New Wolfpack wine to raise scholarship money for Loyola

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – A Loyola University New Orleans graduate is giving back to the school through a new academic scholarship funded by a “Wolfpack” wine.

Taking a cue from the school’s lupine mascot, 2014 Lagniappe Peak Wolfpack Cuvée was carefully crafted by Loyola alumnus Bob Almeida.

After receiving an academic scholarship while a student, Almeida vowed to pass on the assistance to others.

“My parents were immigrants,” Almeida said in a press release. “They believed strongly in the power of education and saved to send me and my brother to college. I was fortunate to receive a four-year scholarship to Loyola. The arc of my life has really changed because of those four years. My wife and I have always been donors, but now we have this 3.0 existence as founders of a vineyard in Napa Valley, and we thought this would be a fun way to give back.”

Almeida and his wife Debb, who also attended Loyola, hand farm their own grapes on their estate located on Atlas Peak in Napa Valley. The Wolfpack Cuvée is crafted from Malbec sourced from the Snowden Vineyard just north of Rutherford and Syrah hand farmed on their estate on Atlas Peak. The wine has a pleasing, lush texture which is complimented by the polished tannins anchoring the finish.

The new Wolf Pack Cuvée wine has completed two years of barrel aging and is being bottled later this month.
The wine will be released in February 2017 at a cost of $45 per bottle. For each bottle sold, Almeida will contribute $20 to merit-based scholarships to Loyola.

Almeida said he will consider crafting more wine varietals if this first one proves popular.