KNA Wines began in 2002…

when Reg Oliver of El Molino offered to sell Kristof, then winemaker at Lewis Cellars, a small amount of ultra-premium Cabernet Sauvignon from his Star Vineyard in Rutherford. Kristof’s goal was to create his ultimate expression of Napa Valley Cabernet - PELLA Cabernet.

SANNA Sauvignon Blanc joins our offerings as an extraordinary cold-fermented expression of the varietal. Kristof often says Sauvignon Blanc is a winemaker’s wine, meaning you can judge a winemaker’s skill by the effort he or she puts into a wine that is just as difficult to craft, if not more so, than a more expensive Cabernet.

If Kristof is known for his red wines, he is equally well-known for his white varietals, such as Chardonnay & Pinot Grigio, which earned “Best Producer” citations in The Wine Bible. In the recent 3rd edition, his Chardonnays fall under the category of “wines of elegance and balance” and “really cool Chardonnays made in a pure, minimalist, not-overripe style.” It is not uncommon for confirmed haters of Chardonnay to fall in love with Kristof’s version, an imprint of the fruit without sugar or excess oak or, as he likes to put it, “wine that tastes like the grapes on the morning we pick.”

In 2022, we bottled 150 cases of SANNA Sauvignon Blanc, made from 100% Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc grapes, cold-fermented in stainless steel, with primary fermentation finishing around 4 weeks. Pure, precise, linear, fresh, Kristof’s Sauvignon Blanc tastes like, well, Sauvignon Blanc grapes, on the morning we pick them. Fragrant nose of citrus blossom, lime leaf, and star jasmine. Fresh flavors of honeydew melon, Meyer lemon zest, and sea salt, in a polished and refined style with plenty of juicy acidity. Complex layers of flavor unfold on the palate with engaging length in a refreshing style of Sauvignon Blanc that has seen no oak. 100% dry. 12.5% abv.

Winemaker’s Tasting Notes

Four barrels were handcrafted each year (2002-07) from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon fruit, from the renowned Star Vineyard, in the Rutherford appellation, located near La Luna Market & Taqueria. Star Vineyard was founded in 1978 by Reg Oliver and Ric Forman and farmed by Dave Abreu.

Each vintage spent two years in oak, using the (then) newly-offered Tonnellerie Demptos Barrique Reserve French oak barrel, since recognized for its maturing excellence due to its exceptionally fine grain. The wine was unfiltered and unfined.

The 2008 and 2009 vintages, sourced from other prestigious (non-disclosed) Napa Valley vineyards, were recently released in fall of 2024.

Kristof’s Cabernet Sauvignon is made to age, in the style of great Bordeaux wines. Unlike many older vintages of Napa Valley wine that fall apart quickly upon opening, we find that PELLA Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits a rare vitality. We drink half a bottle, cork it & leave it on the kitchen counter, only to find that the wine has improved the next day. (Sorry Coravin!) Feel free to decant.

(2003):  The 2003 PELLA exhibits a rare youth & vitality for a California wine of its age, with many years left to cellar. Color is a deep, inky plum, with a nose of incense and sweet mahogany wood. A balanced, silky wine with bright, juicy acids & flavors of ripe strawberry and strawberry seed, PELLA Cabernet opens like a peacock’s tail-aromatics of cedar & redwood harmonizing with black fig, burnt sugar & resinous herbs-and finishes with luscious, creamy caramel on the palate. The result is a sophisticated and chic Cabernet in its prime-savory, powerful & elegant. (tasted 4/15/24)

“Unpredictable … that’s what you are: The unpredictable nature of the 2003 growing season began with a series of early heat spikes in March, followed by the wettest April on record. A long cool summer allowed the fruit flavors to evolve beautifully ahead of the sugar accumulation. Heat spikes in September helped move the harvest forward after many felt it would be a late year.” —Napa Valley Vintners Napa Valley Vintage Reports

(2004): The BEST 20-year-old Napa Cab you’ll taste! The 2004 PELLA is drinking impeccably, comparable in style to the best Bordeaux wines. (We have customers who have written to say they prefer it to Lafite.) Its texture is pure whipped cream with luxuriant silkiness, creating a pleasing counterpoint to the core of bright, acidic fruit. The style is not typical of today’s Napa Valley Cabernets, which generally lack the acidity needed to reach this age and pinnacle of balanced acidity, tannin, and fruit. Many people, accustomed to Napa Cabernets with raspy tannins, will never have tasted a Cabernet this silken. Texture aside, the wine is a blockbuster of sophisticated and layered flavors, with impressive length. Notes of dark juicy fig expand upon flavors of sea-salted black licorice, rosemary, black olive, coffee with cream, & sweet tobacco, with inviting aromatics of sandalwood, ripe briar patch, & menthol, as the wine uncoils in the glass. Gorgeous forest floor, pine tree, umami, wild lavender honey, honeysuckle. Mouthwatering acidity, like biting into a ripe plum. From the barrels, dimensions of coffee, caramel, burnt sugar. The 2004 vintage is currently exhibiting the archetypal “Rutherford dust” tannin structure, not a drying tannin so much as a pleasing wet clay, like a freshly thrown earthen pot on the potter’s wheel, and the mouthfeel is dense, juicy & nicely structured. The comment we hear most often from customers is that PELLA Cabernet is a treasured secret they keep to themselves and share only with a select few who will understand the wine. Please, share! (tasted 8/12/24)

“Early bud break led to one of the earliest harvests in memory: In 2004, bud break occurred earlier than many vintners could remember, and the trend carried forward throughout the growing season. Heat spikes happened in June and at scattered intervals throughout the summer season. Grapes completed veraison early and ripeness with well-developed sugars in all varieties was realized early. Growers held on as acid balance eventually caught up. Temperatures were steady into one of the earliest harvests in Napa Valley. Grape quality was very good with a crop that was smaller than average.”—Napa Valley Vintners Napa Valley Vintage Reports

(2005):  The 2005 PELLA is a powerful and elegant wine in its prime with mouthwatering boysenberry, rhubarb, strawberry, and Bing cherry fruit flavors, and a long, lingering, silken finish. One is reminded of chewing on a fresh rose petal, in the way tannins, acids & fruit interplay, a hallmark of Kristof’s winemaking style. A fragrant nose of honey comb, black olive, and tar in the glass. The wine finishes with flavors of resinous, aromatic woods like cedar, vanillin, and star anise. As with the other vintages, the wine has a multifaceted, lengthy evolution of flavors in the palate. (tasted 10/5/24)

“Indian summer creates a signature vintage: Winter rains took pause for a dry, mild March then began again with record-setting precipitation late into the growing season delaying bloom and set. The summer months were cool and pleasant with few heat spikes. Fog and cool temperatures were a concern heading into September as sugar levels were yet to rise in all varieties. Warm, nearly perfect conditions arrived with an Indian Summer making for a later than average harvest, providing winemakers with fruit with extended hang and ultimately realizing excellent sugar development and balanced acids with a larger than average crop of what could be a signature vintages from Napa Valley.” —Napa Valley Vintners Napa Valley Vintage Reports

(2006):  The 2006 PELLA is an ice bullet into your heart. It’s all about precision, plus bloom. The 2006 moves on the palate with an impressive arc, like a firework in the night sky, rising, arcing, and falling in a satisfying way. Pronounced aromatics of red apple, honeycomb, sweet tobacco, & cedar. Yet so acidic! The ‘06 flavor profile is neatly summed up by Kristof as “biting into a juicy red apple.” The wine will change over the course of an hour, as complex flavors of citrus peel, salt, ripe plum, cassis, raspberry, black tea, & dried mushroom emerge in an elegant, balanced, powerful wine with wave upon wave of beautiful & intellectually-engaging flavor. (tasted 5/2/24)

“Rain, rain go away: The 2006 harvest finished in early November and will go down as a 'grower's year' as vintners were faced with a variety of challenges from New Year flooding to wet weather that continued late into spring delaying budbreak. By early June, the sun came out and vines began to bloom and set fruit. Mid-July presented a record-setting ten day heat wave, but the canopy had not yet been thinned because of the delayed season and young clusters were shaded from the hot sun. Most growers agreed that the heat helped catch the vines up to a "normal" place in the growing season. Somewhat cooler weather arrived in August and continued throughout harvest, allowing for moderately paced and deliberate ripening and a long harvest period. Cool weather dominated early October, with rain coming in the first week, but the white varieties were in and this presented no damage to the black varieties still on the vine.”—Napa Valley Vintners Napa Valley Vintage Reports

(2007):  The 2007 PELLA greets the palate with intense aromatics of powdered cocoa, raspberry, macaron, espresso, tobacco leaves, Thai mint, and fresh, lively, herbaceous forest air. A polished, silky wine with complex layers of fresh, acidic boysenberry, chocolate-covered cherry, umami, cold-brew coffee with cream, and anise, the ‘07 vintage entices the drinker to sip with awe, enjoying a long flavor arc. Enjoy now or cellar for years to come. (When tasted 4/15/24, this was Kristof’s favorite wine in the vertical. That has never been the case before.)

“A vintage of contrasts: The valley floor crop, including most of the black varieties, was almost fully harvested when unseasonably cool and wet weather arrived the second week in October, with nearly an inch of rain falling in parts of the appellation. The hillside and higher elevation vineyards still had anywhere from 25-50% of their crop on the vine, but while the rain was just enough to penetrate several inches into the soil, not enough to get to the root zone of most vineyards. Indian Summer returned with warm, clear days and vineyard crews sprang into action to finish harvest for what appears to be a vintage of exceptional quality from all points around the Napa Valley.”—Napa Valley Vintners Napa Valley Vintage Reports

(2008):  The 2008 PELLA Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is deep maroon in the glass, with mouth-watering aromas of violet, lavender, cinnamon stick, and redwood. The wine bursts with an incredible amount of fruit, with flavors of red apple, ripe strawberry, and juicy, acidic, wild huckleberry, finishing with savory, salt-brined black olive. Lots of length, silky, black-tea-with-milk tannins, and a creamy, chocolate fudge texture in this luscious and elegant wine. The wine spent two years in new French oak barrels. 100% Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (tasted 8/29/24)

“Crazy weather creates perfect storm in vineyards: Spring daytime temps were perfect, yet the frost persisted. Then, within the same week that many had been irrigating for frost protection, vineyards had to be irrigated to forestall a multi-day heat spike just when vines were beginning to flower, a time when fruit and vine development is particularly susceptible to extremes. This resulted in fewer clusters with smaller berries. Harvest began in mid-August, then a Labor Day heat spell ratcheted everyone into high gear as several varieties ripened simultaneously. Cellar crews worked around the clock to crush the fruit that was coming in all at once—Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot virtually one atop the other. Suddenly, temps dropped to well below normal, allowing red varieties to receive optimal hang time, excellent ripening and balanced structure.”—Napa Valley Vintners Napa Valley Vintage Reports

(2009):  The 2009 PELLA Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is dense and dark, almost opaque in the glass. Aromatics of tobacco leaf, cedar, bay laurel, incense, and sandalwood greet the drinker. The wine is savory and spicy with muscular tannins and plush fruit. Warm, round fruit flavors of rhubarb, blackberry, ripe black fig, boysenberry preserve, and elderberry syrup intermingle with herbaceous freshness—flavors of bay leaf, rosemary, lemon peel, and pine sap. Spicy flavors of sea salt and black pepper, soy sauce, and cinnamon stick give the wine added intrigue. Waves of flavor finish on the palate with powdered bitter chocolate and silky crème brûlée textures. This is a carnivore’s Cabernet, begging to be paired with a mound of tender, juicy beef brisket. The wine spent two years in new French oak barrels. 100% Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (tasted 8/29/24)

“A breath of frost-free relief: From 30 days of intense frost in spring 2008 to fewer than five in 2009, this vintage was much less eventful for growers who were able to sleep nights not worrying about the threat of frost—or the lack of water to combat it. Late spring rains and June’s warm spell helped curtail excessive canopy development. Instead of a typical growing season’s 14 days of 100°+ temperatures, 2009 counted four or five overall, again reducing the demand for water. Though rainfall was about two-thirds of normal for the third year in a row, the timing of it was on the vines’ side. Couple that with the lack of frost and the mild, relatively cool growing season, Mother Nature gave vines and grapes the best scenario possible.”—Napa Valley Vintners Napa Valley Vintage Reports

(2022):  The 2022 PELLA Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is a sleek, taut Cabernet of great personality and vividness that remains true to Kristof’s signature style of balance and elegance. A lively garnet in the glass, the wine smells of honeysuckle, pine forest, and sun-warmed potting soil. Fine-grained tannins frame thrilling juicy and spicy flavors that arc and bloom on the palate, including dark berries, savory truffle, clove, lemon peel, resinous herbs, peat smoke, and chocolate. Intriguing fresh flavors of caramelized asparagus and hibiscus tea dance on the palate. The wine is expressive, with tons of movement, length, and vitality and a satisfyingly long finish. The wine spent two years in brand new Tonnellerie Quintessence Fleur de Quintessence barrels, which we call the “Birkin bag” of wine barrels because of their rarity. 100% Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (tasted 8/29/24)

“The Tale of Two Harvests: Winemakers are calling the vintage “the tale of two harvests,” making it one of the more unique vintages in recent history. With climate variability as the new normal, Napa Valley grape growers aim to be resilient and adaptable. Their preparation and experience paid off in 2022 as growers faced triple digit heat over five days in September quickly followed by rain that brought harvest to a sudden halt. Following the rain, grapes left to hang through October enjoyed mild weather days that allowed winemakers to wait for perfect ripeness.”—Napa Valley Vintners Napa Valley Vintage Reports

Visiting Napa Valley? You can find PELLA Cabernet Sauvignon, Star Vineyard, Rutherford, on the Wine Spectator Grand Award-winning list at PRESS Restaurant in St. Helena and at Bear, Stanly Ranch Auberge Resort. For more information on wine availability, please click here.

For press packets, industry discounts, restaurant inquiries & FOB pricing, please contact Jennifer at jennifer@knawines.