Fait Main and Teeter Totter Napa Valley Happy Hour Wine Tasting with Winemaker Benoit Touquette

 

 

“I hope that some day (we are at a point where in California) we rate the great wines based on the terroir." – Jess Jackson

 

Jess was one of the pioneers of terroir in Northern California and the wineries he started are still making some of the best wines in the world.

 

Speaking of making some of the best wines in the world we have one of the stars of Napa Valley Benoit Touquette coming to Wine Watch in a few weeks.

 

Benoit Touquette’s journey from humble beginnings to Napa Valley was anything but linear. He was enriched by his travels — each place he visited added depth to his craft, shaped his palate, and sharpened his perspective. With 41 x 100-point wines, his work reflects not just technical mastery, but a world of influence distilled into every bottle. Now rooted in Napa, he channels that global insight into wines that are grounded, generous, and always driven by an uncompromising pursuit of excellence.

 

Benoit has consulted for several big names in the valley and we also is an owner of several labels most notably Fait-Main and Teeter Totter are his brands but he is also a co-owner of Realm.  We will  be focusing on the wines of Fait-Main and Teeter Totter but hey at Wine Watch you always get extra so there may be a bottle or two of Realm opened up also…

 

Join us as we welcome one of Napa’s top winemakers to Wine Watch on Thursday, April 23rd, the fee for this tasting is $115 + tax.  For reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com. 

 

 

Fait Main and Teeter Totter Napa Valley Happy Hour Wine Tasting

with Special Guest Winemaker Benoit Touquette

Thursday, April 23, 2026

6 PM

 

 

2023 Teeter-Totter Chardonnay, Napa Valley

2022 Teeter-Totter Chardonnay, Napa Valley

2015 Fait-Main Toyon Vineyards Chardonnay Napa

2021 Teeter-Totter Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

2023 Teeter-Totter Cabernet Sauvignon California

2023 Teeter Totter Cabernet Sauvignon Napa

2022 Teeter Totter A Stop Along the Way Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Napa

2023 Fait-Main Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

2023 Fait-Main Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa

2024 Fait Main Corrigan Vineyard Calistoga Napa

 

Menu

Selection of Cheese and Charcuterie

Tuna Tartar with Orange Peel and Citrus Aioli on Rice Crisp

Danish Baby Back Ribs with Korean BBQ

Beef Bourguignon Shooters

Lamb Meatballs with Shallot Red Wine Reduction

 

The fee for this tasting is $115 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

 

A bit about Benoit Touquette:

 

“I grew up in Lyon thinking I would become a fighter pilot or an engineer. I never considered wine until I was in Bordeaux working mobile bottling lines to pay for graduate school. The infectious passion of the winemakers I met, showing up day after day with the same fire in their eyes, blew me away. I switched my focus to oenology and completed two degrees, then left France to intern with Andy Erickson and explore uncharted possibilities in Napa Valley. I worked hard, learned from everyone, and pushed myself to deliver the kind of winemaking I believe in. I’ve never missed a picking day, and I’ll spend as much time as it takes to get the wines right. I started Fait-Main because I fell in love with a vineyard… and then another, and another.

 

Benoit Touquette’s journey on the leading edge of fine winemaking spans continents. From Bordeaux to Napa, he built in his early years the foundation of his talents under world-renowned winemaker Michel Rolland. He soon became one of Napa Valley’s most sought-after winemakers, and now partner at Realm Cellars. He has pursued a balance of elegance and power in his craft, achieving 39 x 100-point ratings along the way.

 

“I don’t want anything handed to me, I want to take it. It’s only when you push yourself to the edge that you find out what you are truly capable of.”  Benoit Touquette

 

All the wines from Fait Main and Teeter Totter on SALE!!

 

 

2024 Fait Main Corrigan Vineyard Calistoga Napa

Price: $142.50                           Your Price: $128.25

Fait-Main is the deeply personal project of Benoit Touquette, the French-born winemaking powerhouse who helped propel Realm Cellars to the pinnacle of Napa Valley’s elite. With this label, Benoit focuses on absolute precision, partnering with specific vineyard sites to create wines that bridge the gap between Bordeaux-inspired structure and Napa Valley’s opulent fruit. The Corrigan Vineyard is a pristine St. Helena site that neighbors the Blair Vineyard which was a cornerstone fruit source behind some of the early vintages of Realm’s The Bard. The wine opens with an expressive bouquet of crème de cassis, wild violets, and a signature mineral thread of graphite and scorched earth. On the palate, the wine has the hallmark texture of Benoit’s masterful touch—massively flavorful yet surprisingly weightless, layering dark blackberry and cocoa with a sophisticated savoriness. The tannins are fine-grained and seamlessly integrated, providing a polished frame for the wine's vibrant freshness and long, resonant finish.

 

 

2023 Fait-Main Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa

Price: $247.50                           Your Price: $222.75

The Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard in Saint Helena marks the first site ever produced by Fait-Main. The stony, tough soils in the middle of a typically soft and rich valley floor, create a full-bodied wine with sumptuous complexity. The richly layered palate that each vintage has expressed thus far, shows the site’s compelling interplay of fruit and structure, bound together with graceful minerality. It was a walk through the vineyard that lies just a few blocks west of his home in Saint Helena that inspired Benoit to start Fait-Main: “I never felt compelled to make my own wine until I visited Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard. It felt like coming home.”

 

The 2023 Fait-Main Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon yields a Cabernet of striking structure and refinement, where vivid red-skinned plums and ripe cherries meet crushed stone and subtle spice. Layers of raspberry, graphite, and licorice weave through the palate with mineral notes. Full-bodied yet refined, it lingers with creamy depth and a velvety resonance that speaks to both power and grace.

 

100% Cabernet Sauvignon

300 Cases Produced

 

 

2023 Fait-Main Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, USA

Price: $82.50               Your Price: $74.25

The 2023 Fait-Main Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is our third release of this hedonistic blue label Cab. Assembled with fruit from all of Fait-Main’s acclaimed single-vineyard sources, plus some exciting up-and-coming vineyards mostly from Calistoga, this wine delivers a captivating expression of elegance and depth, with layers of ripe cassis, crushed stone, and graphite, accented by delicate floral nuances. Full-bodied and impeccably balanced, it boasts a rich texture, beautifully integrated tannins, and evolving notes of red, blue, and black fruits with hints of bouquet garni and chocolate. The finish is long and elegant, capturing remarkable concentration and finesse.

100% Cabernet Sauvignon

1,300 Cases Produced

 

 

 

2019 Fait-Main Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Price: $307.00                           Sale Price: $245.00                         Quantity in Stock: 3

(96 Points)  Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras explodes with vibrant scents of blackcurrant preserves, wild blueberries, candied violets and Indian spices, plus wafts of potpourri and tobacco leaf. The full-bodied palate is packed with rich, perfumed black fruit preserves flavors, framed by firm, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long with a whole array of mineral and exotic spice sparks. (LPB) 96+   Review Date: 11/2021  Wine Advocate

 

2018 Fait-Main Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Price: $285.00                           Sale Price: $225.00                         Quantity in Stock: 3

(96 Points) Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras gallops out of the the glass with energetic scents of blackcurrant pastilles, Morello cherries and blueberry pie, with hints of fragrant earth, chocolate box and violets. Tightly wound, fine-grained and lively in the full-bodied mouth, it has bags of crunchy black and blue fruits and a long, beautifully pure finish. (LPB)   Review Date: 11/2021  Wine Advocate

 

2017 Fait-Main Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Price: $285.00                           Sale Price: $225.00                         Quantity in Stock: 3

(93 Points) Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras reveals a lifted, floral nose of rose oil and lavender over a core of warm cassis and redcurrant jelly, with a waft of dusty soil. The elegantly styled, medium to full-bodied palate is filled with perfumed red and black fruits, featuring soft tannins and a refreshing line, finishing long and layered. (LPB)  Review Date: 11/2021  Wine Advocate

 

2016 Fait-Main Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Price: $312.00                           Sale Price: $249.00                         Quantity in Stock: 3

(97 Points) Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras is redolent of black cherries, wild blueberries, plum preserves and cassis, plus suggestions of crushed rocks and black olives. Full-bodied, ripe and wonderfully expressive it the mouth, the generous black and blue fruits are well-supported by firm, ripe, fine-grained tannins, finishing with fantastic length and purity. (LPB)   Review Date: 11/2021  Wine Advocate

 

2015 Fait-Main Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Price: $313.00                           Sale Price: $249.00                         Quantity in Stock: 3

(97 Points) Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Las Piedras is scented of freshly crushed plums and blackberries with a loam, underbrush and crushed rock undercurrent, plus a waft of allspice. Full-bodied and tightly wound in the mouth, it has a rock-solid backbone of ripe, grainy tannins and great freshness, finishing long with serious mineral layers. (LPB)   Review Date: 10/2017  Wine Advocate

 

2015 Fait-Main Sleeping Lady Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa

Price: $199.00                           Your Price: $179.10                         Quantity in Stock: 1

(96 Points) The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Bettinelli Sleeping Lady Vineyard is more finesse driven and elegant, with a gorgeous sensuality in its weight and texture. Loaded with notions of red plums, cassis, incense, and dried flowers, this beauty is full-bodied, seamless and super elegant, with fine, fine tannin, and a great finish. It’s just another sensational wine from Benoit Touquette that’s more than worth your time and money. Bravo!  Jeb Dunnuck, Review Date: 12/2017

 

2014 Fait-Main Sleeping Lady Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa

Price: $199.00                           Your Price: $179.10                         Quantity in Stock: 3

(95 Points) Made from several Cabernet Sauvignon Clones, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Sleeping Lady Vineyard is a head turner that has incredible focus and precision, with an almost 2013-like style in its tannin and structure. Offering lots of black and blue fruits, spring flowers, graphite and wet rock aromas and flavors, this beauty is medium to full-bodied, concentrated and layered, with sweet tannin and an unctuous style. Given the prices of most Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons today, this is unquestionably a value. It will be even better with 2-3 years of bottle age and drink well for 15+.  Jeb Dunnuck, Review Date: 07/2017

 

2012 Fait-Main Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa

Price: $295.00                           Sale Price: $239.00                         Quantity in Stock: 2

(95 Points)  The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Las Piedras has turned out beautifully. Here, too, the wine is not particularly expressive of site, but there is less heaviness than in the 2013, and the ripeness is more measured relative to the wine's overall structure and weight. Silky tannins give the 2012 much of its succulence and near term appeal. Black cherry, mocha and sweet spices are pushed forward, but the Piedras is above all else a wine that captures the radiance and sexiness of the vintage. (AG)   Review Date: 10/2015  Vinous

 

 

2015 Fait-Main Toyon Vineyards Chardonnay Napa

Price: $115.00                           Your Price: $103.50                         Quantity in Stock: 16

(93 Points) "A fresh white with sliced apple and pineapple as well as pear and yogurt. Full body, round yet vivid and intense. Tight and classical in style." James Suckling. (3/2018).

 

 

2023 Teeter-Totter Cabernet Sauvignon California

Price: $30.00                             Your Price: $27.00

Aromas of red currants with terra-cotta, lead pencil and iron shavings. Violets. Medium body, medium round tannins and a savory finish. Hint of black pepper. Drink or hold.

 

2023 Teeter Totter Cabernet Sauvignon Napa

Price: $54.00                             Your Price: $48.60

 

2021 Teeter-Totter Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, USA

Price: $75.00                             Your Price: $67.50                           Quantity in Stock: 12

Winery Notes With every vintage, we aim for superior quality-price ratio, approachability, and irresistible charm. Powerful, well-balanced, and unapologetically juicy, you’re sure to enjoy a rich and full-bodied experience. Surrender to the savory black fruits, raspberry chocolate, espresso, and dash of spice – they will not steer you wrong! The perfect plus one for any occasion.

 

2023 Teeter-Totter Chardonnay Napa Valley

Price: $33.00               Your Price: $29.70

Napa Valley’s 2023 vintage was drop dead gorgeous – fresh, pure and totally irresistible. Our newest Chardonnay brings the juicy ripe fruit, expressive floral notes and full body you love, along with spectacular freshness and a stunning minerality that will leave you breathless. Lemon blossom, tangerine, apricots… and a mouthwatering finish that never seems to end.

 

100% Sourced from Napa Valley

100% Malolactic Fermentation

1,350 Cases Produced

 

2022 Teeter-Totter Chardonnay, Napa Valley, USA

Price: $39.00                             Your Price: $35.10                           Quantity in Stock: 12

Winemaker Notes: The 2022 vintage will be remembered as a beautiful growing season with intensely flavored fruit, as we picked before the severe September heat spell. Sourced from a single vineyard site, this vintage is our ninth Chardonnay release,” explains Benoit Touquette. The 2022 Teeter-Totter Chardonnay delivers on the characteristics this wine is known for – pure, bright, and powerful fruit, paired with toast, honey and brioche – and adds new layers of lemon, apricot, white peach and stunning minerality. The full-bodied palate rolls into a smooth, lingering finish that keeps you coming back for more. It comes from Napa Valley and was aged in 50% new French oak and 50% stainless steel to bring refreshing acidity to the glass.

 

 

2022 Teeter Totter A Stop Along the Way Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Napa

Price: $131.25                           Your Price: $118.13

The 2022 vintage was classic Napa. Early growth and ripening, driven by ample winter rain and a mild spring, led to an early harvest. Fortunately, our early-ripening sites allowed us to pick just before a heat wave, preserving freshness and finesse.

 

Lush, lively, and unapologetically bold, this 2022 is a showstopper from the first sip. Bursting with cassis, juicy red and black berries, dark chocolate, and a hint of espresso, it dances between richness and elegance. Silky tannins and vibrant concentration deliver freshness, complexity, and a finish that just won’t quit.

 

COMPOSITION

100% Cabernet Sauvignon – Oakville

Aged in 85% new French Oak

225 Cases Produced