Wine Testament

“I live for moments that make me say “Holy sh*t, check this out!” -Winemaker from Los Olivos, CA.

If you talk to anyone that’s into wine (really into wine), they will likely tell you about some form of transformative experience they had with a specific wine. A magical moment. They will likely be able to tell you when, where and what type of wine it was. I had one of those experiences.

I was at a business dinner in Savannah, GA in February 2024. I had organized the dinner, but I was not the host because I was with a coworker who was much more senior than me. The host was a man named Paul who was the VP of Sales & Marketing at the company. Paul is the kind of guy that is always well dressed, full of charisma and incapable of not leading and guiding every conversation.

I remember I was feeling under the weather and although I was excited to participate in the dinner, there was an element of my attendance being required since it was part of my job. I looked forward to the moment I was back in the hotel room….left alone to myself to hopefully overcome this mild illness that seemed to be getting worse.

We sit down at the table and Paul orders two bottles of wines: Caymus Cabernet, and Far Niente Cabernet. (Both of which I was unfamiliar with at the time). These could have been wines you could buy from Aldi for $5. I didn’t know any different.

We proceed to have our glasses filled. Looks like a Cabernet to me. I take a sip, unaware and uninterested in assessing the aromas of the wine.

Holy sh*t…..I thought to myself.

This wine has depth.

Dark fruit, plush, smooth. What is this depth that I’m tasting? It’s as if there’s a first floor to the flavor, then a basement below it.

Paul leans over to me “This wine is sooo good“

I nod in agreement. I’m still stunned at this point.

I look around the table and everyone is having similar reactions. I’ve never been at a table where everyone had this type of reaction to the wine.

I wish I could tell you it was a different wine….

Caymus Cabernet is THE Corporate, Steakhouse, I don’t know anything about wine but I’m at a business dinner, Wine.

The last few times I had it I thought it was overly sweet, containing an above average amount of residual sugar for a Cabernet (~10g per liter).

It’s also ~$80 a bottle…..so the value is questionable.

BUT this was the wine that kicked things off for me.