What to Drink
Persistence is Red wine & Cabernet Sauvignon of the year
Persistence won the titles Red Wine of the Year and Best Cabernet Sauvignon of the Year at the Sommeliers Choice Awards 2021.
Persistence 2018 by the Reynolds Family Winery won the titles Red Wine of the Year and the Wine of the Year by Varietal at the Sommeliers Choice Awards 2021.
Persistence 2018 is of black garnet color, with inviting aromas of raisin bread pudding and halvah. It has a round, vibrant, dry-yet-fruity medium-to-full body and a smooth, complex, medium-long chocolate babka, honey, and Jordan almonds finish with a moderate oak flavor. A delicious and instantly appealing Red Meritage blend with pastry-like oak. Pair it with pot roast, steak & potatoes, and beef stew.
The fundamental objective of the Sommeliers Choice Awards is to give on-premise purchasers and sommeliers a significant benchmark for understanding which wines would make a convincing expansion to a wine list. Those wines are awarded that meet specific judging criteria - Food pairing ability, Typicity, Value for money, Quality, and Packaging. The judging panel of the Sommeliers Choice Awards consists of master of wines, wine directors, and on-premise buyers like Brett Davis MS (Master Sommelier and Sales and Education Manager at E. & J. Gallo Winery), Maximilian Kast MS (Master Sommelier and Director of Education at Broadbent Selections Inc), Laura Williamson MS, CWE (Master Sommelier, Owner of Unlock Your Palate Inc and Partner at RingIT Inc), and others. This year at the Sommeliers Choice Awards, 26 different countries participated with 142 different varietals of wine. The US was the highest participant with 522 entries, followed by Italy and Spain.
About the Winery
Reynolds Family Winery was established by long-time Napa vintner Steve Reynolds. Steve has been the winemaker since his debut vintage in 1999. He was first acquainted with wine through his dad, who was fixated on gathering different wines. Wine was consistently a part of their meals. Steve went to the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, where he met his spouse, Suzie.
Suzie's friend Oscar Renteria, lived in Napa and was a prominent vineyard manager. In the wake of becoming more acquainted with Oscar and visiting the Napa Valley numerous times, Steve bought what was an old chicken farm in 1995 and is the current site of the winery. He sold his dental practice and began another one in Napa, and simultaneously mastered winemaking generally by doing but also by learning at UC Davis. Furthermore, as the wine business flourished, Steve shut his dental practice and today is still the winemaker while consulting for several small area wine brands.
The Vineyards
Reynolds Family owns two pieces of property in the southern part of the Napa Valley – the family bequest encompassing their winery, 14 acres of land of which around 9.5 acres of land are planted to vine. The original plantings on this site were from 1996, and the grape plantation is planted entirely to three clones of Cabernet Sauvignon. This vineyard produces only one wine each year – the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.
20 acres of land in Oak Knoll called Persistence Vineyard, located at a short drive from the winery is planted to 15 acres of grapes. Like their home vineyard, this site is also planted with Cabernet Sauvignon. In addition it has Petit Verdot and Sauvignon Blanc. They produce a red mix additionally, called Persistence – from this vineyard. They also selectively source from various sites in the Napa Valley, mostly from the southern piece of the valley, including the Stags Leap District, Atlas Peak, Carneros, and Coombsville. They also source from one vineyard in the adjoining Sonoma County from the Sonoma Coast Appellation.
Technology
Steve accepts innovation when it comes to winemaking. An Italian-based organization approached him several years ago for testing out their product – this was after attempting to persuade around 20 other Napa wineries for its benefits. This item was an Ozone machine created by Purovino. Steve has utilized this on various wines. It is used during fermentation and can be used as a substitute to using sulfites in the wine. It effectively kills microbial development, and Steve has noticed cleaner fermentations as a result.
This innovation has been valuable during testing vintages or with a natural product that comes into the winery in less than pristine condition. Steve additionally noticed both flavor and aroma enhancements and a softening of the tannins when using this process. It is more commonly used on white wines but also used on red wines. An after-effect of this process is an increase in anti-oxidants in the wine. Steve packaged two wines – one fermented regularly and one fermented with the introduction of ozone, both using the same grapes but noticed both showed different attributes from one another.
They use technology on their labels as well Selected wines have a specific BottleVin thumbprint logo on the label. Users with their app can load the app, hold their phones over this logo, and bring up tech sheets about that specific wine, videos of Steve discussing the wine, and other related information.
Hospitality
The Reynolds Family Winery and the tasting room is found just south of the Soda Canyon Store on the east side of Silverado Trail (around 10 minutes from downtown Napa). Steve and his family live in the house near the winery. The principal tasting room building is situated in a wonderful setting; a graveled patio and tables overlook the lake. The tasting room is modern and comfortable; it is an extraordinary spot to hang out on a cold winter day close to the blazing chimney.
Other wines
2016 Stags Leap Reserve
With garnet black color and aromas of chocolate-drizzled plums, caramel, curried nuts, and cola with a slightly chewy, vibrant, dryish medium-to-full body and distinctive, long tobacco, black olives, almond croissant, chocolate-covered jellies, and toasted coconut finish. A bold, chewy, complex Stags Leap Cabernet that delivers.
2020 Rose
Slightly pink in color, this Rosé is refreshingly dry with lively acidity. It opens to gentle aromas of strawberry, watermelon, and subtle hints of rose petals. The palate offers a full mouthfeel with flavors of stone fruits and strawberries with a cool minerality on the finish.
Naughty Inky NV
The sinful second label, as they like to call it at the winery, the Naughty line, is meant for having fun, carefree and happy times spent with family and friends. The Inky is the wine you want to open when you dust off your grill and fire it up for the first time. Get out the ribs, the brisket, heck, even a Beer Can Chicken would love to be paired up with this BBQ red. Dark, almost black as its name implies, this wine’s aromatics entice you with subtle smoke and rich toasted oak characteristics. Big lush black fruits coat the palate, followed by sweet tobacco leaf, sage, and white pepper.
