2012 Anomaly Cabernet Sauvignon, 375ml

Anomaly Vineyards was founded in 1997 by Steve and Linda Goldfarb, a pair of Berkeley residents who decided to quit their law careers to live in Napa Valley. They bought property at the base of the Mayacamas Mountains that came with a couple of small vineyards, to which the couple added a few more parcels. They now own a total of 6.8 vineyards acres planted to Cabernet Sauvignon with small amounts of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. They also source grapes from Lewelling Vineyard, one of the valley’s oldest and most renowned. All farming is organic. The debut release was the 1997 vintage. Since 2005 Mark Porembski has been winemaker. Anomaly makes Cabernet Sauvignon-based reds.

Napa Valley AVA is the most famous winemaking region in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. With nearly 43,000 acres of vineyards and more than 300 wineries, it is the heart of fine wine production in the United States. Winemaking started in Napa in 1838 when George C. Yount planted grapes and began producing wine commercially. Other winemaking pioneers followed in the late 19th century, including the founders of Charles Krug, Schramsberg, Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards. An infestation of phylloxera, an insect that attacks vine roots, and the onset of Prohibition nearly wiped out the nascent Napa wine industry in the early 20th century. But by the late 1950s and early 1960s Robert Mondavi and other visionaries were producing quality wines easily distinguishable from the mass-produced jug wines made in California’s Central Valley. Napa Valley’s AVA was established in 1983, and today there are 16 sub-appellations within the Napa Valley AVA. Many grapes grow well in Napa’s Mediterranean climate, but the region is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay is also very successfully cultivated, and about 30% of the AVA’s acreage is planted to white grapes, with the majority of those grapes being Chardonnay,

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.