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Wines With A Purpose
Appreciating the moment as it is: Terroir, seasons, and diversity of life
The Intervention
Kittinee and I (Jim) were in Burgundy, France, taking some time to reflect. I was struggling because I could not find a spark to inspire me despite all the great things I have in my life. A duality it was hard for me to come to terms with.
In Burgundy, we experienced a culture that thrived off of what was around them. Most of the food and wine were sustainably raised, harvested, and cooked within a five-mile radius.
The integration of all aspects of this supply chain serves as the foundation for a thriving culture:
“For the secret of human existence does not consist in living, merely, but in what one lives for” – Dostoevsky
Kittinee is more of a doer, and I am more of a dreamer. Having made wine at home more than a decade prior, I told Kittinee that we should buy a vineyard and get back to a community in the US that is more farm-to-table like Burgundy.
My plan was to leave it at that, but when we got back to the US at our home in Florida, I received a call that pushed me way out of my comfort zone. It was Kittinee. She told me that, with the help of our dear friends Brett and Susan Snyder, she had found a vineyard in Napa for us. With the fear of being unable to afford it, I said that maybe later, but now was not the time. Kittinee replied that it was too late, and the deal was done.
“If not now, when?” – Hillel the Elder
With that, we set out to Napa.
The Conversation
A conversation within a wine cave between Myself, Kittinee, and the winemaker, inspired Farang Wine.
Kittinee and the winemaker were born in Thailand and Mexico, respectively, and became US citizens. Living between two cultures, creates a persistent feeling of being a foreigner. We all agreed that this is a super power because it gives us perspective that makes us more curious about what makes people different from each other. This curiosity has been the catalyst for us to create new and lasting friendships.
We were inspired to create a wine that was designed to bring
people together in a way that would bring them closer after they shared it.
To make this work, we need to create a high-quality wine that will make people savor each sip and, therefore, sit together longer and be together. We also wanted the bottle to have an exotic feel to inspire more curiosity among those sharing the wine.
The Vineyard
Harvested from our CCOF certified organic vineyard in Coombsville AVA, wines from this AVA have a distinct thread of old-world elegance combined with excellent structure, distinct minerality, and smooth tannins – balanced and beautiful.
We are located in a caldera on the Southeastern corner of Napa Valley. The fog burns off in the late morning, and the breezes coming off the Bay keep us significantly cooler than other AVAs. This results in a longer growing season and sophisticated wine.
The vineyard was planted in 2003 by the Valdez brothers who still take care of the vineyard to this day. In 2023 the vineyard was certified organic by CCOF. It was planted with Cabernet Sauvignon Clone 6 also referred to as the winemakers clone.
Clone 6 was brought from Bordeaux to California in the 19th century and can be traced back to the “Jackson Clone” which was planted in the 1880’s in the Sierra Foothills.
These vines produce small, loose clusters with small berries that result in a high skin to juice ratio and ultimately an intense flavor extraction, deep color, and robust structure in the wine. This gives us the basis for a muscular, age-worthy, robust wine with great intensity, and prized for adding depth and longevity.
Winemaking
Our winemaking philosophy is to express the terroir and the season with minimal intervention.
Our goal is to express the season and the land through the varietal into the bottle with minimal intervention during the winemaking process. This means that year over year, the wine will be experienced differently. I often sacrilegiously say we attempt to put God in a bottle. What is meant by this is that we want to express the changes in weather and the evolution of the soil. Every year the pattern of weather is different and has a material impact on the flavor profile and structure of the wine.
Equally important is the land and age of the vines. The soil changes as rain, nutrients and the biosphere evolve. I like to think of the soil as a living being composed of a diverse life structure (insects, soil types, water, nutrients); it is constantly evolving. As the vines age, the root structure digs deeper into the soil. So, they are up-taking different nutrients as they get older and dig deeper into the land.
This means that every vintage is a new experience. The varietal gives a basis of consistency, but the weather and age of the vines will constantly evolve the wine. For example, a relatively cool vintage will produce a fruit forward wine whereas a hot vintage will produce a wine with high acidity. The thing is that rarely is a season strictly hot or cool so the weather gives us endless permutations of the way the wine will be experienced. Additionally, as the vines get older the roots go deeper into the soil where they consume different nutrients that influence the wine. Also, as the vines get older, they start to yield less fruit which is offset by more flavor intensity. We are committed to quality over quantity which means that as the vines get older, we will produce a wine with more character.