Niner Wine Estates

Fog Catcher is our flagship estate Bordeaux blend. It is named for the cool, grey banks of fog that drift over our vineyards in the early morning, and the 2018 vintage is a blend of 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Petit Verdot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 10% Malbec & 5% Carménère. We hand-harvested and fermented each varietal independently and allowed them to age in barrel for 16 months. After they had matured, we tasted each and selected the top tier barrels. To qualify, each variety must show luxurious texture, power and finessed flavors. The final blend was composed and returned to French Oak barrels to age an additional year, for a total of 26 months. We then allow the wine to rest in bottle for an additional year before we release it. If you plan to drink it within the first few years of its release, we recommend decanting for four+ hours prior to enjoying it.

We farm more Cabernet Sauvignon than anything else. We hand-harvested the grapes, de-stemmed them and fermented and aged the wine in a 2,000-gallon French Oak tank. The 2020 vintage is balanced, vibrant and youthful

The grapes in this blend were grown at our two estate vineyards in Paso Robles. Heart Hill Vineyard is located in the Willow Creek District and Bootjack Ranch in the Geneseo District. We find that both vineyards complement each other in a blend to produce a wine that is a great representation of the quality that Paso Robles can achieve. At its core this blend features three varietals each contributing a different element to the blend. We start with Cabernet Franc as it provides a structural foundation (dry tannin). We then layer in Cabernet for its complex red fruit and finally Malbec adds a mouthwatering juicy quality. This is a wine that is ready to drink now that broadly showcases the beauty of our two vineyards during an excellent vintage.

We farm 10 acres of Syrah on the steep, rocky slopes of Heart Hill Vineyard. This wine is a blend of three different blocks of Syrah, each harvested separately. We fermented the grapes in stainless steel tanks with different whole cluster and destemmed components. This varied fermentation approach created a canvas of Syrah expression, from dark pomegranate and juicy blackberry to black pepper and tea notes. We then barrel-aged the wine in 60% new French Oak barrels designed specifically for Syrah for 20 months prior to bottling.

In 2019 we had the opportunity to co-ferment Malbec with Cabernet Sauvignon, combining the cherry flavor of the Malbec with some darker tones of the Cabernet Sauvignon. We hand-sorted, destemmed and gravity-fed the grapes into stainless steel tanks, where the fruit fermented for 10-12 days at higher temperatures. This wine was aged in standard oak barrels for 20 months, 45% of which were new French Oak, adding notes of clove, vanilla and brown sugar.

We grow Chardonnay at Jespersen Ranch in the Edna Valley. The vineyard is nestled into a hillside just three miles from the Pacific Ocean and derives much of its personality from the coast. In 2020 we hand-harvested all of our Chardonnay between August 31st and September 10th, an intentionally early pick as we wanted to maintain the bright acidity from the coastal site. We hand-sorted and lightly pressed the whole clusters directly into barrel for fermentation, and aged the juice in lightly toasted French oak barrels, 50% of which were new. After 11 months in barrel, we selected the best barrels to compose the final blend, and returned the blend to neutral oak barrels for four additional months. The extra four months in barrel evolved the secondary fruit flavors and added complexity to the final wine. With hints of lemon cream, jasmine and pie crust this wine is a wonderful balance of acid and creaminess.

The name “Super Paso” is inspired by the Super Tuscans – blends made by Italian winemakers who added French grape varietals to their beloved Italian varietals to create unconventional blends. As an ode to those renegade winemakers, this wine blends Italian Barbera with four Bordeaux varieties. We de-stemmed the Barbera and fermented it in a stainless steel tank. The Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon were harvested on the same day and co-fermented in a stainless steel tank. All three varietals were then blended to barrel age together in 50% new French Oak barrels for 17 months. A small amount of Petit Verdot and Malbec were blended in prior to bottling, adding color and structure.

We farm Albariño at Jespersen Ranch. The vineyard is located in the north-western corner of the Edna Valley AVA just four miles from the ocean. Our three acres of vines thrive in the coastal environment and derive their character from the rolling banks of coastal fog in the morning and ocean breezes in the afternoon. The 2021 vintage is a clean, refreshing wine reminiscent of the ocean’s close proximity. Mouthwatering minerality is outlined by delicate white floral, peach and citrus flavors. After early morning hand-harvests on September 21st and October 5th, we lightly pressed our Albariño grapes. We fermented about 3/4 of the wine in stainless steel tanks, and 1/4 in a concrete vessel. The wine went through partial secondary malolactic fermentation natively. We then aged the wine in the same combination of stainless steel and concrete before blending, filtering and bottling it in late February of 2022.

We farm Sauvignon Blanc at Jespersen Ranch. The vineyard is located in the north-western corner of the Edna Valley AVA just four miles from the ocean. Our three acres of vines thrive in the coastal environment and derive their character from the rolling banks of coastal fog in the morning and ocean breezes in the afternoon. The 2021 vintage has juicy acidity, ripe tropical fruit and lemongrass flavors. It’s aromatically stunning, with pineapple, mandarin and kiwi flavors balanced by subtle grassy notes. A fantastic representation of the cool-climate vineyard site. After early morning hand-harvests on September 23rd and 29th, we lightly pressed our Sauvignon Blanc grapes. We fermented the wine in a combination of stainless steel tanks and large, neutral puncheon barrels. The barrel-fermented portion helped build a soft, balanced mouthfeel to complement the abundant natural acidity in these coastal grapes. The wine was aged in the same combination of stainless steel and oak barrels before being blended, filtered and bottled in late February of 2022.

We farm Pinot Noir at Jespersen Ranch and each year we choose a block to harvest early for our Rosé wine. The vineyard is located in the north-western corner of the Edna Valley AVA just four miles from the ocean. In 2021 we hand-harvested the grapes on September 10th at about 20 Brix. The 2021 vintage has brilliant aromatics of watermelon, candied white peach and rose petal followed by clean, mineral flavors when you take a sip. After hand-harvesting the grapes, we lightly whole-cluster-pressed about ⅔ of them. Next, we destemmed and foot-treaded the remaining grapes and allowed them to soak for five hours to extract color from the grape skins. A portion of the wine went through malolactic fermentation natively, and we then aged the wine in neutral French Oak barrels before blending, filtering and bottling.