2004 Plumpjack St. Helena Cuvee

PlumpJack, in Oakville, was founded by Gordon Getty, a San Francisco composer and philanthropist, and Gavin Newsom, former San Francisco mayor. The entrepreneurs opened a wine shop in San Francisco in 1992 called PlumpJack, a reference to Shakespeare’s character Sir John Falstaff, who enjoyed food and wine. The partners founded the PlumpJack winery in 1997 when they acquired 53 acres of vineyards on Oakville Cross Road. The PlumpJack Group now also includes resorts, hotels, restaurants and spas. The winery specializes in premium Cabernet Sauvignon, though it also makes a Syrah. Robert M. Parker Jr. notes that all the PlumpJack wines “are fabulous, thanks to the brilliant efforts of winemaker Tony Biagi and consultant Nils Venge.” A bit of wine world trivia: PlumpJack was the first Napa Valley producer to use screw caps.

St. Helena AVA is at the northern end of Napa Valley just north of Rutherford and south of Calistoga. It is a relatively warm climate thanks to the Mayacamas Mountains on its western edge, which protect it from Pacific Ocean fog. Out of the 9,000 acres in the appellation, some 1,500 are under vine. The principal grapes grown in St. Helena are the Bordeaux grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. St. Helena is considered prime wine producing territory, and it was one of the first important wine producing regions in northern California. The legendary Charles Krug founded his winery just north of the town of St. Helena in 1873, and today the appellation is home to many prestigious producers, including Abreu, Grace Family and Spottswoode.