![]() Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. The family looks forward to inviting people to explore the special character of a place they consider a “hidden gem.” Chuck feels privileged to include “Suisun” on a Caymus wine and believes that people will come to know and appreciate the region more and more. In addition to growing grapes in the region, the Wagner family also plans to open a winery in Suisun Valley, slated for opening by early 2021. Known more for its production of stone fruits, Suisun Valley is increasingly being recognized for its wines.įor the past several years, Chuck has been producing Caymus-Suisun Grand Durif - Durif is synonymous with Petite Sirah, one of the varietals that thrives in Suisun Valley. Chuck likes to say that Suisun Valley reminds him of Napa Valley in the 1960s – full of open space, small family farms, meandering waterways lined with native oaks, and exceptional vineyards. Only a 30-minute drive southeast of Napa, Suisun Valley is less well-known than its more famous neighbor, but shares a similar maritime climate and superb soils. Now Caymus is putting down roots in a neighboring wine region called Suisun Valley. ![]() The only wine ever named Wine Spectator's "Wine of the Year" twice has the Caymus name on it: the vaunted "Special Selection" Cabernet Sauvignon.Chuck Wagner founded Caymus Vineyards with his parents in 1972 in Rutherford, California, in the center of Napa Valley. Having spent years learning the secrets of the property farming alongside his father, Chuck took the helm as winemaker in 1984. After re-planting significant portions of their 73-acre property to grapes (most significantly to Cabernet clones from grower Nathan Fay), Charlie, his wife Lorna and his son Chuck officially founded Caymus in 1972. Not until winemaking legend Andre Tchelistcheff commented on the remarkable quality of his home winemaking grapes did he begin to look at his land in a different way. Charlie was an old-school character not easily given to fad or fashion, and wasn't about to switch gears without a very compelling reason. ![]() He had no grand visions of becoming one of Napa's vineyard gurus. The late Charlie Wagner, a non-nonsense man of the land, was happily farming wheat and fruit trees on the same Rutherford property he had known since childhood. Their story began quietly in the 1940's, when Napa Valley was largely considered a far flung wilderness of prune and walnut orchards with a mere smattering of grapevines. Few farming legacies in California, certainly when it comes to growing world-class wine grapes, can stand up to the Wagner family.
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