Affordable Cult Wine? Consider Cultivar.

Cul.ti.var [noun]. a variety of plant that is selected for specific desirable characteristics.  

You’re out to dinner and perusing the “wines by the glass” list.  You spot a familiar wine label from Napa Valley on the list, and are just about to order it when...you realize the $18 pricetag is for a 2 oz “taste” - which means ordering a glass of the good stuff will end up costing more than you’d typically spend on a nice bottle of wine for your cellar.  Napa Valley has become internationally famous for its Cabernets and with fame and scarcity come sky-high prices, which you’re probably all too familiar with if you’ve ever had an experience similar to the one above.

Enter the founders of Cultivar, Jody Harris and Dan O’Brian, whose mission was to create an accessible food friendly Cabernet from the Napa Valley.  The mission began when grape grower and third generation San Franciscan, Jody Harris, struck up a conversation with Dan O’Brien, Wine Director at Cavallo Point.  The two were engaging in conversation about Jody’s new line of estate wines, Caspar Estate, when Dan mentioned that what restaurants were really looking for was an affordable Napa Cab. Jody sensed Dan was on to something and the two of them called on their combined contacts and resources in the wine industry to see if there was a way to make this happen.  Cultivar was born when Jody and Dan realized that many of the top tier Cult Wineries only use the very best of their crops for each vintage - and sell the rest (under NDA).  To make an analogy, it’d be akin to hiring a candidate who graduated from Harvard with a 4.0 average as opposed to a 3.0 average...both students are still creme de la creme when it comes to brains and top tier education. While it could be argued that the "A" students might perform slightly better, most people wouldn’t even know the difference if grades weren’t disclosed.

The men behind Cultivar took this approach - they source the best 3.0 grapes from the “Ivy League” vineyards belonging to cult wineries which allows them to control costs and blend a wine tailored specifically for the dinner table that is just spectacular. Fresh and forward with minimal manipulation and plenty of warm fruit and acidity, Cultivar wines have been discovered by some of Napa and San Francisco’s most famous sommeliers (think Raj Purr of Michael Mina) and are being poured at some of the best neighborhood restaurants, small hotels and boutique retailers around the country.  Cultivar was officially founded in 2011, and in its first official year of business has produced 5,000 cases of wine and is available in 8 states and top tier cities including: New York, Texas, Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles.

Visiting the Cultivar “headquarters” up at the top of Whitehall Lane, and tasting with Jody and Dan is a peak experience in itself.  With birds singing, and the scent of lemon blossoms filling the air, we tasted Caspar and Cultivar wines, and their line of organic honey and olive oil alfresco, overlooking a panoramic view of the valley and a crystal clear infinity pool.  The tasting experience is beautiful but laid back - and takes place in the home inherited by Jody from his grandfather, Caspar Escher, the namesake of the Caspar label Jody founded in 2010.  Cultivar does no advertising nor does it have an official tasting room, but the founders are amenable to in-person visits, and can host private events and weddings in this picturesque place.  For more information on how to visit or purchase Cultivar, email cardinale.gianna@gmail.com.

My favorites from Cultivar and Caspar below:

CULTIVAR:
2010 Cabernet
This balanced blend has 5% Merlot added to the Cabernet blend and is 80% aged in steel barrels, 20% oak aged giving it just subtle hints of vanilla and spices.  Big and fruit-forward with plum, cherry, cassis, and raspberry liquor notes with brambly, dusty aromas.

2009 Red Label Cabernet Franc
Produced from 6 site specific lots, this wine displays classic Cab Franc garden notes of ripe tomato, bay leaf, and red berries.  It’s lean with mild tannins and hints of smoky leather.

CASPAR:
2009 Cabernet
Big, ripe blackberries and cassis with notes of espresso, dark chocolate and black licorice.  A highly extracted wine with spicy sweet notes from oak, beautiful structure and long silky finish.

2010 Sauvignon Blanc
With a small percentage of Tokai and Muscat added to the blend, this SB has beautiful racy acidity complimented by white floral notes, rich tropical fruits, honey and smoky minerality.

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Old World meets New World at boutique winery, Alpha Omega

If you’ve been to St. Helena recently, you’ve most likely noticed the eye-catching black and gold sign for Alpha Omega Winery.  While it may sound like the name of a fraternity, the wines are anything but sophomoric.  Alpha Omega specializes in Chardonnay and Cabernet and are known for their beautifully crafted  wines that are made in both Old and New World styles.  This play on New and Old World is actually where the winery name originated.  To clarify what the difference between New World and Old World wine, Old world wines come from the "classic winemaking regions" in Europe, and new world wines come from everywhere else (examples include California and US appellations, South America, South Africa, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand). The Old World can generally date origins of wine production back to the Roman Empire and beyond. Throughout this epoch, winemakers gained knowledge of which grapes grew best and which areas of land consistently produced the finest quality. The growers from these classic Old World regions (France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain) have great pride in this history and many still make wine the way it’s been being made for generations.  While Old World wines may deliver a consistent style (as you’ll also notice by their rigorous classification systems) in another regard, the advent of New World wines has been a positive influence on the established order and have developed new technologies and methods that can produce beautiful and often more affordable wine.

Likewise, Alpha Omega is a delightful boutique winery to visit if you are new to the wine world or seasoned.  The friendly staff are well educated and there are tasting options ranging from the tasting bar to high end private tasting in the magestic loft-like Barrell Room.  We were welcomed to the winery by our jovial and knowledgeable guide, Vincent Ruggiero on a sunny April Sunday with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.  Strolling through the property, the open-aired patio was chic yet welcoming with modern yet cozy furniture groupings overlooking a beautiful man-made lake.  A fine mist from the fountains lightly spritzed us while soft jazz played - here, surrounded by vineyards and mountains, the beauty of this rustic, farm-style winery was as captivating as its wine.  A garden patio and woodfired pizza oven are available for picnics and events with bocce courts coming soon.  AO is a great winery to visit during harvest season when they encourage guests to get involved with the crush and host an array of themed events like their annual Oysterfest.

I could have basked in the sun on the patio and enjoyed wine all afternoon, but reluctantly allowed Vinny to lead us into the tank room where we climbed a flight of stairs up to a rustic - yet newly constructed - loft.  We sat down to a table set below beautiful modern reclaimed chandeliers and tasted our way through 3 oaked and unoaked Chardonnays and two red Cabernet blends before heading down to an exclusive barrel tasting of the 4 separate blocks that are blended into Alpha Omega’s signature “Era” Cabernet, 2010 including the Missouri Hopper, the To Kalon North, To Kalon South and Stagecoach.  My favorite block was the Stagecoach - with its great minerality, and rich flavors of chocolate, cherry, vanilla - it’s still young but already velvety smooth on the finish.  The Hopper block was also great though expensive - retailing for $140 per bottle futures. The block was named after Charles Hopper, who came to California  from Missouri, bringing stagecoaches out to Napa along with the famed Mr. Yount of Yountville’s namesake.  Hopper ended up marrrying Yount’s daughter and received 146 acres of land which became the now famous vineyards. Alpha Omega’s extraordinary winemakers, along with historic vineyards, combine to create wines that express the essence of this famous wine region. By sourcing prized grapes from the many appellations of Napa Valley, Alpha Omega’s winemakers blend these blocks of exceptional terroir ranging from valley floor, hillside, mountain and coast, crafting complex and balanced wines, which are a perfect expression of the best Napa Valley has to offer.

The result is world-class wine with prices to match.  80% AO wines are sold through wine club and tasting room only and the single vineyard Cabs, Syrah, Petit Syrah, Pinot Noir, Petit Verdot, and  Late Harvest whites are only sold at the winery and for wine club members, so if you want to taste this nectar, it’s worth the visit (and buy a bottle or two if you can afford it).  While there isn’t a great deal to explore at this winery, the setting is chic and charming, perfect for a picnic and you can’t beat the location if you’re heading up St Helena Highway.  And the wines are timeless -worthy of this world and the next.  

My tasting notes:

1. Chardonnay - Un-Oaked 2011 - $36/bottle
Beautifully crisp with pink notes of grapefruit and “bubble gum”, pineapple, and melon.  This wine is light for a chardonnay with no oak or malolactic fermentation.

2. Chardonnay - Oaked 2009 - $58/bottle
Rich mascarpone lemon cream, marzipan, honeysuckle, vanilla and baked apple.  Aged in 100% French Oak for 18 months and 100% barrel fermented with malolactic fermentation.

3. Proprietary Red 2009 - 37% Merlot, 34% Cab, 16% Cab Franc, 13% Petit Verdot - $90/ bottle
Raspberry, cassis, blueberry, gooseberry, stewed prune and black cherry.  Hints of lavender, cedar and chocolate and a long smooth finish.

4. Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 - $88/bottle
Black currant, blueberry and black cherry, balanced with a backbone of acidity with hints of red currant, red cherry and blackberry pie.  Hints of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cocoa add to the sultry wine.

5. Era 2010 - 85% Cab, 10% Cab Franc, 5% Merlot - $195/bottle
Dense entrance of fresh picked blackberry balanced with fresh acidity and velvety tannins, spices, oak, licorice, plum, chocolate and raspberry evolving on black currant jam

6. Late Harvest Sauvignon and Semillon 2008 - $86/bottle
A wonderfully evolving blend of baked apple, apricot, honey, fresh basil and almond. The sweet pineapple and quince notes are balanced by fresh acidity of white nectarine and bitter orange.

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