N.V. Wagner Family of Wines Red Schooner Voyage 3

Wagner Family of Wine is the umbrella company for a portfolio of family-produced wines, the most famous of which is Caymus. Wagner Family of Wine is also the parent company of Red Schooner, a Malbec made of grapes grown in the Andes then shipped chilled to Napa. Since the wine falls outside of the standard labeling rules, Red Schooner is known by the “voyage” that brought the grapes to Napa. Voyage 3 is the 2012 Vintage, for example. Chuck Wagner, current patriarch of the Wagner family, descends from Alsatian immigrants who settled in Rutherford in 1906 and produced bulk wines until Prohibition. Several generations later in 1972 the family established Caymus Vineyards, widely recognized as one of Napa’s finest producers. Today Chuck Wagner’s adult children are also involved in the family’s wine enterprise, which includes the labels Conundrum, Mer Soleil and Emmolo.

Mendoza on the western edge of Argentina is the nation’s largest and most important wine producing region. With about a billion acres under vine, the region of Mendoza alone has nearly half as many vineyards acres as all of the United States. Located on the edge of the Andes, vineyards here are high, usually 2,000 to 3,600 feet above sea level, yet they enjoy a relatively temperate climate and four distinct seasons. The soil is sandy and alluvial with clay underneath and moderate rainfall encourages growth. Historically Argentina, and Mendoza, grew pink skin grapes for slightly sweet pink or white wines. Those grapes are still grown for bulk jug wine. Since the late 1980s, however, Malbec has been Mendoza’s most important grape, since it makes a rich, dark, robust, age-worth red. The second most important red grape is Bonarda, which is thought to be the same grape that California growers know as Charbono. Italian and Spanish red grapes including Sangiovese, Barbera and Tempranillo were brought by immigrants, and they are grown today. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Torrontés and numerous other red and white grapes are also grown successfully.