2021 Beta Paratus Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Beta Wines is a Diamond Mountain start-up founded by Ketan Mody, who is always near the top of lists of young winemakers to watch. Mody honed his craft at Harlan Estate and in 2008 purchased 60 acres on Diamond Mountain. He named his property Jasud Estate and cleared the land himself with the help of a couple of friends. He then planted 14 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon. For now he is making Cabernet Sauvignon for his Beta label from grapes sourced from legendary regional vineyards. Antonio Galloni of Vinous has been impressed with the first vintages. In 2015 Galloni wrote that Mody makes “deeply spiritual wines imbued with real personality. The first wines I have tasted point to a brilliant, emerging talent.”

Mount Veeder AVA was established in 1993, though its origins as a wine producing district date to the 19th century. A German Presbyterian pastor named Peter Veeder was one of the first landowners in the area, and by 1864 one of his neighbors, a German sea captain named Stelham Wing, was producing wine commercially. The area continued to attract German agricultural entrepreneurs, some of whom established the estate that would later become the Christian Brothers Mont La Salle winery. Today the AVA includes about 1,000 acres of vineyards, most of them at relatively high altitudes. The Mayacamas vineyard, for instance, is at 2,400 feet. Cabernet Sauvignon is the most frequently planted grape, followed by Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

One of the most widely grown grape varieties, it can be found in nearly every wine growing region. A cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. It’s a hardy vine that produces a full-bodied wine with high tannins and great aging potential.