Eponymous started as an opportunity to work with grapes that I felt would produce some of the best hillside Cabernet in Napa Valley. I think the first 3 vintages bear this feeling out. The urge was too great to pass up, even though upon rational reflection based on my many years in the business, I should have known better from a business perspective. Be that as it may I am having fun(so much so that my passion for working with unknown vineyards which I think will produce superb wines has stirred again); who knows, maybe one day I will even see a positive cash flow.

My second wine under the Eponymous banner is a red wine, bordeaux blend, from a single vineyard within 250 feet of the ridge of Mount Veeder in the Mayacamus Range. It is just on the Sonoma side, hence the Sonoma Valley Appellation,(silly as that sounds being almost on the ridge of part of the Coast Range). The Mount Veeder Appellation stops at the Napa-Sonoma County Line. This vineyard was planted 6 years ago by a truely passionate vineyard manager, and still managed today by Javier Renteria. Javier and I have complete control of the farming. It is hillside farming as might be expected near the ridge. It is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. Working with the first crop from this vineyard for Javier, I realized the potential, and tied up the vineyard starting with the 2003 harvest. All 3 varieties produce wonderful fruit, with the Cabernet Franc possibly the best expression of this variety I have worked with. Early on I realized that as good as each variety was, the blend of the three produced a remarkable wine. A blend that has complexity, depth, and structure, but with a finesse that I think is the hallmark of a great Bordeaux Blend. Even though all varieties are planted on the same site, the planting decisions were based on slope, exposure and degree of morning and afternoon sun. Yields on the Cabernet have never been greater than 2.3 tons/acre, and the Merlot and Franc have never produced 2 tons/acre.

Will there be a continuing expansion of the Eponymous product line? Certainly not right away. But if I find a site, probably somewhere on the West Coast, that I think will produce another variety in an exceptional manner be it white or red or a blend of either, that uncontrollable urge may hit again.