There may have been a few raindrops but they sure didn’t dampen the spirits of the folks attending our 2016 Trilogy Release Party on February 2nd!
Setting the upbeat tone were the ramp rippin’ skateboarders from OC Ramps, jumping, flipping and generally shredding to the crowd of pumped up onlookers. The lion dancers, decked out in rain-defying, bright yellow costumes, shimmied, shook and celebrated the Chinese New Year (and our new Year of the Pig Cabernet) with their traditional dance of good fortune.
Doing a little shimmying of his own was Nat Komes, Flora Springs’ third generation general manager, host extraordinaire, wearer of the Trilogy fez and mastermind behind the annual Trilogy Release Party. “One of the best parts of planning this party is deciding what special surprises we’ll offer our guests. It’s always about how can we make this event something people will remember forever…what will really set it apart?”
Nat and the extended Flora Springs family outdid themselves with stilt walkers, living statues, a cheese carver, a glass artist and a live performance by the up and coming rock and alt-country David Luning Band. The party was anchored by numerous wine stations pouring the new 2016 Trilogy and an amazing selection of Flora Springs wines – including library and current releases as well as our highly limited Flora’s Legacy Cabernet Sauvignon.
And as always, Flora Springs brought together top local restaurants to present delicious and inventive dishes, our way of sharing the celebration of our world class wine, Trilogy, with the community. We heard a lot of great comments from our guests throughout the party, but the one that’ll keep us motivated as we plan for next year’s release? “Best Trilogy Party Ever!”
See the OC Ramps team in action:
Save the date – February 1, 2020 – for the 2017 Trilogy Release Party. Learn more and mark your calendar!
Chinese New Year celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese calendar. The festival is usually referred to as the Spring Festival in mainland China, and is one of several Lunar New Years in Asia.
Chinese New Year officially begins on February 5, 2019, and ends on February 19. In the Chinese Zodiac 2019 is the Year of the Pig, an animal that to the Chinese symbolizes wealth as well as diligence, compassion and generosity.
The Spring Festival is a time of celebration – to welcome the new year with a smile and let fortune and happiness continue. At the same time, the Spring Festival involves somber ceremonies to wish for a good harvest.
Here at Flora Springs, we have chosen to celebrate the Year of the Pig with a playful, strikingly etched and hand painted magnum of our 2015 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Only 180 bottles were created, see this limited-edition wine.
Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is China’s most important traditional festival. Each Chinese zodiac year begins on Chinese New Year’s Day. The Chinese New Year can begin anytime between late January and mid-February. In 2019, Chinese New Year is Tuesday, February 5th.
In the Chinese Zodiac, 2019 is the Year of the Pig – an animal that to the Chinese symbolizes wealth as well as diligence, compassion and generosity. The pig is the twelfth and last of the Zodiac animals, with one ancient myth proclaiming that the animal is last because it was late to the party at which the order of animals was decided.
We have chosen to celebrate the Year of the Pig with this playful, strikingly etched and hand painted magnum of our 2015 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Twice the size of a standard wine bottle at 1.5 liters, magnums are ideal for entertaining, for extended aging – and also make stunning gifts. Only 180 bottles were produced, learn more about this very limited wine.
As we look towards the new year, we also take some time to look back on an amazing 2018 with our top nine Instagram posts.
Our love of Halloween shows, our plea for the #whitewineemoji still stands, gorgeous views inside and outside the winery delight – and, of course, we saved a skunk. Cheers to a great year!
Like Santa’s elves, our Flora Springs team works all year to craft amazing wines fit for your special celebrations.
We are honored to be part of your cellar and your holiday traditions. We are deeply thankful for your continued support, and look forward to seeing you soon in 2019!
Happy Holidays,
The Komes & Garvey Family
and The Flora Springs Team
Note: The article excerpted below was originally published in The Sacramento Bee and can be found here.
Dunne on Wine: A California wine for everyone on your gift list
For every grape variety it handles, from cabernet sauvignon through malbec, Flora Springs Winery is one of the more consistently reliable producers in Napa Valley. It just never disappoints, and each year at least one of its wines ends up on my list of favorites. This year it is the Flora Springs Winery 2015 Napa Valley Merlot ($30), which all on its own could revive merlot as a staple of the American table for its vivacious fruit, startling complexity and refreshing buoyancy. There are suggestions of plums, cherries and raspberries in aroma and flavor, to be sure, but more intriguing is its thread of green olives.
Note: The following article was originally and published in The Mercury News and can be found here.
4 spectacular Sonoma and Napa wineries dress up for the holidays
Countless wineries offer suggestions and specials on their wares to make the yuletide merry, but there are some that go way beyond the bottle to make spirits bright. These Sonoma and Napa estates and tasting rooms take bedecking and bedazzling to the next level as proof that it’s not just harvest that’s the most wonderful time of the year. Here are are four special spots to explore….
Winery namesake Flora Komes loves the holidays and each year, her grandkids and winery employees go up to her attic for decorations and inspiration. The main estate on Zinfandel Lane is always decorated, but it’s the main tasting room on Highway 29 that gets the full tree and tinsel treatment. A giant wreath and ornaments outside make the already eye-catching modern building even more noticeable. Inside, it’s wall-to-wall trees, wreaths and garlands.
They even bottle up their contagious Christmas cheer in special seasonal releases, including a cabernet called Holiday Helper, and a holiday red blend in a trio of etched bottles with artwork inspired by Flora’s Christmas card collection, such as this year’s toy soldier and snow globe of the estate. For true cabernet connoisseurs, the Three Kings vertical includes the 2014-2016 vintages for a gift that’s fit for, well, a king.
The idea for Flora’s Legacy wines – a tribute to Flora Komes, the woman who inspired Flora Springs – came from third generation family member, Nat Komes, Flora’s beloved grandson.
With its etching of a crown, the bottle itself is a nod to this amazing woman, who was born in Hawaii and often told stories about being descended from Hawaiian royalty.
Every year, we involve the whole family in the creation of these wines, selecting the finest barrels in the cellar and gradually narrowing it down to a blend of the few barrels we like best.
Learn more about these small, sometimes single, barrel lots hand selected by our family members. We would be honored to be a part of your family holiday gathering.
Ruth Harper, the illustrator who designed our 2016 Holiday Helper Cabernet Sauvignon and our 2015 Dashaway Chardonnay and whose work has been featured in many New York Times #1 best-selling children’s picture books, received an early Christmas gift.
Read more about the making of the 2016 Holiday Helper Cabernet Sauvignon.
Our one-of-a-kind Holiday Wines are a year-round labor of love. Each year, the artwork changes and provides a unique, limited-edition Napa Valley wine to give or collect for yourself.
We’re excited to expand our annual tradition with a beautiful new holiday-themed release, our 2016 Holiday Helper Cabernet Sauvignon. The charming label artwork was created for us by self-taught artist and illustrator Ruth Harper—who is best known for her work in many New York Times #1 best-selling children’s picture books.
This is the second wine label Ruth has created for us, and her whimsical watercolor of those hard-working but ever-cheerful elves wrapping their holiday gifts is a reminder that even Santa needs a little help!
Ruth began work back in December of last year. “Now that the holiday rush is over (and what a LOVELY Christmas we had!), I’ve settled down to resume creating – all warm and cozy, with a shivery snow-covered landscape outside. You should see the gorgeous frosty designs on my windows. Dark chocolate syrup in my freshly-ground coffee and a sweet Aussie at my feet warm my fire as I work…”
We love the comforting setting Ruth describes, and we love the final illustration even more. Below you can see the progression and evolution of this year-long project.
