October 11, 2022
Sail away with John and Carrie Komes and cruise the Mediterranean from Venice to Monte Carlo aboard the Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ elegantly refreshed Seven Seas Voyager.
Together, we will explore incredible ports of call. Witness the Mediterranean’s magnificent sunsets from the pool deck or from the comfort of your suite’s private balcony. Enjoy spacious accommodations and common areas with exquisite design style and superb dining opportunities. Only 700 guests.
Carrie and John—Napa Valley’s legendary storyteller—will host intimate receptions and wine and food pairings featuring our limited-production artisanal Flora Springs and Jon Nathaniel wines. If you’ve been on a Komes-hosted cruise in the past, you know this is a not-to-be-missed experience of a lifetime. Every luxury is included, see more details. Please feel free to invite your friends and family.
Fresh from her complete and total refurbishment, the Seven Seas Voyager now boasts a refreshed elegant style in her restaurants and lounges, as well as luxurious new décor across her 350 suites. And with 447 international crew on board, personal service is exceedingly indulgent throughout. Among her four dining options that allow guests to savor meals whenever and with whomever, she features the modern French restaurant Chartreuse and the largest specialty restaurant at sea Compass Rose with its brand new menu.
All bookings must be made though Alamo World Travel. For more information and reservations, contact info@alamoworld.com or (800) 848-8747.
Limited Time Special Offer
Complimentary Two-Category Upgrade and 50% Reduced Deposit
Promotion is subject to availability, may not be combined with certain fares or other amenity offers, is capacity controlled and may be withdrawn at any time. Other restrictions apply. Please contact Alamo World Travel for more information.
April 15, 2022
Sail away with John and Carrie Komes and cruise the Mediterranean from Lisbon to Barcelona aboard the Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ elegantly refreshed Seven Seas Voyager.
Together, we will explore incredible ports of call. Witness the Mediterranean’s magnificent sunsets from the pool deck or from the comfort of your suite’s private balcony. Enjoy spacious accommodations and common areas with exquisite design style and superb dining opportunities. Only 700 guests.
Carrie and John—Napa Valley’s legendary storyteller—will host intimate receptions and wine and food pairings featuring our limited-production artisanal Flora Springs and Jon Nathaniel wines. If you’ve been on a Komes-hosted cruise in the past, you know this is a not-to-be-missed experience of a lifetime. Every luxury is included, see more details. Please feel free to invite your friends and family.
Fresh from her complete and total refurbishment, the Seven Seas Voyager now boasts a refreshed elegant style in her restaurants and lounges, as well as luxurious new décor across her 350 suites. And with 447 international crew on board, personal service is exceedingly indulgent throughout. Among her four dining options that allow guests to savor meals whenever and with whomever, she features the modern French restaurant Chartreuse and the largest specialty restaurant at sea Compass Rose with its brand new menu.
All bookings must be made though Alamo World Travel. For more information and reservations, contact info@alamoworld.com or (800) 848-8747.
Limited Time Special Offer
Complimentary Two-Category Upgrade and 50% Reduced Deposit
Promotion is subject to availability, may not be combined with certain fares or other amenity offers, is capacity controlled and may be withdrawn at any time. Other restrictions apply. Please contact Alamo World Travel for more information.
December 4, 2021
Join the 7th Annual Online Celebration of Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc is often considered a blending grape, but after farming a small block near John Komes’ home on the Rutherford side of the Komes Ranch for decades now, we know this grape can produce a luscious, smooth and rich wine that stands on its own.
For the past seven years, Nat Komes has delighted in creating a limited-edition, one-of-a-kind Halloween Wine, a Cabernet Franc named All Hallows’ Eve.
Cabernet Franc Day
How to participate:
- Join us online December 4. We’ll be talking about Cab Franc all day.
- Follow us on your favorite social site: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest.
- Enter to win: Tweet or Instagram with us on December 4th using hashtags #CabernetFrancDay or #CabFrancDay and @florasprings in your tweets/posts.
- We will pick one lucky Flora Springs fan to win a Flora Springs prize pack.*
Our Halloween wines from Napa Valley are some of Flora Springs’ most anticipated annual releases. Learn more about our Wine Clubs to ensure an allocation of these limited, popular seasonal releases.
*Must be 21+ to enter. Void where prohibited. Wine will not be included in prize pack. Chance of winning depends on number of entries.
November 7, 2021
Our Napa Valley Merlot is a perennial favorite at Flora Springs, an approachable wine with an easy-going texture that just hits all the pleasure buttons.
International Merlot Day
How to participate:
- Order Flora Springs Napa Valley Merlot.
- Join us online November 7. We’ll be talking about Merlot all day.
- Follow us on your favorite social site: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest.
- Enter to win: Tweet or Instagram with us on November 7 using hashtag #MerlotDay and tag us @florasprings in your tweets/posts.
- We will pick one lucky Flora Springs fan to win a Flora Springs prize pack.*
*Must be 21+ to enter. Void where prohibited. Wine will not be included in prize pack. Chance of winning depends on number of entries.
September 25, 2021
Note: The article excerpted below was originally published in the Napa Valley Register and can be found here.
“…Ten miles northwest is the also-eccentric tasting room for Flora Springs, which emulates the cave style of Jarvis with the asymmetry and playful nature of Quixote. Right alongside Highway 29 at the gateway to St. Helena, Flora Springs certainly grabs the attention of those driving by. A striped mound-shape, the tasting room differs significantly from the surrounding bistros and minimalist exteriors.
“We wanted the building to feel like the entrance to a wine cave built into a mountainside, so we used bent plywood to give the structure its curvature and painted the outside to represent the natural geologic striations of the earth,” said founder John Komes. “The name Flora Springs combines the name of Flora Komes, my mother and our matriarch, with the natural springs that run in the western hillsides, so we wanted to capture the natural energy of the springs as well.”
Komes has a background in construction, so he wasn’t too hung up with the building process and was sure to incorporate a laid-back meeting space outside on the backside of the facility.
“Beautiful wine caves have and always will be a draw for guests to the Napa Valley, so it’s nice to be able to offer a sense of that with our tasting room, but our outdoor patio and rooftop deck have a different sensibility,” said Komes….” Read more.
Napa Valley Wine Tasting in St. Helena
We invite you to our Napa Valley Tasting Room for wine tasting while enjoying views of flourishing vineyards and the western hillsides. Plan your Napa Valley getaway and experience the Flora Springs Tasting Room, named “Best Hidden Gem Winery” in Napa Valley Life Magazine annual 2020 Best of Napa Valley Readers Choice Awards.
September 2, 2021
Join the 12th Annual Global Celebration of Cabernet.
Cabernet Day is a global celebration of the Cabernet grape, intended to give Cabernet lovers around the world a fun opportunity to express their passion for the grape. Cabernet lovers come together in person and online to discover and share everything about Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet-based blends.
We are proud to say that after almost 40 years of winemaking and more than 30 years of crafting Trilogy – our flagship Cabernet-based red blend – Flora Springs is still breaking new ground. We credit the consistent organic and sustainable farming practices of our vineyard team as well as the focus and direction of our winemaking team.
How to participate:
- Order your favorite Flora Springs Cabernets.
- Join us online September 2. We’ll be talking about Cabernet all day.
- Follow us on your favorite social site: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest.
- Enter to win: Tweet or Instagram with us on September 3rd using hashtag #CabernetDay and @florasprings in your tweets/posts.
- We will pick one lucky Flora Springs fan to win a Flora Springs prize pack.*
*Must be 21+ to enter. Void where prohibited. Wine will not be included in prize pack. Chance of winning depends on number of entries.
August 28, 2021
National Red Wine Day is a celebration of the many varieties of red wines.
We are proud to say that after almost 40 years of winemaking, Flora Springs is still breaking new ground as one of the few Napa Valley wineries to produce a wide array of red wines, including several Cabernet Sauvignons, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Sangiovese, and our proprietary red blends Poggio Del Papa and flagship wine Trilogy.
National Red Wine Day
How to participate:
- Order your favorite Flora Springs red wines.
- Join us online August 28. We’ll be talking about red wine all day.
- Follow us on your favorite social site: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest.
- Enter to win: Tweet or Instagram with us on August 28th using hashtag #NationalRedWineDay and @florasprings in your tweets/posts.
- We will pick one lucky Flora Springs fan to win a Flora Springs prize pack.*
*Must be 21+ to enter. Void where prohibited. Wine will not be included in prize pack. Chance of winning depends on number of entries.
August 4, 2021
After thirty years of crafting world-renowned wines, the Flora Springs name has become synonymous with perfectly balanced Napa Valley white wines. The legacy began when our inaugural vintage in 1978, when our Napa Valley Chardonnay was awarded a gold medal at the Los Angeles County Fair. A few years later our status of gold was bronzed when James Laube selected Flora Springs as one of his “First Growth” producers of Chardonnay in his book California’s Great Chardonnays. We now proudly craft Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and our flagship white wine Soliloquy.
How to participate:
*Must be 21+ to enter. Void where prohibited. Wine will not be included in prize pack. Chance of winning depends on number of entries.
July 29, 2021
With harvest just around the corner we thought we’d take you through a pictorial of the 2021 growing season so far. Though we have yet to bring our grapes in, our weather has been lovely in Napa Valley and we’re looking forward to another outstanding vintage.
February:Vines are Dormant
These neatly pruned vines in John Komes’ vineyard were dormant back in February, patiently waiting to wake up for the 2021 growing season.
March: Budbreak
Budbreak, when buds swell and the vines put out their first leaves, occurred right on time, rippling through our vineyards in March.
May: Fruit Set
Just a few weeks later in May, flower clusters destined to become grapes began to appear, a growth stage known as fruit set. Photosynthesis and vine growth sped up dramatically.
Late May: Canopy Management
Within a couple of weeks, the vines had full canopies which we managed by hand throughout the season to ensure the grapes had just the right amount of dappled sunlight.
June: Berry Clusters
The first berries to form in June were green and hard to the touch. The clusters looked very healthy though, and we began to get a sense of how big the vineyard crop is going to be (hint: small).
July: Veraison
In late July the fruit started to go through veraison, the period when the grapes soften and develop color. Just a few weeks from now we’ll be in harvest, and at Flora Springs we can’t wait!
July 20, 2021
Now that you have acquired an older wine, often referred to as a library wine, you might be asking, “How do I open this without making a mess of the cork?”—or—“What’s the best way to serve this wine once opened?”
First, the basics—it’s natural that a cork will soften with age. It’s also natural that a wine may develop some sediment as it ages. Well fear not, with the proper tools and technique, you shouldn’t have too much difficulty.
Let’s go through the steps.
1) First, store your bottle in an upright position several days prior to opening, preferably in a cool location. Doing so will allow any suspended sediment to settle at the bottom of the bottle.
2) Next, choose the cork extractor you prefer—here are our recommendations:
- Best – The Durand is a two-pronged wine opener—also known as an “Ah-So”—but with a built-in corkscrew. This is not an inexpensive item, but if you open a lot of older wines it could be a nice addition to your cellar.
- Good – A standard two-pronged cork puller is also known as an “Ah-So.” Gently insert the longer tip between the glass and the cork, and gently rock back and forth until it is fully inserted in the bottle. Then slowly twist—while pulling up at same time.
- Good – A pressurized cork extractor (like Cork Pops) is a device comprised of a needle and a carbon dioxide cartridge. Center the needle in the cork and penetrate it all the way through, then press the cartridge until the cork extracts. Hint: It’s best to cover the neck of bottle with a napkin or paper towel, as sometimes a bit of wine and/or sediment can also be extracted when under pressure.
- OK – A corkscrew with a long, grooved shaft will make extracting an older, soft cork easier than using a shorter corkscrew without the grooving. Make sure it is centered directly in the cork, then twist it well into the cork. Be sure to pull up slowly.
- If none of these methods work for you, as a last, last resort, find a blunt instrument that is narrower that the cork. Put the bottle in a sink and then place a plastic bag (or something similar) over the bottle neck. Then slowly and carefully push the cork down until it is no longer blocking the neck of the bottle. Hint: You definitely want something covering the opening of the bottle—as the wine will have a tendency to push upwards and out as the cork is pushed down.
3) Now that you have the cork out, you are ready to serve your wine.
- Best – Carefully and slowly pour the wine into a decanter. Once you start to see sediment, stop pouring.
- OK – If you don’t have a decanter, line up your wine glasses on a counter. Take a glass in one hand, and carefully pour the wine with the other hand. Be sure to keep the neck of the bottle in the same position, and fill the next glass…and so on. Hint: You want to minimize turning the bottle upright as doing so will disturb the sediment that has settled into the bottom of the bottle.
4) Maybe you didn’t have time to let the bottle sit upright for a few days, or perhaps you see pieces of cork floating in the bottle. As a last, last resort, you can pour the wine through a fine screen or coffee filter to a decanter, or even a pitcher. If you don’t want to serve from that vessel, you can always rinse out the wine bottle well, and pour the now-filtered wine back into it.
5) Remember, most older wines only require decanting to ensure that the wine is clear—not to allow the wine to “open up” or “breathe.” Library wines do not need more oxygen at this point.
6) Also, we recommend you serve and drink the wine soon after opening. The older the bottle, the sooner you will want to drink it to retain as much fruit expression as possible.
Cheers!
