inspired him to victory. The Sigma Chi heraldry is influenced by this legendary feat of Constantine, a man who demonstrated a remarkable commitment to an ideal.

Our 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. Constantine Brut should be shared during all of life’s great victories. In Hoc Signo Vinces!