Robert Craig wine

An Affinity

50 years ago, on June 15th, 1963 a young couple with an Affinity for each other were married in Sierra Madre, California.

“Just Married” June 15th, 1963

They had met by chance in the spring of 1960 while riding their bikes on a street in Woodside, near Palo Alto, California. He noticed her minding her own business, riding her bike, and at the next stop light he rode up next to her and said hi. She said hi back. They chatted for a moment and then the light changed and they continued on. To the next red light, where they talked a bit more. After a few more intersections he finally got the nerve to ask her to go for a coffee. There’s nothing like a refreshing cup of coffee after a bike ride! She agreed and that is how an Affinity, a deep affinity which has spanned 53 years, began.

She was attending Stanford studying communications and journalism. He was fresh out of a 4 year tour with the Coast Guard. His last year was spent on Annette island near Ketchikan, Alaska. After they married, they first moved to San Francisco where he began studying economics at San Francisco State University. By this time she had graduated from Stanford and was working for an advertising agency.

Graduating from the University of Chicago, 1966

After he earned his BA in economics, they decided to move to Chicago so he could obtain his Masters at the University of Chicago Business School. He attended school all year round to avoid having to spend any more winters in Chicago, and by 1966 he had his MBA and they moved back to the San Francisco area once again.

In San Fransisco, she worked in public relations and eventually started her own PR firm in 1972. During this time he worked in marketing, real estate and asset management. One of the things they had enjoyed since before they were first married was visiting Napa Valley. They shared an Affinity for exploring the wine world and joined the San Francisco Vintner’s club. This is where they learned about fine wines and were exposed to Napa Valley “mountain wines” for the first time. They became intrigued with making mountain Cabernet Sauvignons.

Exploring Napa Valley on summer break from college in the early 1960’s

Trying to find a way to become involved in Napa Valley, he began putting together investment groups to purchase vineyards in the 1970’s. At the time there were only about 7 or 8 wineries in the valley, quite different from the Napa Valley of today. Eventually a prime vineyard site became available on Mount Veeder. The land turned out to have a wine history dating back to 1874. He and a colleague organized an investment group to buy the site, with the vision of reviving it. In 1978 he successfully sold the property to Donald Hess of Switzerland and stayed on to help develop and manage the project. Eventually they renovated the old Christian Brothers Mont La Salle winery to process the fruit from the vineyard and start The Hess Collection winery. He then became general manager of the Hess Collection Winery.

Moving to Napa, 1980

During the early years on Mount Veeder, he would commute from San Francisco, but in 1980, their dream of of living in Napa Valley was finally realized when they moved into the then-quiet, small town of Napa with their six year old son, Bryan. During this time she continued to work as a PR consultant

In 1990, thanks to his efforts, the Mount Veeder Appellation received its own A.V.A. status and he went on to consult on Spring Mountain’s A.V.A. application. By 1990 the opportunity to start his own winery with friends from his Chicago MBA class presented itself and he left The Hess Collection. He aquired mountain vineyard sources and began making high-elevation Cabernet Sauvignons in 1992. 10 years later, in 2002, they built a state of the art winery and vineyard at the summit of Howell Mountain.

Making mountain Cabernet in the early 1990’s

Who am I talking about? Robert “Bob” & Lynn Craig! I first met Bob at a wine event in Phoenix a few years ago, and then I met both of them in Napa in 2011. On June 14th, 2013 I was in Napa and visited them at their busy tasting room. While tasting some of the new releases I asked them many questions about the past. Robert Craig’s flagship Cabernet Sauvignon is named “Affinity” in case you didn’t know. This wine is one of the most affordable highly rated Cabernets that Napa Valley has to offer.

Breaking ground on Howell mountain in 2000

In our conversation I learned that they were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary the next day, and while tasting “Affinity” and talking with them I realized their amazing affinity for each other.

Bob and Lynn celebrating their 50th anniversary at the opera in Vienna

Special thanks to Lynn Craig for providing all the photos and for proof reading!

Links:

Robert Craig Wine Website

Previous Weekly Wine Journal Articles on Robert Craig:

Affordable California Cult Wines – Part 5 – Robert Craig

How one Napa Valley producer has found success by focusing on Quality…

Dinner with the Craigs!

A video of me driving on Howell Mountain with the Craigs

See more photos on the Weekly Wine Journal’s Facebook Page

Wine Review | Robert Craig 2009 Affinity, Napa Valley

I’ve had the ’09 vintage of Robert Craig’s “Affinity” before, but it recently caught my attention at my local Costco -priced at under $40! I couldn’t pass it up.

I have an Affinity for this wine!

The blend on the 2009 Affinity is 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot, 2 % Malbec and 1% Cabernet Franc.

Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator had estimated the wines maturity to occur between 2012-2013 and 2017-2023. While there is quite a bit of difference on the back end of that estimate, they are very close on the start. As I write this post it is about halfway through 2013 and this wine is definitely coming into its own right now.

The nose is quintessential Napa. espresso, cocoa, with floral hints from the Cabernet Franc . The palate is rich, dark and robust. Plum and cherry with a solid backbone of tannins provided by the Petit Verdot.

I sampled this over a 24 hour period. Enjoying the first half of the bottle with grilled Filet Mignon and baked potato with all the fixings. On the second night I had it just by itself, before dinner. The wine definitely opened up by the second night, which is not to say it wasn’t ready to drink on the first night. On the first night I decanted for 15 minutes only.

Retail price on this wine is about $55. You can expect to pay $80-$120 at a restaurant.

Weekly Wine Journal rating: 96 points

Robert Craig video interview | part one

Earlier this year I was fortunate to get some one on one interview time with Napa Valley wine producer Robert Craig. He was in Phoenix for the official release of the new 2010 “Affinity” his flagship wine. Those of you who have been following this blog are well aware of my affinity for Robert Craig Wines and Bob and his wife, Lynn. If not, do yourself a favor and read up on why I consider Robert Craig Wines to be “Affordable California Cult” wines.

Video interview, part one

Robert Craig Winery | Phoenix tasting

This past January I attended a Robert Craig Winery wine tasting held at Garage Wine & Tap in Phoenix, Arizona. Mr Robert (Bob) Craig was on hand to talk with guests and answer their questions and show case the brand new release of his flagship wine the 2010 Affinity.

a picture of robert craig and weekly wine journal writer Tim Hilcove

Robert Craig & me

If you don’t know Robert Craig, then lets start with a little background:

Robert Craig is responsible for the Mount Veeder and Spring Mountain American Viticultural Areas (A.V.A’s) He is a Napa pioneer, and started out putting together real estate deals in Napa in the late 1960’s early 70’s. During this time he came across an offer he couldn’t refuse for some potential vineyard land which he later sold to Donald Hess and then stayed on as vineyard manager during the 1980’s. In 1992 Robert Craig started his own winery and in 2002 he built a state of the art winery and started a small vineyard on some prime land on the top of Howell Mountain situated right between Black Sears Vineyard and Outpost. An interesting factoid about Bob is that he was in the Coast Guard in the 1950’s and was stationed off the very southern panhandle of Alaska just a few hours from where I grew up as a kid. A while back I wrote a 5 part series on Affordable California Cult Wines, Robert Craig was one of them. Check out that post HERE.

2009 Affinity

SO! How was the wine you are probably asking. Very, very good. I started out with the only white wine made by Robert Craig, the 2010 Durel vineyard Chardonnay. This is a very nicely balanced Chardonnay, not too much oak, in-fact very little, and not overly buttery. This is a much more Euro style Chard than a California butter and oak pile-driver. I mingled with the guests and tried to gauge their “affinity” for the chard and even though most people were there for the reds, they actually were pleasantly surprised by this wine. I’ve had it before and new to expect good things, and I wasn’t disappointed. Next up was the ’09 Affinity followed by the brand new 2010 Affinity.

2009 Zinfandel

Both are stellar, and very approachable right now. Only minimal decanting might be required and certainly no extra again, although like most fine wines these will improve with age. I was eager to get into the mountain fruit and so I moved over to an additional tasting station near the back of the restaurant that was serving Robert Craig’s 2009 Black Sears Vineyard Howell mountain Zinfandel, and the ’08 and ’09 Howell Mountain Cabernets. Robert Parker gave the ’09 Howell mountain cab 96 points. Most Napa Valley Cabernets scoring 96+ points are in the $300 range. Compare that to Robert Craig’s price tag of $80 and you can easily see why I put him in the Affordable California Cult Wines series.

Inside the Garage

Near the end of the evening I sat on a bar stool next to Bob and a gentleman approached him and asked a very good question: “How do you make these wines so approachable at such a young age, especially the mountain fruit?”

Bob answered, it’s all about vineyard management. Picking the fruit at the right time and to a large extent only picking the fruit. Picking by hand, meticulously sorting out stems and substandard fruit, and also harvesting at the right time.

Currently the 2009 Affinity is at select Costco’s or you can order it online at RobertCraigWine.com

Visit Garage Wine & Tap, it’s a nice venue for tasting wine and its built inside of an old garage in central Phoenix

Three 95 point Napa Cabernets under $100

Although I am likely to be castigated by fellow wine bloggers for this, I thought I would go ahead and do it anyway! 95 point Napa Valley Cabernets for under $100. On first glance there is just so much wrong with that sentence.

It was hoped by many that 2012 would be the year consumers would learn to think for themselves and stop buying wine based on points. So being a bit of a contrarian I just couldn’t help myself.

I thought it might be fun for wealthy wine nerds to have a wine party (and invite me). Everyone would need to bring a bottle of wine. A wine rated 95 points or higher, and priced at under $100.

SO…without any flavor profiles or any context what so ever, here are 3 wines that would suffice:

2007 Clark-Caludon Estate Cabernet:

Rating: 95 points Robert Parker

Price: $78

2008 Hall Napa Valley Cabernet

rating: 95 points, Robert Parker

Price: $48

2007 Robert Craig Howell Mountain Cabernet

Rating: 96 Points, Robert Parker

Price: $80

Did I miss any? What wines would you put on the list?

Dinner with the Craigs

As wine consumers we are accustomed to perusing wine reviews, sometimes as we are shopping for wines. We are used to reading the flavor profiles and scanning for points. We do this quickly and efficiently, searching for gems, or just for something decent to pair with tonight’s dinner. But if we dig a little deeper there are the stories of the vineyards, the wine makers and the terroir.

Robert and Lynn Craig

On my recent trip to Napa Valley I was treated to an amazing dinner as the guest of Robert and Lynn Craig. I first met the legendary Napa Valley Wine producer in Scottsdale, Arizona in September of 2010 at a wine maker dinner. After that event, Robert and his wife Lynn invited me to visit them in Napa the following summer (2011) and to attend The Taste of Howell Mountain.

Well when the time finally came, I couldn’t have been more excited, and was happily surprised that they still knew who I was! I guess not everyone has a sub par memory like me!

Zuzu Tapas and Paella

We met at ZuZu tapas in downtown Napa, overlooking the banks of the Napa river. We enjoyed a multitude of various tapas, including sautéed jumbo shrimp, and flat-iron steak. The wine? A bottle of the 2008 Robert Craig Affinity!

But the wine was just a back drop to the conversation. Over our 2 hour dinner we talked about almost everything and anything that came to mind. From my recent affliction to gluten and lactose, to their adventures in the Okavango Delta in Botswana and Alaska/Denali.

In a previous life, Robert Craig was in the Coast Guard and was stationed in the Alaskan panhandle for a while, and he said very little had changed in the nearly 50 years since he had been there. It was while he was stationed in San Fransisco that he met his future wife, Lynn. In the late 1960’s San Fransisco was the epicenter of the counter culture movement. During this time the Craig’s would venture north into the relatively undiscovered Napa Valley. Robert was involved in real estate and eventually he came across a deal he couldn’t let go and he put together an investment group to acquire vineyard land on Mt. Veeder. Robert Craig was instrumental in Mt Veeder becoming an official AVA. The investment group sold the land to Donald Hess and Robert stayed on as General manager of the Hess Collection. In 1992 Robert Craig started his own winery, sourcing grapes from a friends Howell Mountain vineyard and making wine at various facilities. In 1998 he acquired some prime vineyard land on a steep slope right near the peak of Howell Mountain, over looking Napa Valley to the west and Pope Valley to the east. He planted right away and in 2002 the Robert Craig Winery in its current form was born, sourcing grapes from his own land, and making wine in his own premises.

As we were discussing the serious matters of mountain fruit versus valley floor fruit and Lynn was explaining how she edits the website information, I noticed Robert sniffing the cork of the bottle of Spanish Albarino he had ordered. The cork was plastic. Out of the corner of his eye he glanced at Lynn, who sensed he was looking at her. She looked at him for a second and then smiled
“Bob, stop that!” she laughed
He chuckled and his eyes twinkled.
His endearing sense of humor, often under the radar, understated and Lynn’s appreciation of that humor are some of the things that has kept them happily married after all these years!

Well the food plates kept coming and the Craig’s kept telling me to “eat, eat!” This was a familiar feeling, as my own grandparents had often said the same thing, they used to tell me I ate like a bird..peck peck. The evening finally drew to a close, and we made plans to meet the following morning at the Culinary Institute of America in St Helena where I would join the Craig’s in their vehicle for a ride up Howell Mountain and a private tour of their vineyard!

Affordable California Cult Wines | Robert Craig

96 points, Robert Parker

The 5th and final (for now) installment of my Affordable Cult California Wines series brings us to the Howell Mountain District of Napa. At $50 and up per bottle, this wine is by far the most expensive of series and a lot of people would consider it to be profoundly unaffordable. However, if you put the price in the context of its appellation, total production, and ratings, it is one of the best values coming out of California.

Let’s start with a quick look at the Howell Mountain A.V.A. It is home to well known brands like Cakebread, Duckhorn, and Robert Foley. Robert Foley produces a Howell Mountain Cabernet (available only through lottery) and a Claret. The 2001 Robert Foley Claret received 99 points from Robert Parker and the 2007 vintage received 98 points. Unfortunately, these wines only start at $110 a bottle, giving them “Cult” status, but not “affordable cult” status. There is however another Robert in the Howell Mountain district whose wines are more affordable and equally legendary.

Before we get to him, let’s take a closer look at the area. Howell Mountain became an A.V.A back in 1983, making it the first sub appellation of Napa. The history of vines on Howell Mountain date back to the 1880’s. Howell Mountain is located in the northeast corner of Napa in the Vaca mountains with the elevation of its vineyards ranging between 1,400 and 2,200 feet above sea level. The elevation means that the vines are located above the fog line, allowing ample access to sunlight, as well as cooler days and warmer nights. There are two types of soil in the Howell Mountain A.V.A: volcanic ash, also known as “Tuff’ and a dry red clay, both of which are not nutrient rich. As if that is not enough, the terrain is rocky and porous. This environment places stress on its vines, which fits right in with the “High Risk, High Reward” philosophy of viticulture. Stressing the vines produces smaller harvests and smaller berries, but the fruit that is produced is considered superior, more concentrated, intense and complex.

Which other Robert am I talking about? Robert Craig. The Robert Craig Winery is located in the very north end of the Howell Mountain District. Robert Craig has been making wine for the better part of 30 years. Craig was actually in real estate-asset managment in the ’70’s and in 1978 he formed a group and purchased a 300 acre vineyard on Mt. Veeder. Three years later they sold the vineyard to Donald Hess. Hess asked Craig to stay on and he became the general manager of the brand new, well-known Hess Collection Winery. In 1991 Craig also established the Pym Rae Vineyard, and in 1992, with the help of friends, he finally established his very own vineyard.

Robert Craig Winery has recently been receiving rave reviews. In 2006, Wine Spectator ranked Robert Craig one of the top 50 Napa producers based on the last 15 years of ratings. Speaking of ratings, how about the ratings from Robert Parker on the 2007 vintage? Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon: 93 points. Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon: 94 points. Affinity: 96 points. Finally, Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon: 96 points! The ‘07 Howell Mountain Cabernet is not yet available on the website, so instead, why not try the ‘06 vintage while you wait?

The blend is 84% Cabernet, 12% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. The wine saw 20 months in French oak, 75% new. The alcohol comes in at 14.8% and production was a minute 1,240 cases.

Robert Craig and I

If the $70 price tag is too rich for your blood, you could pick up a bottle of the 2007 Affinity for only $48! The Affinity should be much more widely available, with a more accessible but still small 5,700 cases produced.

Want to read about my prior four Affordable Cult California Wines? They can be found below. Let me know if you have had the chance to taste any of these, and if you’d agree with me. Also, do you have any wines that you consider to be “Affordable California Cult” wines? I’d love to know about ‘em!

Robert Young Reserve Chardonnay

Venge Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

Schulz Cellars Mt. Veeder Zinfandel

von Strasser Diamond Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon

An Evening with Robert Craig, part 2

This is part 2, to first read part 1 click here
After the initial interview Mr Craig went back to his hotel room to get ready for

The Champagne reception area

the dinner. During this time I was introduced to Trudy Thomas, director of beverage for the Camelback Inn. Trudy introduced me to the other guests and we chatted and mingled while sipping champagne in the reception area before being seated in the private dining area. Trudy gave me a quick tour inside the wine cellar. While not large in terms of quantity, this cellar is impressive for its big Napa and Bordeaux representation. There is at least $100,000 worth of wine in a long narrow walk in cellar that resembles a library in a mahogany hallway. Trudy is one of those people is truly passionate about what she does. What she does is manage all the beverages for the resort, and among other things she helps create the winemaker dinner experience. She has a perfect job, but it’s definitely not just luck. Trudy has 18 years in the wine business and is the only person to have taken both Society of Wine Educators CSW and CWE exams on the same day and passed. I met the man who administered the test and he said that Trudy actually knows even more about spirits! She is meticulous with the details of every aspect of each wine maker dinner. She can spot a spot on a glass a mile away. In fact while we were talking she casually turned a glass upside down and set it back on the dinner table, it was my glass, I wondered what she was doing and seamlessly from out of nowhere a waiter silently appeared and replaced the glass with another. Trudy said that these dinners are not about making money for the resort, in fact at $85 a plate it barely covers the costs.

BLT at the Camelback Inn wants to be known for being the valley’s go to place for fine dining, an experience without equal. The wine maker dinners are all about showcasing their talent, their creativity and their attention to detail.

At 6:30 all the guests were escorted into the

The private dining room

private dining area adjoining the wine cellar. Awaiting us, were glasses of Robert Craig’s only white wine. The 2008 Robert Craig “Durell Vineyard” Chardonnay from Sonoma Valley. We took our seats and awaited for Mr Craig’s arrival. He arrived to warm applause and he humbly smiled and lowered his head and sort of shuffled over to his seat. He spoke for a few minutes before sitting down. He spoke a little bit of his history, the history of the vineyards and his wine making philosophy, which is once you reach a certain point it’s not about making more wine it’s about making better wine.

The first course arrived and the guests began enjoying the Chardonnay. The first course consisted of Country Style Duck Pate, brandied Cherries, a little bit of pistachio and some spicy rocket, also known as arugula. I found the Chardonnay to be a good representation of the terroir of Sonoma in terms of Chardonnay. Not oaky, not buttery, just well-balanced almost understated.

As guests were finishing up, the waiters and waitresses began bringing in glasses of red wine for everyone.

Pre pouring the wine saves time

One of the details that Trudy employs to help keep the evening moving forward is to have the wines poured outside of the room and brought in. It is much quicker than moving about the room pouring the wines while the guests wait. The second course was roasted pork belly with Ricotta Gnudi, root vegetable fricassee, and crispy pork skins. This was paired with Robert Craig’s 2007 “Affinity”. Affinity is Robert Craig Winery’s flagship wine. each year about 5,000 to 6,000 cases of this Bordeaux blend are made. This wine is made with the restaurant setting in mind. Which means it is to be consumed sooner rather than later, and without the need of too much decanting. Mr Craig said that he wanted to make a wine that restaurants didn’t have to hold on to for 10 or 20 years before they are ready to drink. And just in case you think drink now means lesser quality, the 2007 Affinity received 96 points from Robert Parker.

Robert Craig Winery 2007 Affinity

I found this wine to be incredibly smooth and supple. Perfectly balanced. One thing that really stands out is the beautiful aromatics. The wine is a blend of 79% Cabernet, 10% Petit Verdot, 8% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec. 5,700 cases of the wine were but I was informed by wine broker Mattias Stolpe that this wine was virtually already sold out. It retails for only about $50 so you can see why it’s almost gone.

The third course consisted of hunter style Grouper stew, Lobster mushrooms, Chorizo and Northern beans. This was paired with the 2006 Mount Veeder Cabernet. It’s not common to pair fish with red wines, let alone a massively powerful mountain wine like this. But it worked, fantastically, amazingly.

2006 Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon

The Mt. Veeder Cabernet is actually 81% Cab and 19% Merlot and alcohol clocks in at 14.9% which is amazing to me because the was absolutely no heat present. This wine is still young, still just a baby. It has big bold chewy velvety tannins, it makes your mouth pucker up at this point but has a long, long finish. One of the things that Mr Craig told me about is that he feels that enjoying wine is not so much about enjoying wine at its prime as it is about enjoying wine throughout its life cycle. Enjoying and experiencing it young and enjoying it right on through to its prime and even past.

Next up was the highlight of the night. Course number four was a thick, pepper crusted New York Strip, hidden under the steak were huckleberry Braised beef cheeks. I never would have thought to buy beef cheeks at the grocery store and wouldn’t have known how to prepare them, until now. I asked the chef how they made them and he said they boiled them and then seared and marinated them in wine and huckleberry. The result was stunning, delicious. The two styles of beef were paired with the 2006 Howell Mountain Cabernet.

2006 Howell Mountain Cabernet

This wine was quite different from the Mt Veeder. It is much Riper and the tannins are more in check but with a seemingly never-ending finish. This wine is a blend of 84% Cabernet, 12% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. Only 1,240 cases were produced. The wine saw 20 months in French oak, 75% new and 25% 2nd year.

In between wines and courses Mr Craig would visit the guests at their tables, and while sitting at the table he would ask questions of me, as I was trying to ask questions of him! In his very quiet and humble way he shows an interest in people equal to the interest people have in him. We talked about his safari to Africa which is a topic close to me, as I was born in Africa and lived there until I was almost 9. I also asked him about what sorts of things, besides wine, is he interested in and he said Native American heritage and culture. In particular preserving the languages. He also enjoys sailing and given his Coast Guard background I can see why.

Trudy Thomas and Robert Craig

The fifth and final course consisted of Caramelized French butter pears with Cambozola ice cream inside of a walnut crisp pastry. This was paired with the 2007 Howell Mountain Zinfandel. This pairing really pushed the envelope. The pears were delicious. The Cambozola ice cream was like ice cream made from Brie and Blue cheese. Your mind is ready for some vanilla and suddenly you are struck by the aftertaste of blue cheese. The pears really are the sweet part of the desert, and are a perfect match with the ice cream. The Zinfandel was really amazing. If you like jammy zins this is not a wine for you. This is a seriously big peppery zin but with powerful mountain tannins and a good concentration of black raspberries. Only 800 cases were produced and it retails for about $50 a bottle.

While the final course was being served Chef Marc Hennessy came out and spoke briefly with the guests. He explained a little bit of the theory behind the pairings. He wanted this and the other wine maker dinners to really be a showcase for what can be done, not just for its own sake, but to make something that amazes people. He jokingly referenced the pastry chef’s insistence that the ice cream be made entirely of blue cheese by saying “There is no way there is going to be blue cheese ice cream” Instead he struck a compromise, and I would say luckily!

This night turned out to be one of the highlights of the year for me. It was great to meet one of the people who has been instrumental in getting Napa Valley on the map and especially Mt Veeder, Spring Mountain and Howell Mountain. I am looking forward to future vintages as the focus on producing higher and higher quality wine continues.

Trudy Thomas on Twitter @INNtoxic8ting

Robert Craig Winery Website

Camelback Inn Website

Bistro Laurent Trouondel (BLT) website

An Evening with Robert Craig. part 1

Robert Craig Winery is one of the producers I highlighted in a Corkd.com series titled “5 affordable California cult wines”.

Robert Craig Wines

In combing through the internet literature I put together in my mind an idea of the man Robert Craig and his wines. Shortly after the article posted Claudia Chittim, the Executive Director of the Howell Mountain Vintners and Growers association was able to introduce me through email to Robert and Lynn Craig. I noticed Mr. Craig was going to be in Phoenix in September and so we made plans to meet up.

What transpired far exceeded my expectations, not that my expectations were low but here’s what happened. Instead of doing just a quick flipcam video interview, I was invited as a guest of the Craig’s to attend the Winemaker dinner at BLT restaurant. BLT is located at the Camelback Inn which recently underwent a 50 million dollar renovation.

I met with Mr Craig before the reception and we sat on a couch near the bar. We chatted a while learning a little about each others backgrounds. I learned that Robert Craig was actually born in Bisbee, Arizona. He lightheartedly referred to his age and said that in fact he was born after Arizona received statehood. His family had been coal miners back east and decided to move to Bisbee to mine copper. But eventually moved to South Texas and became electricians. This led to Robert Craig becoming an electrical engineer, he joined the coast in the mid 1950’s and was transferred to the coast guard base at San Fransisco International Airport. San Fransisco was where he met Lynn, his wife, and where they both developed an affinity for wine. After he got out of the Coast Guard Mr Craig became involved in real estate. In the mid to late 1960’s when Haight Ashbury, Monterey Pops and the summer of Love were happening, the Craigs were heading up into the hills of Napa Valley. San Fransisco was the epicenter of a huge cultural shift towards the future and progressiveness. The Craigs ventured up into the hills and back into the Old World. It was around this time that Robert Mondavi started out as well. Mr Craig’s job involved assessing the value of land and real estate and by the mid 1970’s he had come across some interesting opportunities. However, the company he worked for didn’t seem to be too interested in Mr Craig’s ideas about vineyards on the tops of mountains at the north end of Napa Valley. One opportunity presented itself that Mr Craig couldn’t pass up, and he put together a few investors and together they bought some land atop Mt Veeder.

Fast forward 32 years. Robert Craig has been instrumental in getting Mt. Veeder and Spring Mountain A.V.A status. He sold the original vineyard to the Hess Collection and helped develop that brand before acquiring some land on Howell Mountain to start the Robert Craig Winery. These days the Winery produces about 10,000 cases of premium and super premium wines, almost exclusively mountain grown Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2006 Robert Craig was included in Wine Spectators Top 50 Napa Valley Cabernets ranking based on the past 15 years of ratings. So he’s obviously achieved virtually everything a struggling wine maker dreams of and I asked him “What’s next?”

“People always ask me what’s next, and I say, well I’m 72 so I don’t know. You know here in America the culture is that if you are not doing better and bigger and producing more than the year before and bigger than the year before then you’re not a success. In Europe they don’t tend to have that as much. ”

Mr Craig went on to say that 10,000 cases is the maximum that he will produce. 10,000 cases is still quite a lot of wine if you think about it, but with Robert Craig’s name he could easily sell double. But his focus is not about quantity, it is now singularly focused on quality. All he wants to do is make better and better wine each year, not more and more wine. I asked him about his prices. Why are they so low compared to other Napa wines, considering the reviews and demand.

“I come from humble beginnings and I just don’t feel that its right to charge too much”

We are very fortunate that Mr Craig feels that way because it allows many of us the opportunity to try a 96 point Bordeaux blend from one of the most famous A.V.A’s for about $45 retail.

Here a quick video of Robert Craig, I will post part 2- the part about the actual dinner soon, cheers! Read part 2 here

An Affinity

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Wine Review | Robert Craig 2009 Affinity, Napa Valley

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