The 2012 And 2013 Vintages Are Probably The 'Two Best Vintages In The History Of Napa Valley'

2012 And 2013 ‘Best In Napa's History’ -- The Drinks Business 

The 2012 and 2013 vintages were “the best two vintages in the history of the Napa Valley”, according to Garen Staglin of Staglin Family Vineyard.

Speaking to the drinks business during a lunch in London last week to celebrate the estate’s new partnership with Pol Roger in the UK, Staglin said: “The elements were perfectly aligned in 2012 and 2013 in the Napa Valley.

“I’d have to go very far back in order to compare them to another vintage. I’d call them ’98-100 point’ vintages in terms of quality and quantity.

“It was like the 2009 vintage in Burgundy – the wines had such great expression, if you bought anything from anyone in those years then you’d be happy.”

While the Rutherford-based estate sells 70% of its wines directly to consumers via its mailing list, Staglin has recently partnered with Pol Roger to distribute its range in the UK.

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My Comment: I am looking forward to drinking these vintages.

Winery Living in Napa Valley

Kelly Fleming, who owns Kelly Fleming Wines, built a house and winery in Napa that look like they're straight out of Provence. Shown here is the 16,000-square-foot winery. Paul Dyer for The Wall Street Journal

In Napa, Blending a House and Winery -- Wall Street Journal

A California complex that evokes Provence—with a bag of tricks to keep maintenance down

Calistoga, Calif.

For interiors of Ruth's Chris steak-houses, Kelly Fleming designed a masculine look—lots of wood paneling and leather booths. For P.F. Chang's restaurants, she created an over-the-top Chinese-American theme with 11-foot-high replicas of ancient Chinese horses, murals and lots of yellows and purples.

Both projects were for Ms. Fleming's then-husband, Paul, who started the steak-house franchises in California and Arizona and founded P.F. Chang's. Now divorced, Ms. Fleming has built something for herself: a house and winery in Napa that look like they're straight out of Provence.

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Wine & Spirits Editor: The photo gallery starts here.

Bill Foley Is On A Winery Buying Spree

Bill Foley, owner of Foley Family Wines, is now hunting for more distressed wineries along Napa Valley's fable Route 29. Photographer: Jeff Minton/Bloomberg Markets via Bloomberg

Wine Turns Mortgage Title Mogul Into Entrepreneur of Viticulture -- Bloomberg

On a crisp winter’s day in 2010, Bill Foley was exploring a troubled winery for sale in Sonoma County, California, when he was taken aback by the sight of an enclosed horse-riding ring the size of an airplane hangar.

Foley, who made a fortune selling mortgage title insurance during the housing boom, also recalls seeing a California mission-style chapel and a regulation-sized football field and baseball diamond at the Chalk Hill Estate. These extravagant structures had nothing to do with making wine and helped saddle an estate valued at more than $100 million with excessive debt, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its March issue.

“My wife said, ‘There’s no way you can buy this,’” Foley recalls with a mischievous grin.

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My Comment: He is 66 .... but that is not stopping him. What can I say but good luck.