Ilaria Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

In vino felicitas. In wine there is happiness. There is also truth, as we have been reminded, and one of the truths in my life is to make wine. I conceived the Ilaria label to share with you the geographical, cultural, intellectual and historical aspects of wine. ? My goal is to produce small lot wines that will stand as testaments to my belief that fine wine comes from the earth, its sense of place a key component in shaping its character. In sourcing fruit for Ilaria, I have concentrated on securing unique lots that are not shy about expressing their heritage – the soil and climate in which they were grown, where that combination of great terrior and viticultural expertise merge. These wines are the products of a decade of experience working with some of the most respected producers in Napa Valley.? My inspiration for the name Ilaria, Italian for happy and cheerful, arrived on my wedding day when I was introduced to my husband’s cousin, Ilaria, who traveled from Italy to celebrate with us. I fell in love with the name. As fate would have it, as the idea of the Ilaria label grew, so did my family, my daughter Ilaria arriving just as we released our first vintage of her namesake wine in the fall of 2009. So, it’s not a stretch to suggest that Ilaria has become the tie that binds my past to my present while serving as a beacon to the future. Even the font that graces our label reflects this ideal, its own heritage dating to the Italian Renaissance in Tuscany, where my husband Mario still has family.?