Caymus Vineyards is one of the most contested names in American wine. Established in Rutherford, Calif., a sub-AVA of Napa Valley, in 1972, the winery was founded by the Wagner family, which had been growing and selling grapes to others in the region for decades. Practically immediately, the winery’s Cabernet Sauvignon rose in popularity. For that reason, Caymus made the decision to scale its wines to be available nationwide.
But to grow a wine brand to such a scale, you have to make a lot of it, and in doing so, you lose a bit of the variety’s characteristic traits, as well as its terroir. It’s for that reason that Caymus is available in most supermarkets, albeit at a high price point, while other Napa wines like Screaming Eagle and Harlan Estate are not. It’s also why the wine brand is such a hot topic among those in the industry.
Regardless of how one personally feels about Caymus, though, there is no denying that the winery has deep roots in not just Californian wine history, but the state’s overall history as well. Today on the “Wine 101” podcast, Keith walks us through some of that history and discusses the three families who created one of the most loved — and most polarizing — American wines. Tune in for more.
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“Wine 101” was produced, recorded, and edited by yours truly, Keith Beavers, at the VinePair headquarters in New York City. I want to give a big old shout-out to co-founders Adam Teeter and Josh Malin for creating VinePair. Big shout-out to Danielle Grinberg, the art director of VinePair, for creating the most awesome logo for this podcast. Also, Darby Cicci for the theme song. And I want to thank the entire VinePair staff for helping me learn something new every day. See you next week.
*Image retrieved from Caymus Vineyards
