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For this year’s Hanukkah dinner recipe, we turned to our good friend Eden Hensley Silverstein, whose Passover dinner recipe earlier this year was a huge success. You can follow Eden on Instagram @RoadToGoodLife, Facebook @TheRoadToTheGoodLife, or her blog The Road To The Good Life.

When you think of Hanukkah dinner, latkes, sufganiyot (jelly-filled donuts), and maybe brisket probably come to mind. But, Hanukkah doesn’t have to mean oil and heavy fried foods. So, if you haven’t yet added cheese to your celebrations, it’s time.

Why cheese for Hanukkah? Because of Judith. Her tale, less known than that of the Maccabees also involves an invading army. The short story is that Judith lived in a town under siege. She went to the enemy camp, met with their general, and offered him cheese and drink. When he passed out, she cut his head off with his sword, inspiring the Israelites to attack and causing the Assyrians to flee.

We love a good wine and cheese pairing, so we’re embracing the tale of Judith and her amazing cheese for Hanukkah dinner this year. We’re serving a family-style meal of traditional Polish dishes paired with a few favorite Cultivar wines. On this year’s menu is a Golden beet with Fried Apples and Arugula Salad paired with a 2019 Cultivar Muscat, Anderson Valley, and Barszcz (a sour Polish beet soup) and Pierogi (Polish dumplings) both paired with a 2019 Cultivar Pinot Noir, Russian River. If you want a different pairing for your Pierogi, you could pair it with a 2019 Cultivar Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley. We preferred the Pinot as the earthiness of the mushroom wasn’t overpowered. (We chose to have the 2019 Cultivar Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley with our slow-cooker brisket.)

Best thing about this Hanukkah dinner meal? It’s completely vegetarian, so everyone will leave your table satiated.

Hanukkah runs for eight nights, which means six weeknights and one weekend. Depending on when you want to celebrate with family and friends, the first night, Shabbat (Friday night after sunset or Saturday before sunset), or a weekend, you won’t have enough time to make all courses of this menu the same day. (The pierogies are very labor-intensive, but so worth it!)

Golden Beets with Fried Apples and Arugula Salad

Ingredients (Serves 4 people)

• 1 1/2 pounds of golden beets
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon hazelnuts, chopped
• 2 apples, any kind, sliced with the skin on
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice, ground
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger, ground
• 2 cups arugula
• 1/2 Tablespoon Caspar Estate Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 3 Tablespoons feta cheese, crumbled

Instructions (Prep time: 35 minutes; Cooking time: 45 minutes; Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes)

1. Position your oven rack in the middle of your oven if it’s not already there, and then preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Rub each beet with olive oil and wrap in aluminum foil, then put on a sheet pan.
3. Place your sheet pan in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until tender.
4. While the beets cook, toast hazelnuts. Be careful not to scorch them, stir constantly. Put aside when done.
5. Over medium heat in a non-stick skillet, melt butter.
6. When your butter has melted, add sliced apples, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until they’re nicely seared and tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
7. When the beets have cooled, peel the skin off and dice.
8. In a medium bowl, toss arugula with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste.
9. When your arugula is dressed, add roasted beets, fried apples, hazelnuts, and feta.

Barszcz (Polish beet soup)

Ingredients (Serves 4 people)

• 1 cup dried chanterelles
• Enough boiling water to cover the chanterelles
• 4 medium carrots
• 1 medium parsnip
• 1 leek
• 10 cups water
• 2 Tablespoons salt, divided
• 2 Bay leaves
• 4 whole allspice
• 4 large beets
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 apple, any kind, sliced with the skin on
• 1/4 teaspoon marjoram, dry
• 2 Tablespoons white vinegar, divided
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed
• (optional) 2 teaspoons sugar
• Freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions (Prep time: 15 minutes; Cooking time: 60 minutes; Total time: 75 minutes)

1. Place dry chanterelles in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak for five minutes.
2. Rough chop carrots, parsnip, and leek and add to an 8 1/2 quart pot with soaked mushrooms. Cover with 10 cups of water; add a Tablespoon of salt, bay leaves, and  allspice, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for 30 minutes.
3. Peel beets and slice into 1/2-inch slices.
4. Toss beets, garlic, apple, remaining Tablespoon of salt, marjoram, 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar, and lemon juice in broth and bring back to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for another half hour uncovered.
5. Add remaining vinegar.
6. Taste and adjust seasoning with vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper as needed.
7. Discard all of the vegetables and use a strainer to serve your Barszcz into bowls.

Pierogi (Polish dumplings)

Ingredients (Serves 12 people)

• 2 pounds (about 8 small) Yukon gold potatoes
• 3 Tablespoons sunflower oil
• 2 1/2  cups mushrooms, sliced
• 3 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 1 16-ounce container ricotta cheese
• 1 Tablespoon sour cream
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (we used 3 teaspoons salt and about 1 teaspoon pepper)
• 8 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, cubed
• 2 cups lukewarm water

Instructions (Prep time: 1 hour 30 minutes; Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes; Total time: 2 hours 50 minutes)

1. Put your potato in a medium-sized pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.
2. While your potatoes cook, heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. When the oil shimmers, add your onion. Sauté until translucent, about 10 minutes, and then set aside.
3. Heat more oil in medium heat in the skillet you just used for the onions. When it shimmers, add your mushrooms in batches. Sauté until the mushrooms no longer release any moisture, about 10 minutes, and then set aside.
4. Remove your potatoes from the heat. Drain the water and let them cool. When cool, use your fingers to peel the skins.
5. Using the grater attachment for your food processor, shred your potatoes. Empty and clean your food processor and then process your ricotta. Your ricotta will be light and fluffy after you finish.
6. Combine mushrooms, onions, potatoes, ricotta, sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Set your filling aside until your dough is ready.
7. Measure flour out onto a clean, smooth work surface.
8. Make a well in the center of the flour and crack both eggs into the well. Add the butter and mix with your hands. Gradually add warm water, a couple of tablespoons at a time. As the dough becomes more firm, add just a tablespoon at a time.
9. Knead the dough until it is soft and smooth, approximately 15-20 minutes.
10. Divide the dough into four equal portions. Cover with the portions you’re not working with a clean, damp dishtowel so that your dough doesn’t dry out.
11. Roll one portion into a thickness of 1/8 inch. Too thick of a dough will make it harder to press your pierogis closed around the filling, and the ratio of dough to filling will be off.
12. Cut out circles using a glass or round pastry cutter. Put the excess dough aside in the bowl with the other portions under the clean damp dish towel.
13. Fill each circle of dough with a teaspoon of filling. Fold dough in half over the filling and pinch the edges together to seal. Place in a baking dish or on a plate and cover with a clean damp wet dish towel. Separate layers of made pierogis with a sheet of wax paper to keep them from sticking to each other.
14. Continue rolling out the dough, cutting out circles, filling, and pressing into half-moons.
15. Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil. Add the pierogi in batches, about 10 at a time, and cook until they float to the surface, approximately 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a plate in an oven set to warm until ready to serve.

With a little pre-planning, you can make your salad and soup the same day you’re planning on serving it. The Golden Beet with Fried Apples and Arugula Salad served with Barszcz is perfect for a weeknight Hanukkah dinner celebration for two to four people. The pierogi are more hands-on; make the filling and dough a day or two ahead of your weeknight celebration and then roll out, fill, and boil. Making the dough is the most time-consuming aspect of the pierogis; it takes approximately 20 minutes to get the dough kneaded into a ball.

Having more people over mid-week for Hanukkah dinner? You can make both the salad and the Barszcz, with the exception of tossing the arugula with Balsamic Vinegar and olive oil, ahead of time. All you’ll need to do to prep is reheat the Barszcz about 20 minutes before your guests arrive, and toss your arugula with Balsamic vinegar and olive oil before serving. You can also make your pierogi beforehand. To reheat, sprinkle a few drops of water on your pierogi and microwave on medium heat for a minute. Flip over and microwave the other side on medium heat for 30 seconds.

You can follow Eden Hensley Silverstein on Instagram @RoadToGoodLife, Facebook @TheRoadToTheGoodLife, or her blog The Road To The Good Life. She is part of Mom It Forward and Blogloving. Eden’s bio on  linked in profile.

As you prepare for your Thanksgiving celebration, whether a small or large gathering we have some tips and pointers to make it memorable and easy. Keep everyone happy during the day by having a platter of healthy nibbles like this board.

Photo by Brooke Lark

You can make several things ahead of time. We use our Caspar Estate organically grown herbs, meyer lemons, and oranges.  We make the herb and lemon zest butter several days ahead of time. We use it to put it under the skin of the turkey and inside the turkey and then coasting all the skin. We also use it for sauting the onion, celery, portobello mushrooms for the stuffing.

Prepare ahead of time: We chop up the meyer lemon, orange, and then cook the cranberries with dried cherries, raisins, with Caspar Estate honey, balsamic vinegar and lots of spices (cinnamon stick, allspice, cloves). We enjoy the additional depth of flavor by using additional items in the cranberry sauce.

We often end up eating at about 2pm on Thanksgiving.We make a roasted butternut squash soup. We roast the squash with Caspar Estate extra virgin olive oil and garlic. We scoop out the squash, and the roasted garlic and put it in the blender and blend it and add vegetable stock. It is creamy and delicious.

We love having leftovers so we make a large turkey about 18-20 pounds. In order to have the stuffing taste the best we like to stuff the bird. To make the bird as succulent as possible we have mastered cooking it in the oven with Cultivar Sauvignon Blanc the bottom of the roasting pan. We put the bird in upside down so the juices flow into that part of the bird and flip it 2/3 of the way through cooking it. Flipping it over requires preparation for a big bird – we have found that having 2 people makes it much easier.

What the turkey looks like when we first put it in the oven. We often put aluminum foil over the wing tips. Below is what it looks like after we flip it over and it is ready.

Pair the turkey with 2019 Cultivar Chardonnay from Oakville, it brings out the best in turkey as well as seared scallops, cheese platters, sourdough stuffing, mashed potatoes and vegetables with hollandaise sauce.

Looking for switching it up? We can recommend the Squash and Burrata that we serve at Cultivar SF with all the flavors of the seasons. Delicata squash & honey nut squash, granny smith apples, pomegranate arlis, pepitas, balsamic reduction, fried sage, lava salt, olive oil. Pair it with the 2019 Cultivar Pinot Noir Russian River.

Another fun first course is the Scallop with Frisse, apples, Pt. Reyes Blue.

For the stuffing we roast chestnuts in the oven. Be sure to score them before roasting. It makes peeling them so much easier. We saute the celery, onions, herbs, portobello mushrooms in the herbed butter or herbed olive oil with lemon zest.

Thanksgiving calls for brussel sprouts! We love ours tossed in Caspar Estate olive oil and then there are several options for how to prepare them.

Pair your roasted brussel sprouts, truffle or portobello mushroom stuffing, seared green beans with scallions with our newly released 2019 Cultivar Bordeaux Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot from renown Napa Valley vineyards create a lush, balanced and provocative wine.
Or serve the Brussel Sprouts the way we do at Cultivar SF with Cultivar Bacon, Gremolata, Parmesan

Do you prefer serving roasted duck to the traditional turkey? We recommend our 2019 Cultivar Oak Knoll Cabernet Franc. On the palate, the flavors of cranberry and red fruit are evenly balanced with nutmeg, ginger, white pepper, and a hint of baking chocolate. A very food friendly wine it will pair well with Mashed potatoes, stuffing and dinner rolls.

Photo by ProChurchmedia

For years we have been making sweet potatoes with marshmallows. This has been a family tradition for quite some time. Do you put it all out on the table all at once or serve your meal in courses? Either way we have found that our dogs are always right there next to us waiting for scraps to fall from the table. Our dogs lie in front of the oven all day, and are especially watchful when we baste the bird.

Photo by Karolina-Grabowska

What do you prefer? Pumpkin pie with whipping cream or pecan pie or chocolate pecan pie? The one thing we can all agree on is pairing your pie with our just released Port! This 2014 Cultivar Anderson Valley Port is a decadent dessert wine that greets the nose with layers of caramel, dulce de leche, and orange peel. Warm waves of spun sugar, maple, and dark chocolate roll across the palate, ending with a creamy, mocha finish that seems to linger forever. What a great way to finish off a wonderful celebration.

Photo by Timothy-Wolff

We are grateful to you! We hope that you will have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Another option is to let the professionals handle it and go to the Silverado Resort. Look at this beautiful meal from Silverado in the Napa Valley.

Photo by Silverado Resort

If you need help selecting wine to pair with your favorite dishes join us online for holiday tips with Deborah. She is lots of fun and has many great ideas! Cheers!

For this year’s Thanksgiving dinner recipe, we’re handing over the blog to our good friend Karista Bennett, whose latest collection of recipes and photographs, The Oregon Farm Table Cookbook, is a bestseller on Amazon. We asked Karista to think of something new and delicious for the Holidays that would pair with a range of wines from our Oakville Chardonnay to our 2015 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir…and the result is an amazing take on a classic Thanksgiving dinner…

I’ve come to realize, there are two turkey camps in my family. Those who love a roast turkey for Thanksgiving dinner and those who will always ask if we can part with tradition and have something different.

Each year around the first of October, my family begins the long and sometimes passionate holiday dinner discussion, about you guessed it, turkey. This discussion typically commences with a subtle question about a possible new entree, or commentary on the merits of traditional and non-traditional holiday meals.

Consequently, preparing a holiday meal that delights every family member’s palate has become somewhat of a challenge. Aren’t they so lucky that I love a good challenge?

Now, I’m not actually in either turkey camp. Sometimes I love a juicy roasted turkey with all the complimentary side dishes. And other times, I crave something a little different but also mixed with a bit of tradition.

That’s why this Holiday Turkey Wellington with Gravy checks all the boxes. The turkey breast is butterflied and layered with creamy, tangy Brie and a homemade cranberry-orange relish that’s been spiked with the seductive flavor of Cultivar Pinot Noir. Then it’s wrapped in prosciutto, tied with kitchen twine, and par-cooked.

Once it’s cooled, it’s topped with herb and garlic sauteed mushrooms and breadcrumbs, wrapped in puff pastry, and baked until it’s golden brown. It makes a gorgeous presentation and is sublimely delicious when served with a simple turkey gravy.

Side Dishes and Wine Pairings

This impressive Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner recipe can be paired with a shaved Brussels sprout salad, sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, or whatever side dishes make your food heart happy. I’ve also created this lovely recipe to pair specifically with Cultivar Oakville Chardonnay and 2015 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir. As well, it’s also divine when served with Cultivar Muscat. The slight sweetness of the Muscat compliments the hearty, savory flavors of the recipe.

It’s the perfect time of year to enchant your guests and make your holidays deliciously memorable with Turkey Wellington and Cultivar Wine!

Turkey Wellington with Gravy

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 ¾- 2 lb. boneless turkey breast
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 3-4 ounces brie cheese, sliced
• 3-4 tablespoons cranberry-orange relish (recipe follows)
• 4-5 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto (tip: pop it in the freezer for about 10 minutes before you need to use it. This helps keep it from falling apart easily)
• Kitchen twine
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra if needed
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh shallots
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• Salt and pepper
• 1 package (2 sheets) puff pastry, thawed
• 1 egg whisked with 1 teaspoon cold water

Cranberry-Orange Relish

• 12 ounces fresh cranberries
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 orange zested and juiced
• ¼ cup Cultivar pinot noir
• Pinch of salt

Turkey Gravy

• 3 tablespoons butter or olive oil
• 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 ¾ – 2 cups chicken or turkey broth
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

To prepare the relish, stir cranberries, sugar, orange zest, orange juice, Cultivar Pinot Noir, and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Bring the mixture to a simmer and reduce the heat to low. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the cranberries have burst and the mixture has slightly thickened. The relish will thicken as it cools. This can be prepared a day in advance. Store in a jar or container with a lid for up to five days.

To prepare the turkey, preheat the oven to 375F.

Place the turkey breast on a large cutting board. To butterfly the breast, with a sharp knife, slice into the thickest portion of the breast and cut down the length (the side) of the breast, but not all the way through, about ¾ of the way through. You should be able to unfold the turkey breast like a book.

At this point, if the breast is thick, using a meat mallet, pound out both sides a bit until they are even in thickness. Brush the inside and outside of the breast with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place brie slices on one half of the inside of the turkey breast and the cover with several tablespoons of cranberry relish. Then fold the top over onto the bottom, closing it like a book.

Then place prosciutto slices over the top of the turkey breast. It will usually hold 4-6 slices of prosciutto. If the prosciutto is thin and tears, that’s ok, just continue to layer the prosciutto over the breast, tucking the prosciutto under the breast as needed.

Then with 4 – 5 strands of kitchen twine, tie up the turkey breast and gently place it onto a baking sheet. Don’t tie the breast too tight. Just enough to keep it secure.

Gently transfer the turkey breast to a baking sheet and put it into the oven and bake for about 35 minutes. The turkey will be par-cooked and needs to cool for about 10-15 minutes. Once cool enough, cut the twine off the turkey.

While the turkey is cooling, make the mushroom mixture. In a skillet, add olive oil and cook shallots just until they are soft. Then add the mushrooms and fresh herbs. Let the mushrooms cook until soft and wilted and have released some of their liquid.

Stir in the garlic and cook a few minutes longer. Then stir in the breadcrumbs and season with salt and pepper.

When ready, set the oven temperature to 400F.

Place one sheet of puff pastry on a flat lightly floured surface. Roll it out a bit lengthwise, about 1-inch. Most puff pastry is about 10×15 inches. I roll the pastry out to about 11×16 or 17. Then do the same with the second piece of puff pastry.

Place one sheet of prepared puff pastry onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Then place the par-cooked turkey breast in the center of the puff pastry.

Top the turkey breast with the mushroom mixture, patting it securely into place. Some of the mushroom mixture will tumble off but just put it back on and continue patting it gently until it sticks. This doesn’t need to be perfect!

Then place the second sheet of puff pastry over the top of the mushroom topped turkey breast. It will lay over the turkey breast like a blanket. Press the edges of both sheets of pastry together to seal. Cut off the extra pastry and set aside, and then roll the sides of the pastry, pressing down or pinching a bit to keep it sealed.

Score the top of the pastry and use the discarded bits of pastry to make any decorations that you like. I used a small 1-inch fall leaf cookie cutter to make leaves for my Wellington. Use the egg wash to attach your pastry decorations.

Then brush the egg wash over the puff pastry and sprinkle with a little coarse salt, kosher salt, or sea salt.

Put the baking pan in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes. The turkey is done when the pastry is a deep golden brown or meat thermometer reads 160F. Remove it from the oven and let it rest.

To make the gravy, add the butter to a saucepan over medium heat. Once butter is melted and hot sprinkle in flour and whisk. As you whisk, slowly add the broth, and continue to simmer until the gravy has thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve your delicious Thanksgiving Dinner, slice the Turkey Wellington and place it on a platter. Drizzle with a little gravy and then serve. Serve the extra gravy on the side, and of course Cultivar Wine!

NOTE: This recipe has several steps, but it’s worth the effort. If time is of the essence, store-bought cranberry relish or jam can be purchased. The relish and mushrooms can be prepared a day in advance and held in the refrigerator. 

Deborah Evans, our Hospitality Manager, believes that every scene needs to be set with special touches to make your guests feel very special. She sets the table with all sorts of seasonal items, sparking joy and surprise. Doing the unexpected makes her guests laugh, sets the scene, and puts them at ease.

She loves clipping olive branches, acorns, lavender, or rosemary and setting it with the napkin and place card. She then spray paints her mini pumpkins (not carved) with white or silver spray paint and places them down the center of the table. Candles create the finishing touch.

Guests are greeted with bubbles. From California sparkling to bubbly water, Deborah loves to add a cranberry or a cherry in the bubbles. Another fun element is adding cherry juice to the drink to make it feel special. As someone who entertains very often, she loves glasses that bring out the best flavors in the wines she serves. She prefers the Riedel glasses. For some other holiday touches, she peruses Home Goods and Restoration Hardware.

Deborah loves wine and serves Caspar Estate Sauvignon Blanc or Cultivar Wine and pairs her dishes with the wines.  If someone wants the wine colder, she gladly adds a frozen grape.

Appetizers this year will be a cheeseboard.  She loves the Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam (has all the lusciousness you expect from a triple cream, and it is known as Brie’s quirky Californian cousin), the Point Reyes Point Blue, and the Cowgirl Creamery Wagonwheel. As a snack, it’s delicate and nutty. When melted, it’s liquid gold: use salted brown butter, heavy cream, roasted leeks, roasted garlic. Another favorite is the Cypress Grover Humbolt Fog.

Additional things on the cheese board: Caspar Estate wildflower honey, Trader Joe’s Orange slices, Marcona Almonds.  For your gluten free and dairy free guests we recommend the following: Miyokos Creamery Cheese Wheel, Semi Soft, Double Cream, Classic Chive, Nuts for Cheese Brie and the Miyokos Black Ash Cheese. To accompany the cheeses we like the Schar Table Crackers and the Schar bread.

For Thanksgiving this year, Deborah is going to serve Caspar Estate 2020 Sauvignon Blanc with her salad. Then for the roast turkey main course, she’ll serve the Cultivar Pinot Noir, which also pairs well with her Brussel sprouts with bacon, drizzled with balsamic vinegar, along with yams with sliced apples on top.

Deborah likes to prep her turkey in a brine of salt from a recipe by Ina Garten recipe she has been using for years. She doesn’t put stuffing in the cavity. Instead, she makes a wild rice and roasted chestnut side dish.

As for leftover? Turkey sandwiches with brioche buns, cranberry sauce and lettuce. To make it special, she pairs the sandwiches with the Caspar Estate Sauvignon Blanc.

For clean up, Deborah is a pro and has several tricks up her sleeve. For dishes that have sticky stuff, sprinkle baking soda and dish soap or tackle with Bar Keepers Friend.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Harvest season is always an exciting time in the valley, and Napa Harvest 2021 is no different. Anxious growers and winemakers alike literally sleep in the vineyards, waiting for the grapes to hit that perfect brix. Then boom! Field hands rush to the vineyard and, like a well-oiled machine, pick the fruit and rush it off to the winery.

This year, the California drought combined with seasonable high temperatures brought an early start to Napa’s harvest season. Some vineyards reported harvesting sauvignon blanc as early as July 3rd. At Caspar Estate, our sauvignon blanc harvest took place on August 23rd, right around the time the bulk of the SB harvest was happening.

A Collective Sigh For Napa Harvest 2021

Frankly speaking, growers were a little on edge for this year’s harvest, with California in a severe drought and the specter of wildfires still looming from 2020. The conventional wisdom was that yields would be lower than normal, with smaller berries. In addition, if August was as hot as July, the fruit may not get a chance to fully develop.

But as August came around with milder temperatures—and no wildfires in sight—an air of optimism descended over Napa Valley. Growers began to relax and even allowed themselves to think that 2021 could become another stellar vintage.

At Caspar Estate, our excitement for Napa Harvest 2021 was overwhelming the moment we began picking.

Caspar Estate’s Deborah Evans is always excited to be on-hand for harvest!

An Abundant Harvest

It was apparent from the moment we began picking sauvignon blanc on that cool August morning that our Caspar Estate fruit was in stellar shape. The berry size was normal, brix levels were perfect, and ripeness was right on target. Kudos go to Luis, our Vineyard Manager, and the whole vineyard team, for their incredible skill in nurturing the Caspar Estate vineyard.

We harvested 5.3 tons of gorgeous sauv blanc fruit from our one-acre vineyard plot that morning. That’s right, just one acre. Our House Block North is where we planted our sauvignon blanc back in 2015, which yields enough grapes to make around 90 cases.

We could have planted more acreage, but the soil, sun exposure, and drainage of this one block were better suited for SB than the other blocks. As a family vineyard, we aim to listen to what the land has to tell us. And we’ve been right this whole time. Both our yield and berry size were higher than average for the Napa Valley.

Coming Soon: The Cabernet Sauvignon and Cab Franc Harvest

In two to three weeks, we’ll be getting ready for the next phase of Napa Harvest 2021. This time, we’ll be picking cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. Though early September looks like it may have its share of heat spikes, we’re confident that our hillside vineyard will remain cool enough to help create another amazing vintage.

Our 13-acre vineyard is located in the hills above the Rutherford appellation in Napa Valley. Planted 600 feet above the fog line with an exposure 20 degrees off north, the vineyard sees the sun from early morning until late afternoon. This ensures the even ripeness of the grapes.

Furthermore, cool nights help to develop firm tannins and fresh acidity, creating remarkable structure and balance in the finished wines. Our rocky serpentine soils benefit from a mineral deposit rich in iron and magnesium. This distinctive mineral deposit provides layers of complexity and flavor to wines unique to our site.

Want to experience the unique character of Caspar Estate wines yourself? Join the Caspar Estate Allocation! You’ll have exclusive access to these very limited wines in two annual shipments. You’ll also get personalized, guided tours and tastings in our estate vineyard.