This is a dream come true for me, as some years ago I resolved to try to make a great Port. It seemed to me that at York Creek we had the ideal conditions. It is well known that "mountain" vineyards in the Napa/Sonoma area are famous for producing red wines with deep color, big rich tannins, and intense deep flavors. And that is exactly what Port requires. Red wines develop their flavor and color from fermenting in contact with the grape skins and pulp, but in making Port the fermenting wine is "pressed" (which separates the wine from the grape skins) very early in the fermentation process, as high proof spirits are added and fermentation ends. So "mountain" grapes, with their early color and intense character, should be ideal.

Finding the grape varieties considered best in Portugal was not easy, in fact it reminded me of the confusing picture in the 1960s when growers were trying to determine how to be sure we had true Pinot Noir, or Cabernet Franc, or Petit Verdot. Even now we have only three of the five top varieties, although we hope to have the other two soon. We have Touriga Nacional, (often said by the Portuguese to be the #1 variety), and Tinto Cão and Tinta Roriz. By pleasant coincidence the obvious area to plant to these Portuguese varieties happened to be our highest vineyard block, with the vines at 2100'.

I decided that I would add a California character by including some Petite Sirah and Zinfandel, both of which I am sure would be highly valued in Portugal, if they knew them. And I realized I could make my own high proof fortifying spirits as I had built an artisan distillery for Anchor Brewing's Junipero Gin and Old Potrero Rye Whiskey project. I knew that in the early days Port had not been fortified with today's mass produced "neutral spirits," but with "pot distilled" spirits which have real character. And I could produce my very own. And from my own grapes. Oh boy!

I am so proud of our Port that I could burst. More than once I have told Tom Holmes, my assistant in winemaking, that some day someone who really knows his Port will come up to our table at a wine tasting and after tasting ours will look up at us in wonder and ask, wide-eyed, "Do you mean I can actually buy this?" Our 2000 Port was the first year when all five grape varieties were available, and I was thrilled with the result. The very few remaining cases of that pioneering vintage are in our "Library" now, and the recent vintages are equally wonderful.