2011 Rudius Hudson Syrah

Rudius in Napa was started in 2005 by Jeff Ames. Ames had been part of the winemaking teams at Schrader, Maybach, Outpost and Tor before starting his own label. Brittany Savory Ames, whose background is in sales and finance, joined Rudius in 2008. Grapes are sourced from throughout Napa and Sonoma. Rudius produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Syrah, Chardonnay and Rhone blends. Ames’ wines, at Rudius and elsewhere, earn ratings in the high 90s and compliments from reviews, including California wine reviewer James Laube, who listed Ames as one of ten California winemakers who in 2012 made outstanding wines.

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,

This grape is grown in milder climates and produces a medium-to full-bodied wine. It is also known as Shiraz, but should not be confused with Petit Sirah, which was developed by crossing Syrah with Peloursin.