PlumpJack Winery
Encyclopedia
PlumpJack Winery is a boutique winery
in Oakville, California
specializing in premium Cabernet Sauvignon
wines. PlumpJack was the first winery in Napa Valley
to use screwcap
s as a wine closure
on super premium wines. The winery is one of several businesses operated by the PlumpJack Group. The name of the company is inspired by "the roguish spirit of Shakespeare's
Sir John Falstaff
(Henry IV
), dubbed Plump Jack by Queen Elizabeth
."
, a San Francisco
entrepreneur
who was elected that city's mayor in 2003, and Gordon Getty
, a San Francisco composer
and philanthropist
, when they opened a wine
store called PlumpJack Wines in the Fillmore neighborhood of San Francisco . Over the next five years, the business expanded to include a boutique hotel
and three restaurant
s. PlumpJack Winery was founded in 1997 when the PlumpJack Group acquired a century-old 53 acres (21 ha) vineyard in Napa Valley on Oakville Cross Road. The winery facility and tasting room
were designed by Leavitt-Weaver, the same design firm that the PlumpJack Group used for the designs of its restaurants and hotels.
PlumpJack Winery was the first Napa Valley winery to use the Stelvin screwcap closure on its most expensive bottling. John Conover, General Manager of the winery, announced at the Napa Valley Wine Auction that half (150 cases) of PlumpJack's 1997 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon would be available upon release with a Stelvin screwcap closure, and that those bottles
would cost $10 USD
more than those in the 150 cases closed with cork
. At $135 per bottle, many in the wine industry were skeptical of the decision. As part of the screwcap program at PlumpJack, bottles with the screwcap closure from each vintage since 1997 have been analyzed by researchers in the Department of Viticulture
and Enology at the University of California at Davis. Bottles using both closure technologies from the 1997 vintage
will undergo a more extensive chemical analysis in 2010.
PlumpJack Winery produces primarily super premium Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay
varietal
wines from Napa Valley grape
s, with smaller amounts of varietal Merlot
, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc
, and Sangiovese
. The 2001 PlumpJack Cabernet Sauvignon was named 2004 Wine of the Year by Wine Enthusiast
magazine. The 2002 and 2004 vintages of the PlumpJack Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve both received "Extraordinary" wine ratings of 96-100 points from wine critic Robert Parker
.
As of the 2004 vintage, PlumpJack Winery continues to offer its top wines in bottles with both screwcap and cork closures. Many are sold by the winery as two-packs with one cork finish bottle and one screwcap finish bottle from the same vintage. A tasting room and store at the winery is open to the public.
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
in Oakville, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
specializing in premium Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
wines. PlumpJack was the first winery in Napa Valley
Napa Valley AVA
Napa Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Napa County, California, United States. Napa Valley is considered one of the top wine regions in the United States...
to use screwcap
Screwcap
A screw cap or closure is a common type of closure for bottles, jars, and tubes.-Usage:A screw closure is a mechanical device which is screwed on and off of a "finish" on a container. Either continuous threads or lugs are used...
s as a wine closure
Alternative wine closures
Alternative wine closures are substitute closures used in the wine industry for sealing wine bottles in place of traditional cork closures. The emergence of these alternatives has grown in response to quality control efforts by winemakers to protect against "cork taint" caused by the presence of...
on super premium wines. The winery is one of several businesses operated by the PlumpJack Group. The name of the company is inspired by "the roguish spirit of Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
Sir John Falstaff
Falstaff
Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare. In the two Henry IV plays, he is a companion to Prince Hal, the future King Henry V. A fat, vain, boastful, and cowardly knight, Falstaff leads the apparently wayward Prince Hal into trouble, and is...
(Henry IV
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V...
), dubbed Plump Jack by Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
."
History
The PlumpJack Group was founded in 1992 by Gavin NewsomGavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician who is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of California. Previously, he was the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, and was elected in 2003 to succeed Willie Brown, becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years. Newsom was re-elected in 2007...
, a San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
who was elected that city's mayor in 2003, and Gordon Getty
Gordon Getty
Gordon Peter Getty was born on December 20, 1934. He is the fourth child of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty. His mother, Ann Rork, was his father's third wife. When his father died in 1976, Gordon assumed control of Getty's US$2 billion trust...
, a San Francisco composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
, when they opened a wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
store called PlumpJack Wines in the Fillmore neighborhood of San Francisco . Over the next five years, the business expanded to include a boutique hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
and three restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s. PlumpJack Winery was founded in 1997 when the PlumpJack Group acquired a century-old 53 acres (21 ha) vineyard in Napa Valley on Oakville Cross Road. The winery facility and tasting room
Wine tasting
Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onwards...
were designed by Leavitt-Weaver, the same design firm that the PlumpJack Group used for the designs of its restaurants and hotels.
PlumpJack Winery was the first Napa Valley winery to use the Stelvin screwcap closure on its most expensive bottling. John Conover, General Manager of the winery, announced at the Napa Valley Wine Auction that half (150 cases) of PlumpJack's 1997 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon would be available upon release with a Stelvin screwcap closure, and that those bottles
Wine bottle
A wine bottle is a bottle used for holding wine, generally made of glass. Some wines are fermented in the bottle, others are bottled only after fermentation. They come in a large variety of sizes, several named for Biblical kings and other figures. The standard bottle contains 750 ml,...
would cost $10 USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
more than those in the 150 cases closed with cork
Cork (material)
Cork is an impermeable, buoyant material, a prime-subset of bark tissue that is harvested for commercial use primarily from Quercus suber , which is endemic to southwest Europe and northwest Africa...
. At $135 per bottle, many in the wine industry were skeptical of the decision. As part of the screwcap program at PlumpJack, bottles with the screwcap closure from each vintage since 1997 have been analyzed by researchers in the Department of Viticulture
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
and Enology at the University of California at Davis. Bottles using both closure technologies from the 1997 vintage
Vintage
Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...
will undergo a more extensive chemical analysis in 2010.
Wines
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
varietal
Varietal
"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...
wines from Napa Valley grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
s, with smaller amounts of varietal Merlot
Merlot
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...
, and Sangiovese
Sangiovese
Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety whose name derives from the Latin sanguis Jovis, "the blood of Jove"...
. The 2001 PlumpJack Cabernet Sauvignon was named 2004 Wine of the Year by Wine Enthusiast
Wine Enthusiast Magazine
Wine Enthusiast Magazine is a lifestyle magazine covering wine, food, spirits, travel and entertaining topics. It was founded in 1988 by Adam and Sybil Strum and reaches 680,000 readers. Its wine ratings, conducted by reviewers in major wine-producing areas of the world, comprise a large section of...
magazine. The 2002 and 2004 vintages of the PlumpJack Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve both received "Extraordinary" wine ratings of 96-100 points from wine critic Robert Parker
Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. is a leading U.S. wine critic with an international influence. His wine ratings on a 100-point scale and his newsletter The Wine Advocate, with his particular stylistic preferences and notetaking vocabulary, have become very influential in American wine buying and are...
.
As of the 2004 vintage, PlumpJack Winery continues to offer its top wines in bottles with both screwcap and cork closures. Many are sold by the winery as two-packs with one cork finish bottle and one screwcap finish bottle from the same vintage. A tasting room and store at the winery is open to the public.
External links
- PlumpJack Winery official web site