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To be designated "estate bottled" a wine
must be made exclusively from grapes grown in the
winery's own vineyards. It's the vineyards and the
varieties planted in them that define a great estate
winery and a great estate wine. Not every winery chooses
to go that route. We wouldn't have it any other way.
grapes
It's
a question of knowing -- and controlling -- exactly
how every grape we work with makes its way from the
soil to the glass. We never sacrifice quality in pursuit
of larger yields, but rather insist on vigilant attention
to viticultural practices which achieve an ideal balance
of vigor and fruit load.
Our
estate is located at both ends of the Napa Valley,
where nature and science have come together to create
one of the finest wine-producing regions of the world.
The
estate comprises 455 acres, of which 90 are in the
Calistoga area, known for its ripe, jammy reds, and
the balance are in cool Carneros to the south, where
the valley meets the San Francisco Bay.
Just
south of Calistoga, fine, loamy sands surround the
winery itself, known as the Home Ranch. Here, we've
planted to the classic blendings of Petit Verdot,
Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Merlot. In this sunny plain,
the fruit ripens slowly, developing the complex notes
of spice that distinguish our Cabernet Sauvignon and
Reserve Cabernet Hommage.
To
the north of Calistoga in the foothills of Mount St.
Helena, is our Palisades Vineyard -- 40 acres of ruggedly
austere "horizontal hillside." This alluvial
fan spills out of the Palisades Mountains in the northeastern
corner of the Napa Valley. You're familiar with the
saying "adversity builds character"? Well,
here, the stony terrain produces some of the finest
Cabernet grapes in the valley. The poor soil, dry
and deeply drained, yields a meager but exquisitely
concentrated crop of Cabernet Sauvignon, providing
the fine aromatics and plummy ripe fruit of our Cabernet
blends.
Mitsuko's
Vineyard spans 365 acres of the Carneros area. With
a diverse range of soil types, elevations and microclimates,
this vineyard was planted to Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot
Noir and, surprisingly, Cabernet Sauvignon. There
aren't many Cabernet grapes grown in Carneros, but
our vineyard includes a rocky, well-drained hillside
that's proven ideal for Cabernet (despite -- or perhaps
in keeping with -- its foreboding name, Graveyard
Hill).
Taken
all together, it's the qualities of these three sites
that create the Clos Pegase style: the sunny ripeness
of Home Ranch, the austere elegance of Palisades and
the fog-shrouded coolness of Carneros. Rather than
bending our wines to meet our whims, we let the vineyards
be our guides, and we do our best to capture and reflect
their distinctive personalities in the glass.
Carved
deep into the rock knoll beyond Clos Pegase are 20,000
square feet of aging caves. In the deep stillness
of the caves, our wines age gracefully in the finest
French oak cooperage. Free of air-conditioner vibration,
they enjoy ideal year-round temperature and humidity
until they emerge as mature, sophisticated wines.
The
caves are also home to our renowned Cave Theater,
a magically inviting space often used for celebrations
and special events
The
rich and convivial culture of ancient Greece provides
many splendid images to accompany and express our
celebration of Art and Wine and how they contribute
to our joie de vivre. Here is some background information
regarding the principle figures represented in our
art and architecture
Pegasus
is, of course, our namesake. His father was Poseidon,
known to the Romans as Neptune, god of the sea and
earthquakes. One of Poseidon's many affairs was with
the gorgon Medusa (famous for having snakes for hair).
The hero Perseus cut Medusa's head off and out of
her blood came Pegasus, the mighty steed ridden into
battle by Bellerophon. Together steed and rider slew
the terrible she-dragon Chimera with the divine bridle
from the goddess Athena. The scene of Athena taming
Pegasus is depicted by a sculpture in our cave theatre.
Pegasus
is an apt symbol of the marriage of art and wine;
it was he who unleashed the Spring of the Muses, the
goddesses of poetry, music, drama, painting, and basically
all the arts. Pegasus landed on Mount Helicon, his
powerful hooves ripping open the peak and releasing
the waters within, which gave life to wine and art.
The Spring irrigated the vines and wine was born;
the Muses were "inspired" by wine and art
was born. His divine presence, of course, permeates
our premises as he appears on the label of most of
our wines.
For
over 1,000 years Bacchus was god of vegetation and
fertility until he was promoted to god of wine; he
was thought to inhabit the very wine we imbibe. He
was pruned and left as a dead stump but he was always
brought back to life, giving birth to the concept
of the immortal soul. Among his emblems were a reed
pipe and a theatrical mask, Bacchus having given birth
to the theater as well.
Bacchus
was the son of Zeus and Princess Semele, whom Zeus
seduced in human form. His wife Hera plotted her demise
with the prospect of having Zeus reveal his full divine
presence. Since Zeus was the god of lightning, she
was burned to ashes; but not before Zeus snatched
Bacchus from her womb and sewed him up in his right
thigh. That's why his primary nickname in Homeric
epic is "The Twice-born One" because he
was born a second time from Zeus' thigh.
The
Henry Moore in our entrance portico depicts Gaia,
"Mother Earth," and no survey of the characters
inhabiting and inspiring this temple to art and wine
could ever be complete without tribute to her. In
Greek mythology Gaia, which is simply the poetic form
of the word for "earth," was one of the
first beings spontaneously born from nothing. Gaia,
momma earth, gave birth to father sky, Uranus and
the two mated and became the parents of Chronos and
Rhea. Chronos and Rhea were the parents of Zeus and
his siblings. She is the ultimate source of all living
things and to her great homage is due.
Ganymedes
The
figure in one of the niches in our caves, the naked
man with goblet and decanter, is Ganymede. He is the
cup-bearer for the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus.
His job was to pour the wine, as is ours.
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