PlumpJack Winery

History

The PlumpJack Collection was founded in 1992 by Gavin Newsom, a San Francisco entrepreneur and future governor of California, and Gordon Getty, a San Francisco composer and philanthropist. They opened a wine store called PlumpJack Wines in the Fillmore neighborhood of San Francisco. Over the next five years, the business expanded to include a boutique hotel and three restaurants. PlumpJack Winery was founded in 1997 when the PlumpJack Group acquired a century-old 53 acre vineyard in Napa Valley on Oakville Cross Road. The winery facility and tasting room were designed by Leavitt-Weaver, the same design firm that the PlumpJack Group used for the designs of its restaurants and hotels.

PlumpJack Winery was the first Napa Valley winery to use the Stelvin screwcap closure on its most expensive bottling. John Conover, general manager of the winery, announced at the Napa Valley Wine Auction that half (150 cases) of PlumpJack's 1997 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon would be available upon release with a screwcap, and that those bottles would cost $10 USD more than those in the cases closed with cork. At $135 per bottle, many in the wine industry were skeptical of the decision. As part of the screwcap program at PlumpJack, bottles with the screwcap closure from each vintage since 1997 have been analyzed by researchers in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California at Davis.

PlumpJack was a client of Silicon Valley Bank.

Wines

PlumpJack Winery produces Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay varietal wines from Napa Valley grapes, with smaller amounts of Merlot, Syrah, Sauvignon blanc, and Sangiovese. The 2001 PlumpJack Cabernet Sauvignon was named 2004 Wine of the Year by Wine Enthusiast magazine. The 2002 and 2004 vintages of the PlumpJack Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve both received "Extraordinary" wine ratings of 96-100 points from wine critic Robert Parker.

Winemaker Aaron Miller has been the head winemaker for PlumpJack since 2012.Under Miller's tenure, PlumpJack's flagship Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon wines have received multiple 100- and 99-point scores from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

References

References

1. Gannon, Suzanne (2007). [http://www.allbusiness.com/wholesale-trade/merchant-wholesalers-nondurable-goods/3940803-1.html "Why Boutique Vintners Like Alternative Closures"] ''Wines & Vines'' Jan. 1, 2007.
2. Foderaro, T.J. (2008). ''[http://www.nj.com/entertainment/dining/index.ssf/2008/01/screw_caps_pass_test_as_cork_a.html Screw caps pass test as cork alternative]'', [[Advance Publications. NJ.com]], 22 January 2008.
3. "The PlumpJack Collection of Wineries Announces Key New Hires: Ben Sandstrom Appointed Northeastern Regional Manager".
4. PlumpJack Group (2005). [http://www.plumpjack.com/history.html "The History of PlumpJack"]. PlumpJack Group official web site. Retrieved Oct. 26, 2007.
5. Ross, Jordan P. (2002). [http://www.enologyinternational.com/cork/cork.html "Natural Cork, Corkiness, Synthetics & Screw Caps"]. ''Enology International''. Retrieved Oct. 26, 2007.
6. Carson, Pierce L. (2007). [http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2007/10/12/columnists/l_pierce_carson/doc470f015da4c48814753434.txt "PlumpJack's noble experiment"]. ''The Napa Valley Register''. Oct. 12, 2007.
7. Klippenstein, Ken. (March 14, 2023). "Cheering Silicon Valley Bank Bailout, Gavin Newsom Doesn't Mention He's A Client". The Intercept.
8. (April 1, 2020). "Silicon Valley Bank Wine Division Premium Wine Client Promotions". svb.com.
9. Rauber, Chris (2004). [http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2004/12/20/daily25.html "Newsom's wine wins top honor"]. ''San Francisco Business Times''. Dec. 21, 2004.
10. [http://dat.erobertparker.com/newSearch/ptextsearch.aspx "Search Term(s): 'plumpjack'"]. ''eRobertParker.com: The Independent Consumer's Guide to Fine Wine''. Retrieved Oct. 26, 2007.
11. "PlumpJack Winery Appoints Aaron Miller as Head Winemaker".