The Ovid Experiment – Fun with Wine

Located 1,400 feet above the Napa Valley floor are 15 acres on Pritchard Hill that are home to Ovid Winery, one of my favorite in the category of boutique wineries. 

In 2000 under the guidance of David Abreau, the land was planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot.  The flagship Ovid Napa Valley wine released each year is a Bordeaux blend of the utmost quality, courtesy of the wonderful terroir and the work of winemakers Andy Erickson and Austin Peterson.  I highly recommend it if you can track it down…

Now here is where a little mad scientist ethos comes in… the Experiment.

Each year the team at Ovid releases a small batch of wines they make to celebrate “experimentation in grape growing and winemaking”, to further explore the character of their vineyard.  No two vintages are alike.  The D7.86 from 2006 is a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, where the J5.8 from 2008 is pure Cabernet Sauvignon from a single block in the vineyard.

Great land, great grapes, a great winemaking team and a dose of adventure… how can you go wrong!  Not only will these wines light up your taste buds, but for those collectors out there, they are a home run for their combination of quality, rarity and novelty.

Here’s to Ovid, both the Roman Poet and the wines.  Great stuff..!