Araujo Estate Wines
| Araujo Estate Wines | |
|---|---|
| Location | Calistoga, California, USA |
| Appellation | Calistoga AVA |
| Founded | 1990 |
| First vintage | 1991 |
| Key people | Francois Pinault, Owner Frederic Engerer, President Artemis Domaines Antoine Donnedieu, General Manager Helene Mingot, Winemaker Bart and Daphne Araujo, Founders |
| Cases/yr | 4,000 |
| Known for | Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Varietals | Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon blanc, Syrah, Viognier |
| Website | http://www.araujoestate.com |
Araujo Estate Wines (renamed Eisele Vineyard Estate in 2016) is a California winegrowing estate founded by Bart and Daphne Araujo. Located in Calistoga, California within both the Calistoga and Napa Valley AVAs, the estate produces a small portfolio of limited-production wines from the organically and Biodynamically farmed Eisele Vineyard.
Araujo Estate Wines (Eisele Vineyard Estate) is widely considered to be one of California's "cult" wineries, and has been classified as a "five star" winery by the Wine Spectator writer James Laube and included in Robert M. Parker, Jr.'s The World's Greatest Wine Estates: A Modern Perspective. The Eisele Vineyard was called "the object of a cult like no other among California wine lovers" in The World's Greatest Wines by Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve, and the winery's flagship wine, the Araujo Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard, was listed as a "First Growth" in Fine Magazine's "Napa Valley Classification."
In 1990, Bart and Daphne Araujo bought the 162-acre property in Calistoga that included the 35-acre Eisele Vineyard. The vineyard had originally been planted in the 1880s to Zinfandel and Riesling; it was first planted to Cabernet Sauvignon in 1964. Bart, who had come from a career in home building and mortgage banking, and Daphne, who had a background in landscape architecture, had been interested in acquiring an historical vineyard property. When they purchased the Eisele Vineyard from Milt and Barbara Eisele, they decided to build a winery on the property. Daphne stated "Our intent was to have a vineyard. But before we even closed escrow, Bart realized that it was important to also make the wine, to control the whole process from beginning to end." Shortly after purchasing the property, the Araujos built a barn-like winery out of redwood and dug caves into a hillside of the property.
Araujo produced its first vintage of Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon in 1991. Since its founding, the winery has worked with some of the best-known winemakers in the industry, including Tony Soter, Mia Klein, Françoise Peschon and consultant Michel Rolland. Its Eisele Vineyard Cabernet has earned consistent acclaim in the Wine Spectator and from Wine Advocate's Robert Parker.
...
Wikipedia