Live large, drink VGS.

For years and years rumors have run rampant regarding the true meaning of VGS. Please, let us clarify any misconceptions you might have!

Winepedia defines VGS as: "A wine so pure and true, its virtues exude layers of pleasure to all who drink it". While we at VGS agree with the fictional winepedia about the "pleasure" part, they are still a bit off the mark!

The Wine Observer defines VGS as: "The highest level of wines you will encounter on this or any other planet, truly out of this world…VGS = Virtual Grape Superiority!"

Although we are humbled and honored to be included in the company of Chateau Saturn and Clos Venus, we feel our wines are best enjoyed on "terra firma"!

The Wine Campaigner defines VGS as: "I have tasted all the wines of the world and VGS wines are at the pinnacle of their industry. Quite honestly, in my most un-humble (and subsequently Latin opinion) VGS can only mean one thing, Vitis Grandus Selectus!"

Where do we begin with all this? Let's just say VGS means so much more, and at the same time, so much less.

VGS is an attitude: quality and elegance without pretention.
VGS is a pleasure: to enjoy and to share.

VGS: shhhhh! Don't listen to rumors. Good things speak for themselves.
11VGS Chardonnay

Our goal with Chardonnay has always been the same - to produce an elegant and sophisticated wine of great complexity and richness while preserving and respecting the natural freshness and purity of the grape from the vineyard. Aromas of Meyer lemons, fresh nectarine cobbler, guava and toasty marshmallow jump from the glass. The rich and complex balanced flavors of white nectarines, ripe Hawaiian pineapples, minerals and lightly grilled bread linger on your palate. A rich and creamy mouth feel of fresh stone fruits is complimented by mouthwatering, lively acidity. This is a beautifully balanced Chardonnay. While quite delicious now, it will continue to improve over the next 3-5 years and beyond with proper cellaring.

RECIPE

New England Skate Wing 

SPECIFICATIONS
Grapes
100% Chardonnay
Aging
10 Months in French oak barrels
Soils
Loamy with shale & volcanic rock
Bottle  $50.00
Wine Club  $40.00
Appellation
Napa Valley
Elevation
30-1,200 ft.
Fermentation
Natural Yeast Up to 120 days.
What you are saying about this wine
The VGS Chardonnay is liquid gold... it is my all-time favorite.
Barbara F., IA
Receiving a new vintage of VGS Chardonnay is like a bottle of liquid gold has arrived on my doorstep. I can't wait to compare it to previous vintages. It just gets better!
Jamie M. , PA
The VGS Chardonnay is like "butta": it is rich, complex, powerful, yet elegant, refined and the finish so long... I can taste it forever!
Donna H., TX
10VGS Cabernet Franc 375ml
TASTING NOTES
Click here for full tasting notes

Close your eyes … this is a wine to remember!  Sourced from our new Wild Cat Vineyard high atop Mount Veeder, it’s intoxicating notes of rose petals and green tea overlay a core of red fruits-strawberry, raspberry, and beach plums.  In the mouth, the wine has great presence without being heavy.  It is fresh and lively on the palate, with a “velvet glove” of melted and refined tannins.  In addition to all the ripe fruit, warm flavors of brown sugar, toasted marshmallow, roasted coffee beans, sandalwood & chocolate are revealed in waves.

RECIPE
Korean Sizzling Beef

SPECIFICATIONS
Grapes
80% Cabernet Franc, 12% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon
Aging
20 months in new French oak barrels
Soils
Loamy with shale & volcanic rock
Appellation
Mount Veeder, Napa Valley
Bottle  $39.00
Wine Club  $31.20
Elevation
2,000 ft.
Fermentation
Natural yeast, 28 days
Harvest Date
October 19-23, 2010
Cases Produced
123 cases
10VGS Merlot 375ml
TASTING NOTES
Click here for full tasting notes

Elegance, opulence, style and, dare we say, substance!  From high atop Mount Veeder, the grapes from our Wild Cat Vineyard high have put this Merlot in a class by itself.  Bright fruits burst forth before even lifting the glass.  Blueberry, blackberry and dark black cherry notes saturate the palate, revealing a thick, dense wine with plenty of stuffing and weight.  On the palate, the wine is lush with complex flavors of red raspberries, warm cherry pie, dried herbs and cola.  Round, supple tannins provide an enticing framework for the flavors and contribute to a lingering finish.

Recipe

Sea Bass with Paprika and Curry

SPECIFICATIONS
Grapes
78% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc
Aging
20 months in new French oak barrels
Soils
Loamy with shale & volcanic rock
Appellation
Mount Veeder, Napa Valley
Bottle  $39.00
Wine Club  $31.20
Elevation
1,500 ft.
Fermentation
Natural yeasts, 28 days
Harvest Date
October 19-23, 2010
Cases Produced
77 cases
10VGS Zinfandel
TASTING NOTES
Click here for full tasting notes

Our 2010 VGS Zinfandel marks 20 years since we released our first Zinfandel. 20 years of praises vintage after vintage and 20 years of “sold out” before we breathe! 

The 2010 is a perfect successor to that two decades of winners. It is exuberant but an elegant exuberance - not a tutty fruity one.  It is loaded with raspberry, blackberry and some mandarin and fresh juice that is balanced with lots of spices, zests and some vanilla nuances. You can easily smell the place it grew up on, the sun and the earth. In the palate, it is dense with a nice weight, filling without being heavy or blockbuster with an interesting and complex array of flavors.   It is so ample, round and balanced … balance, balance, balance. The finish: rich, intense, fully extracted with a great complexity promises, like its predecessors, a long aging.

SPECIFICATIONS
Grapes
100% Zinfandel
Aging
17 Months in French oak barrels
Soils
Loamy with shale and volcanic rock
Appellation
Mount Veeder, Napa Valley
Bottle  $65.00
Wine Club  $52.00
Elevation
1,400-1,800 ft.
Fermentation
29 days natural yeasts
Harvest Date
October 22-27,2010
Cases Produced
600
What you are saying about this wine
My fondest memory of your fabulous VGS Zinfandel is a gathering at my home. What a hit! Ten years later, my friends still talk about the great wine I poured that night.
Don S. , IL
Chateau Potelle VGS Zinfandel is a wine that I am not afraid to serve to my friend.....a wine distributor.
Ed D.
When I discovered what VGS meant, I knew ours would be a long, fantastic relationship. That was in 2000. Thanks so much for all the great VGS I've had & all that's to come.
Kelly H., GA
09VGS Syrah
TASTING NOTES
Click here for full tasting notes

You’ve got to love these mountain grapes that deliver such intensity and character to produce blockbuster wine. Extremely extracted, the color is dark. The nose is full and complex with explosive aromas and flavors of blueberries, blackberries, vanilla, cedar, leather and a bit of tobacco. The wine’s weight fills your mouth and sits right there. It is dense and full. It is heavy in its body but does not taste heavy because the flavors and fruits are so powerful, aromatic and exuberant that they bring lightness. Very beautifully balanced, rich, round and intense, it shows great elegance at the same time. If you are lucky enough to be one who gets it, you are very envied!

RECIPE

Duck Burger with Foie Gras and Onion Marmelade

SPECIFICATIONS
Grapes
100% Syrah
Aging
16 Months in French oak barrels
Soils
Loamy with shale & volcanic rock
Appellation
Mount Veeder
Bottle  $75.00
Wine Club  $60.00
Elevation
1,600-1,800 ft.
Fermentation
30 days natural yeasts
Harvest Date
October 16th, 2009
Cases Produced
250 cases
What you are saying about this wine
Wow! I opened up a bottle of the VGS Syrah last night. Outstanding!! What a beautiful experience that was from the first whiff to the last drop!
Tony T., CA
09Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2009, like most wines of the vintage, starts slow and finish big! It has deep dark, intense and nicely brilliant color. In the nose, it is loaded with delicious and sweet red fruit and spices with vanilla.  All so well integrated!  In the mouth, the wine finds immediately its place. It sits there, then expands and grows to become ample and round. There you can enjoy the structure and the mouthfeel that is not heavy but definitely full bodied. In the mouth the flavors are generous and diverse; the red fruit naturally but also some chocolate and spice like clove and a bit of cinnamon. Nice cooking suggestions go from thick pork chops to red meat and lamb.

10Cabernet Sauvignon
COMING SOON!
Expected release, Fall 2013