Winemaker Notes
The mighty buffalo is an iconic symbol of American heritage, a heritage woven with a thousand stories, unique traditions and a pioneering spirit. Our country’s history of hard work and tenacity lives on today in each of us and continues to be at the essence of America’s character. This is the inspiration for 1,000 Stories, a unique wine aged in new bourbon barrels - a reflection of our winemakers’ pioneering spirits. It wasn’t a quick process, but creating something by hand to meet exacting standards seldom is.
What started as an experiment has now become a passion. Unbeknownst to the rest of the winery, Charlie and Bob had acquired some bourbon barrels from a distillery in Kentucky in hopes that wine grown from a small parcel of premium Zinfandel and matured in the bourbon barrels would achieve a unique complexity. As time passed and the wine evolved, it became clear that the result would be exceptional. No longer a secret, Bob and Charlie’s story is shared in each bottle of 1,000 Stories.
Covering the most vine acreage in the state compared to any other red wine variety, Cabernet Sauvignon produces as much wine in California as Merlot and Pinot Noir combined. The state’s diverse terrain and microclimates, as well as the freedom of its winemakers, allow for an incredible range of wine styles from this single grape.
California’s most famous region—and especially for Cabernet Sauvignon—is the acclaimed Napa Valley. While Cabernet is successful throughout the world, rarely has it achieved such merit as it does from the Napa Valley. At this point the two are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other.
Napa’s closest neighbor, Sonoma County, does an impressive job keeping up with Napa’s fame and glory. Alexander Valley, Sonoma Mountain, Moon Mountain and Knights Valley contribute to the lot of some of California’s top-rated Cabernet Sauvignon.
Lake County in California’s North Coast has become a focus for some of Napa’s more respected growers. From the Central Coast come iconic examples of classic California Cabernet; Lodi and the Sierra Foothills are great budget-friendly sources of amicable Cabernets.