At the urging of the earnest young salesman, we brought in what were offered to us as the best red and white wine from Girard Winery of Napa Valley. The red is their Flagship Meritage blend, Artistry; the white is Sauvignon Blanc. Both carry the Napa Valley appellation.
One of the initial questions we always ask when purchasing California wines is, Who owns them? Conglomerates and mass marketers who paint by the numbers scare us. We prefer to put our faith in the hands of a talented winemaker who doesn't unduly manipulate the fruit of a vineyard. The Paint By The Numbers set will smooth out all of the rough edges and amend the product to fit a form thereby ensuring whatever baby is there, it will go out with the bath water. The latter hopefully retains the baby and more to make a product of distinction.
Girard Winery was established in 1974 with vineyards in Oakville and Yountville. A winery was built in 1980. The winery namesake, Steve Girard, operated the winery until selling it to Leslie Rudd of Rudd Oakville Estate in the mid 90's. Girard then opened Benton-Lane Winery in Oregon, eventually selling that to industry giant, Augustin Huneeus. From our limited research, Rudd apparently did little with the Girard property.
After several years of inactivity, in 2000 the Girard Winery name was sold to long time Napa wine industry insiders Michael Stewart, Chuck Sweeney and Pat Roney. Stewart and Sweeney were the owners of Vine Cliff Winery; Roney had several ongoing ventures including a custom crush facility called "Bin to Bottle." Together they formed the company Vintage Wine Estates and accumulated a stable of wineries to include Clos Pegas, Cosentino, Delectus and Swanson.
Currently the Girard Winery is located in Calistoga in northern Napa between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountain ranges. They have a state-of-the-art winery there that emphasizes balance in their winemaking. Artistry is made from a five acre plot adjacent to Clos Pegas.
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