Beverage of the Week (B.O.W)

The Nord Estate story is a great one and hauntingly similar to other success stories that we have related to our readers in the past. The Nord family has been renowned growers in the Napa Valley for more than four decades. Winemakers have long prized their grapes as their grapes are currently being sold to more than 60 super-premium wineries.

Nord Estate is also known for their clever eco-management techniques. Their commitment to sustainable practices was established well before being “green” became a punch line.

In 2000, the Nord family determined to produce small lots of wines from their estate vineyards. The goal was to create ultra-premium wines that showcase the fruit from their respective vineyards. Their entire production is still shy of 1,000 cases annually. To this end, they hired Todd Anderson, a veteran winemaker with more than 20 years experience. Anderson founded Conn Valley Vineyards in 1983 and Ghost Horse in 2000. He is no stranger to creating award-winning wines and from what we have seen this standard continues at Nord Vineyards.

The Nord Vineyards Petite Sirah is grown at their Jonquil Vineyard in the Pope Valley (Northeast Napa). We have been a fan of this wine from its beginning, awarding Four Stars to their 2004 Petite Sirah. This 70-acre vineyard is home to Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot. Julie Nord has told us that Petite Sirah is the vineyard’s most finicky grape. She describes the experience like this, “The grapevines are the most sensitive to cold weather, bunch rot, and sunburn. The flavors of the wine can be tasted in the fruit as it develops. Your fingers become sticky from the thick sweet juice dripping from the clusters. The flavors grip your tongue with an explosion of berries and spices. The trick is to capture this in a glass.  Nord Estate Wines Petite Sirah is only harvested when the blackberry component gets so thick you can smell it in the air, and the tannins have softened their grip to coat your mouth in velvet.”

Now you see why we found this to be irresistible. The memory of this wine lingers, perhaps it will last until Christmas.