Calla Lily Vineyards

Posted on June 14, 2019 by myredwineguys

There lays a vineyard nestled in the hills of Pope Valley on the edge of Howell Mountain AVA, Calla Lily Vineyards, producing some exceptional red wines. The winery was built in 2010 and is a fully equipped and modern winery. The tasting room is unique with dark wood cabinetry, crown molding, old-fashioned gilt ceiling tin paneling with a bar you find in an old western. Just a very comfortable atmosphere. We spent some time with part owner and winemaker, Cary Gott (4th generation Napa Valley) and assistant wine maker Kelly Deianni to learn more about Calla Lily Vineyards.

When we arrived, Cary and Kelly were in the middle of tasting the 2018 lot vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. Cary invited us to sample the wines from different barrels, as well as, different lot locations and give our analysis. They do this about 3 times a year before settling on the correct blend before bottling. Wow, what an opportunity! Also from these samplings they determine which Cabernet Sauvignon grapes go into their flagship wine, “Audax”.

We walked the property of 20 acres planted with 12 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon (Clone 7 – our favorite) also on two different root stocks (another story), 5 acres Petit Syrah and 1 acre each of Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. Pope Valley is the last area in Napa Valley with ample undeveloped land to grow grapes but as with most areas, water plays the determining factor on receiving approval from the county supervisors which could take years.

Calla Lily produces three wines for sale, Ultimate Pinot Noir, Ultimate Cabernet Sauvignon and Audax (which means “Bold” in Latin). Calla Lily Vineyard wines can be purchased in few of restaurants around Napa Valley or on their website at www.callalilywines.com

The tasting room is not open to the public and visits are by appointment only. We appreciate the time given to us by Calla Lily’s winemaking team of Cary and Kelly.

About myredwineguys

My red wine guys, Jim and Rich, have been drinking and comparing red wines together for the last 10 years. We drink reds exclusively (except for champagne during New Year’s Eve celebration's or special occasions). In our search to find the best red wine for the buck, we are constantly buying and drinking a variety of reds. Frequently, we see many of our favorite reds increase in price (making them impractical to buy and consume with the dismal economy). This motivates us to try and compare lesser known reds from a variety of wineries. We are constantly telling our friends where to buy and save on these great reds. One weekend over a bottle of red wine (of course), we decided to share our recommendations with the world via a blog (with the support of our wives who really think this is another way for us to drink more red wine). We are going to be making road trips up the coast and sharing our opinions on some great California Reds. Jim is a retired Navy Senior Chief now working as a Navy Technical Rep. His world travels have given him the opportunity to taste wines on different continents. He finds himself often comparing them to his favorite region – Napa Valley’s Oakville/Rutherford districts that produce some of the world’s best Cabernet Sauvignon's. Richard is a musician who grew up in Santa Maria with a family rich with red wine tradition. According to the family legends, his grandfather used to make wine out of grapefruit when grapes were not available. He grew up drinking and making wine with his father and other Italian families in the central coast, long before there were grape vines in the area. In fact, the reason his family located to California was to make wine! Thank you for visiting our site! We hope you enjoy a glass of exceptional red wine soon!
This entry was posted in Blend's, Cabernet's and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.