N.V. Wagner Family of Wines Red Schooner Transit 2

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.

South Australia is the nation’s most important wine region. South Australia is to Australia what California is to the U.S. About half of Australia’s wine comes from South Australia and many of the country’s most acclaimed producers are there. Wineries based in South Australia include Penfolds Grange, Torbreck, Amon Ra, Henschke and Jacob’s Creek. The prestigious Barossa Valley is located in South Australia, and is often compared to Napa Valley because it is gorgeous topography covered in grape vines. First farmed by 19th century German-speakers who immigrated from what is now Poland, the Barossa Valley is the crown jewel of the region. South Australia has widely varying climates, from very hot, dry areas to cooler, high altitude areas. There are more than 150,000 acres of vineyards in South Australia, with more being planted each month. Shiraz is king, though the region also produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Mourvedre, Chardonnay and Semillon.