Note: The article excerpted below was originally published in Napa Valley Life Magazine and can be found here.
“Each year, Napa Valley Life pauses to recognize and celebrate the area’s bounties by asking our readers to weigh in on their favorite places to eat, drink, shop, and play, and we have the privilege to present them in our annual Best of Napa Valley-Readers Choice Awards. Well, folks, the results are in! After calculating thousands of votes and write-in entries, we are pleased to share and congratulate this year’s winners in each polling category.
We hope you enjoy reading the results and take the time to congratulate the ones you know and make a point to discover the ones you don’t.”
Flora Springs Named “Best Hidden Gem Winery” in Napa Valley Life Magazine’s 2022 Best of Napa Valley Awards Readers Choice
“Founded in 1978 by John and Julie Komes and named after their free-spirited mother, Flora, Flora Springs history dates back to the late 1800s when grapes were first planted on the estate. Lauded as one of Napa Valley’s local hidden gems, the St. Helena winery and tasting room offer visitors a relaxing respite to learn some of Napa’s unique history and experience some of the region’s top-rated Cabernet, Chardonnay, single varietal, and Bordeaux blends, including their award-winning Trilogy.”
Visit Our Tasting Room in St. Helena
We welcome you to Napa Valley for wine tasting while enjoying views of flourishing vineyards and the western hillsides. Wine tastings are currently by reservation only. Space fills quickly, make your reservations today.
“…the quality of the fruit here is preposterous — it is so high, the Sauvignon Blanc is so decadent and lovely…it’s just captivating…this is Napa done right…”
Flora Springs Soliloquy is named for our proprietary Sauvignon Blanc clone, an outstanding and singular clone which is entirely unique to Flora Springs. Planted in our Crossroads Vineyard in the Oakville AVA, the clone was certified in the late 1980s by UC Davis as distinct from more common Sauvignon Blanc clones in Napa Valley. The clone nearly went extinct when our vines became diseased and had to be pulled. It took eight long years – three in a lab, two in a nursery and three in the ground – but our family was able to protect and preserve this precious clone. After that, General Manager Nat Komes took Soliloquy on as a personal project, conducting numerous blending trials over a three-year period to re-create the Soliloquy wine he and his family remember so fondly. Today, Soliloquy represents our quest to create the finest white wine we have ever made, a worthy companion to our proprietary red wine, Trilogy.
Our Sauvignon Blanc-based 2020 Soliloquy is a complex, multi-layered blend of white varietals offering evocative notes of pomelo, lime blossom, apple, hazelnut and stone fruit. Sauvignon Blanc anchors the wine with bold flavor, zesty acidity and serious weight, while the Chardonnay rounds out the blend with a creamy leesy quality. The Malvasia brings alluring citrus and floral notes. Soliloquy is an impressive, crowd pleasing wine, ideal for Saturday night dinner parties with friends. Learn more about this wine.
2020 Napa Valley Vintage
The 2020 Napa Valley growing season began with a warm, dry winter, with no appreciable rain until the end of March. A mild spring season gave the vines a healthy start, and summer brought very cool mornings and warm days. What looked like an ideal harvest turned into one of Napa Valley’s most challenging due to wildfires in the region. At Flora Springs, we were not able to harvest the majority of our red grapes, but we were able to safely harvest pristine, delicious grapes for our Soliloquy white wine in early September. As a family and team, we have pledged to over deliver on wine quality for more than forty years, even during challenging vintages. Our 2020 Soliloquy is a testament to this dedication.
While humans have been making wine for thousands of years, no one is certain who was the first to ferment grapes into the beverage we now call wine. Evidence of ancient wine production has been found in China, the Middle East, and Greece.
The process of making wine has changed very little in the thousands of years since its invention. Grapes are crushed, pressed, and fermented, and then sealed into barrels. The mixture is aged, and then bottled. Using these simple steps, an infinite variety of wines can be created, and different regions of the world are known for the distinctive vintages they produce.
2022 is the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese Zodiac, representing the third in line of the twelve Zodiac animals. As one might expect, people born in the Year of the Tiger are courageous, daring and ambitious. They are also generous and self-confident, committed to helping others with a distinct sense of justice. This etched and hand painted magnum depicts this brave and independent-minded creature in all her glory. Best to keep the Tiger on your side!
This dense and polished red blend from 2017 shows ripe blueberry, black currant and fresh plum flavors layered with appealing notes of toasty oak, espresso, cola and vanilla. This is a full-bodied, boldly-flavored wine, supremely well-balanced with lively acidity, a generous texture and sleek, silky tannins. Pull this out on February 1, when the Ox cedes to the Tiger. See the 2017 Year of the Tiger Cabernet Sauvignon Magnum.
The first new Single Vineyard Cabernet to be added to our portfolio in over two decades, the wine is from one of the highest elevation sites in the AVA, and as a beautifully expressive mountain Cabernet that needs time to mellow, it’s drinking beautifully right now.
Awarded 94 and 93 points respectively by respected wine critics James Suckling and Jeb Dunnuck, the 2017 Dust & Glory Cabernet Sauvignon is a rich, layered and saturated red with aromas and flavors of black currants, black raspberries, tobacco, cedarwood and chocolate. There’s a spiciness to the wine along with hints of violets and buttery toffee.
We encourage you to order a few bottles both to enjoy now and cellar, as this wine has the potential to age at least 15 years.
Wine Reviews
94 points, James Suckling “A rich, layered red with aromas and flavors of blackcurrants, spices, chocolate and salted toffee. Full-bodied, creamy and chewy. Delicious already, but this needs time to resolve the tannins. Well done for the vintage.”
93+ points, Jeb Dunnuck “The flagship release is the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Dust & Glory, which is all from Howell Mountain fruit. It reveals a saturated purple color to go with notes of blackcurrants, leafy herbs/tobacco, cedarwood, and violets. With medium to full body, a solid sense of freshness and purity, plenty of ripe mountain tannins, and a great finish, it’s going to come together with 4-5 years of bottle age and drink well over the following 10-15+.”
Hello Great Tastes and Preferred Palates Wine Club Members!
We know that when it comes to wine clubs, you have are a lot of choices—and we are honored that you have chosen to be part of our Wine Club. At Flora Springs, we are committed to providing our members with access to the finest wines in our portfolio, wines hand-selected by our family as those we’d most like to share. Many of these are club-only and limited production wines that simply cannot be found elsewhere. Access to these wines, along with our dedication to friendly, professional customer service and inspired, fun-filled events, make the Flora Springs difference.
We have a lot of exciting things planned for you in 2022. We are so happy you will be joining us for another great year!
Great Tastes
Shipment
Wine
Billing Date
January
2019 Sangiovese & 2019 Poggio Del Papa
1/3/2021
March
2020 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc & 2019 Trilogy
3/7/2021
May
2019 Petit Verdot & 2019 Napa Valley Merlot
5/2/2021
July
2021 Soliloquy & 2018 Three Keys Cabernet Sauvignon
7/5/2021
September
2020 Ghost Winery Malbec & 2020 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc
9/6/2021
November
2 Bottles 2018 Etched Holiday Cabernet Sauvignon
11/7/2021
Great Tastes Red Wines Only
Shipment
Wine
Billing Date
January
2019 Sangiovese & 2019 Poggio Del Papa
1/3/2021
March
2 Bottles of 2019 Trilogy
3/7/2021
May
2019 Petit Verdot & 2019 Napa Valley Merlot
5/2/2021
July
2 Bottles of 2018 Three Keys Cabernet Sauvignon
7/5/2021
September
2020 Ghost Winery Malbec & 2020 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc
9/6/2021
November
2 Bottles 2018 Etched Holiday Cabernet Sauvignon
11/7/2021
Great Tastes White Wines Only
Shipment
Wine
Billing Date
January
2 Bottles of 2019 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc
1/3/2021
March
2 Bottles of 2020 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc
3/7/2021
May
2 Bottles of 2021 Rosé
5/2/2021
July
2 Bottles of 2021 Soliloquy
7/5/2021
September
2020 Family Select Chardonnay & 2020 Flora’s Legacy Chardonnay
9/6/2021
November
2 Bottles of 2021 Flora Springs Lavender Hill Sparkling Wine
Throughout the year, but especially during the holidays, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made it possible for us to do what we love to do—sharing our wines with you.
It is in this spirit that we say thank you and send best wishes. We are deeply grateful for your loyal support of our small, family-owned winery.
May your holidays and New Year be filled with much peace, love, joy & cheer.
Happy Holidays,
The Komes & Garvey Family
and The Flora Springs Team
The label is a reproduction of a print titled “Flora Dispensing Her Favours on the Earth,” created by the artist Richard Cosway in 1807. Nat Komes came across the illustration in a book given to his grandmother, Flora Komes, many years ago. “I immediately looked up the origin of this image, which captures my grandmother’s spirit so completely,” says Nat. Moved by this timeless image and Flora’s oft heard saying, “Love the land and it will love you back,” Nat decided to use this illustration on the wine that celebrates his family’s 40 years of farming the land.
The “Flora Dispensing Her Favours on the Earth” Print Nat Found in His Grandmother Flora’s BookThe Original “Flora Dispensing Her Favours on the Earth” – Now in the Digital Collection of the New York Public Library
An excellent vintage in 2018 yielded a big, concentrated wine with forward flavors of black cherry, blueberry, and crème de cassis that coat the mouth in luscious blue/black fruit. Hints of coffee, dense dark chocolate and sandalwood emerge in this layered and complex Cabernet, and though muscular and powerful, the wine’s silky-smooth tannins keep it approachable even in its youth. Still, this wine will reward aging for the next 20 years and should be decanted if opened within the next five. This highly collectible wine is like no other, the last Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon to be sourced from Rennie Vineyard on our former St. Helena wine estate.
The 2018 Napa Valley Harvest
2018 brought a long, steady and near-ideal growing season to Napa Valley. Bud break began in late February/early March followed by an extended flowering period in May/June that yielded uniform grape clusters. The summer continued with typical warm temperatures but no significant heat spikes. Harvest was later than in recent years, accompanied by mild weather through September and October that allowed grapes to be picked at optimum ripeness and flavor. Napa winemakers agreed that 2018 was one of the least eventful and finest growing seasons they’d witnessed, yielding wines of intensity, concentration and balance.
