82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc

Food pairings: Prime rib, steak with béarnaise sauce, grilled meats, lamb, game, rich stews and mature cheeses.

Winemaking: The 2021 was hand harvested from September 13 to 16 and aged 18 months in French oak, 70% new and 30% neutral, before bottling on July 15, 2023. 2021 was an ideal vintage: an early spring, a consistently mild-warm growing season, a light crop and small-berried clusters led to a reasonably early harvest, and pleasant harvest weather gave plenty of hang time and excellent concentration. The winery expects it to age gracefully for 15 to 25 years.

Vineyards and terroir: The wine is 100% estate grown in the Calistoga AVA, Napa Valley's northernmost appellation, on a contiguous ranch at the foot of the Palisades bookended by two canyons with alluvial fans. Calistoga's soils are almost entirely volcanic in origin, and the AVA has the greatest day-to-night temperature swing in Napa Valley, letting grapes ripen fully while keeping fresh acidity. Kenefick Ranch grapes have long been sought after by prestigious Napa Valley wineries.

Family and history: Kenefick Ranch was founded by Dr. Tom Kenefick, a San Francisco neurosurgeon who fell in love with Napa Valley and bought the Calistoga ranch, spending his weekends on the tractor and replanting it with Bordeaux and Rhône varieties. The family began bottling its own wines in 2002. Today his son Chris Kenefick, for whom this cuvée is named, leads the family-owned winery as second-generation proprietor.

In the pictures: An aerial view of Kenefick Ranch beneath the hills of Calistoga (courtesy of Kenefick Ranch); and the Kenefick Ranch vineyards on a misty morning in Calistoga (courtesy of Kenefick Ranch).