There are two reasons to visit Sinegal Estates: One is the interesting backstory of Sinegal Estate and the other is the exclusive Black label that is produced on-site.
On my first day in Napa Valley in the luxurious town of St.Helena, The Ink House chauffeured me in their House Bentley to a wine tour and tasting in the heart of St. Helena. The Bentley pulled up to Sinegal Estate and we were greeted by the Sommelier with two glasses of Sinegal Estate’s 2016 Sauvignon Blanc. The front of the estate was a modern design with wooden finishes that one could only assume recalled the use of French Oak in their wine. A window at the top of the entrance bears a golden key, the Estate’s seal. The story goes that as when the owners purchased the Estate, they were handed this old skeleton brass key, which was the original key for the front door in 1881. This key symbolized the start of the Sinegal Family estate and became the official emblem of the property.
Being escorted in the The Ink House Bentley 
Patrick in front of the entrance
The Sommelier begins to talk us through how the Estate came to be. Jim Sinegal, the co-founder and one-time CEO of Costco, and his son David, who ran Costco’s wine, beer and spirits department, purchased the historic Wolf Family Estate in March 2013. They completely remodeled the property to retain its history yet showcase a contemporary feel.
The front doors open to the fermentation facility. Music is playing, employees are hard at work and the grounds look pristine. We are surrounded by stainless steel tanks and French Oak. With a background rich in wine and spirits, David and Jim were inspired by a short trip to France and commissioned that all the equipment be high-tech and made specifically for Sinegal Estate. The Stainless Steel Tanks and French Oak Tanks can be controlled remotely. The winemaker can be at home and control the temperature, monitor control functions and humidity, automate pump-overs and more. The benefit to the technology vs. manual labor is that they are able to reduce error and create consistency among the wines.
We move over to the optical sorter that piques Patrick’s interest. Using this tool, the winemaker is able to remotely sort the grapes according to color and size. A small camera inside the contraption detects the grapes and visually scans them to make sure they are within the winemakers constraints. If the grape is not within those constraints, a puff of air will pop out the undesirable fruit into another area. We are seeing more and more wineries use this type of technology, but due to its expense, many are still hand sorting.
Following the optical sorter, the wine is pressed in a basket press. The juice is taken out and the skins remain. Sinegal Estate is a certified organic estate, they like to think of themselves as stewards of their own land. Any left over skins that remain from the basket press are either reused to add more structure and color to the wine or composited back into the vineyard.
Following our tour of the winemaking facility we enter into my favorite part, the underground subterranean caves. It’s a U-shaped cave with 6,800 square feet which currently stores its vintage red. They age their reds anywhere from 22 to 24 months in one of four climate controlled aging portals. Their wine is a mix of 100% French Oak and some neutral oak barrels. Each barrel is made with a different type of grain, some barrels are toasted medium others medium plus. That’s what gives the wines their toasty flavors. Our favorite had a bit a barbecue musqué, while the others had more of a mocha scent to them. Winemaker Ryan Knoth spent years studying under renowned Winemaker Tony Biagi as an apprentice before taking over Sinegal Estate and perfecting the Sinegal Estate wines. Today, Ryan plays with all the different types of barrels, giving their wines this mix taste of mocha and barbecue musqué that you might taste.
At Sinegal Estate everything is about being certified organic. From the wine processing to the organic garden, where Pat and I got to taste some of their amazing strawberries, and the beautiful lake property. The Jaeggar family who owned the Estate previously had built a man-made lake for recreational purposes for the family. Today, Sinegal Estate uses this spring fed lake for irrigation purposes. It is filled with fish and the property has a friendly open BYO-Pole policy. Only one person has taken them up on the offer, but if you decide to visit the property and have a thing for fishing, I recommend you mention it to the Sommelier! The lake is surrounded by a beautiful pergola, a bocce court and a wonderful open-aired brick pizza oven. The Estate is open to hosting events and parties by the lake on a case by case basis.
Our final stop on the tour of the Estate was near the organic garden. The property is home to 5 goats, a rooster and a hen. The goats are very friendly and you have the opportunity to feed them. Originally the property wanted to be able to offer their consumers Sauvignon Blanc with goat cheese, but because of all the permits that went into making their own certified organic goat cheese, they were not able to act on this. Today, the Nigerian goats have found a home near the garden where visitors are welcome to visit. On our way to the tasting room, I spot 2 palm trees, which was a bit off given our surroundings. The Sommelier let us know that we actually were standing on the original pathway of the Pony Express! In fact vintage pictures on their site show these 2 palm trees, which where once signals to let the Pony Express know where they were.
We make our way to the tasting room, a beautiful modern, clean cut room with a beautiful outdoor area. The original brass key, the house emblem, is incased in a picture frame in between bookshelves as a reminder of the property’s beginnings. Here we take a seat and begin our flights.
Our first flight was a 2015 vintage white label Cabernet Sauvignon: 88% Estate Cabernet, 5% Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Merlot—all from Sinegal Estate. It was aged in 85% new French oak and 15% neutral oak. It is a fruit forward Cabernet using some of their neighbors fruits. The bottle retails at $90. The white label has a larger production than their red wines with about 2,000 cases produced. I guess we could call it their “flagship wine,” it’s the wine you might even find in your New York wine store. It’s a rich wine with an undertone of dark cherry, blackberry, and oak. It isn’t too dry with just the right amount of tannins added. The finish is lengthy, but leaves you wanting more.
As mentioned in my intro, there are 2 reasons to visit Sinegal Estates: One is the obvious interesting backstory of the Estate and the second is the exclusive Black label that is produced on-site. Our second flight was the crème de la crème of Sinegal Estate’s wines, their 2015 vintage Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, also known as their Black Label: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Malbec, and 5% Petit Verdot. It is aged in 100% new French Oak for approximately 22 months. The wine has an indistinguishable full-bodied and intense taste of chocolate, licorice and new leather. This is a wine with real character. With only 450 cases left, it retails at $195. This was by far mine and Patrick’s favorite wine.
Our last and final flight was the 2016 Sauvignon Blanc: 93% Sauvignon Blanc (45% which is Sauv musqué clone) and 7% Semillion. It is aged in 30% new French oak, 40% used oak and 30% neutral oak. This wine is retailed at $45 with only 340 cases produced. It’s a crisp California-style Sauvignon Blanc with a heavy oak influence and earthy undertones.
They have managed to create an extraordinary experience both in and out of the bottle as they would say. Needless to say, a trip to Napa Valley needs to include a taste of Sinegal Estate’s exclusive and one-of-a-kind wines. Sinegal Estate has taken the best of both worlds, traditional farming methods and modern methods of fermentation, and combine them to create a wine that reflects the true spirit of the land. So what do you say…will you be booking a private wine tour and flight at Sinegal Estate next time you’re in Napa Valley?
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Sinegal Estate. All opinions remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company. Thanks to The Ink House for scheduling our wine tour and Sinegal Estate for giving us an amazing and one-of-a-kind experience! We hope to be back soon.
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