Vineyard House Napa Valley Wine Tasting With Special Guest Charlie Plummer

Thoughts on the matter: “I would like a wine. The purpose of the wine is to get me drunk. A bad wine will get me as drunk as a good wine. I would like the good wine. And since the result is the same no matter which wine I drink, I’d like to pay the bad wine price.”

Steve Martin

Comedian, writer, actor, banjo player

We don’t have any bad wines at Wine Watch and some of the really good wines are not that expensive but when you are in Napa Valley the really good wines seem to cost a lot.  Especially the small production wines that

The Vineyard House was originally Hiram Crabbs place in the late 19th century, it was sold to the Stelling family and then to Gil Nickel.  Gil left this house to his son Jeremy to ensure that he would always have a place in Napa Valley.  On the Vineyard House property there is a 2 acre vineyard which some of the fruit from this site now goes into the this exciting new wine and he has also purchased 35 acres right there on the valley floor located just 50 feet before you get to Harlan estate and Bond Wineries.  In the very near future this wine will be 100% estate bottled.  Bill Ballentine was the winemaker from the first vintage which was 2005. 

Today, Philippe Melka & Maayan Koschitzky are together making some of the best wines in Napa Valley.  Philippe brings over 30 years of winemaking experience from renowned Chateaux and Wineries mostly located in Bordeaux, France and Napa Valley, United States.  Maayan Koschitzky was born and raised in Israel and moved to Napa in 2011. He was named one of the “40 under 40” by Wine Enthusiast in 2019. In addition to making wine for some of the finest wineries in Israel, Maayan has an impressive list in Napa Valley, including Screaming Eagle and Dalla Valle.

I have loved every vintage of this wine and we had all of them at the last tasting we had with Jeremy where we put his neighbor Harlan Estate’s wine next to Vineyard House blind and our group of “Wine Drinking People” picked the Vineyard House Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 over Harlan Estate 2009!  These latest releases are a cut above the first wines, and we are just beginning to see the potential of this Vineyard House property. 

Join us as we experience the newest releases from our good friend Jeremy Nickel with his right-hand man Charlie Plummer.  The fee for this event which includes dinner is $275 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com

Vineyard House Wine Tasting

with Special Guest Charlie Plummer

Wednesday, March 11th

7:30 PM

2020 The Vineyard House Chardonnay

2017 The Vineyard House Chardonnay

2019 Vineyard House Cabernet Sauvignon HW Crabb's Hermosa Valley Napa

2014 Vineyard House Cabernet Sauvignon HW Crabb's Hermosa Valley Napa

2013 Vineyard House Cabernet Sauvignon HW Crabb's Hermosa Valley Napa

2012 Vineyard House Cabernet Sauvignon HW Crabb's Hermosa Valley Napa

2019 Vineyard House Cabernet Franc Block 5 - Crabb's Black Burgundy

2016 Vineyard House Cabernet Franc Block 5 - Crabb's Black Burgundy

Menu

Selection of Cheese and Charcuterie

Lobster Enchilada with Salsa Verde Sauce

Crispy Scallion Pancake stuffed with Duck Confit and Hoisin Glaze

Medium Rare Sliced NY with Chimichurri and Cabernet Natural Sauce Sweet Potato Puree

Bourbon Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream

The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $275 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.  Please let us know when you make your reservations if you have any dietary restrictions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.

A bit about The Vineyard House

The Vineyard House (TVH) is an exceptional and rare Cabernet Sauvignon created by proprietor Jeremy Nickel as a tribute to his late father Gil Nickel, founder of three of Napa’s most acclaimed wineries: Far Niente, Nickel & Nickel, and Dolce.  Like his father before him, Jeremy’s vision for TVH is to build a world-class estate winery around his one-of-a-kind property in Oakville, and to produce an extraordinary and inspirational Cabernet Sauvignon that is at once drinkable and collectible. To that end, TVH has received rave reviews and held its own twice in blind tastings against Napa’s most renowned cult wines.  TVH takes its name from a 19th century farmhouse surrounded by vineyards in a picturesque valley in Oakville, California.  Known  as The Vineyard House, the home was built in 1853 by William  Baldridge, one of Napa’s most prominent citizens. It was bestowed to  Jeremy by Gil when he passed away in 2003.

Jeremy is proud to continue the family tradition of great winemaking.  “Here’s to all we do that would make our fathers proud!

"My father taught me many life lessons, one of which was “never compromise on quality.” The Vineyard House Cabernet Sauvignon is a tribute to my father’s commitment to excellence, as well as his passion for fine Cabernet. An “Okie from Muskogee,” who established three of Napa Valley’s most iconic brands, Gil Nickel was not only my father, but my hero, whose lessons continue to inspire me every day. here’s to our fathers!"  Jeremy Nickel

The Vineyard House is a loving tribute to Jeremy’s late father, Gil Nickel, creator of three of Napa’s most iconic wineries. Gil was also a gifted nurseryman, champion vintage auto racer, avid motorcyclist and guided missile analyst. While his passions were many, his friends and longtime associates agree that Gil was driven more by his ideals, loyalties, friendships, and sense of humor, than his business interests. In the Fall of 2003, Gil passed away after a courageous battle against melanoma.

Born Harold Gilliland Nickel in 1939 in Muskogee, OK, Gil studied Physics and Math at Oklahoma State University and graduated in 1961. After college, he served with the Oklahoma Air National Guard and achieved a service ribbon for his tour of duty in Vietnam. At the conclusion of active duty, Gil relocated to Southern California, where he worked as a guided missile analyst at the United States Navy laboratory in Corona, CA.

Eventually, Gil returned home to Oklahoma to join his father, Harold, and older brother, John, in managing the family’s Greenleaf Nursery Company, which was founded by Harold Nickel in 1945 as a small retail operation. Together, the brothers grew the nursery from its small-company roots to the second largest, family-owned wholesale nursery in the United States, a position it continues to hold today.