100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Food pairings: Grilled ribeye or tomahawk steak, braised beef short ribs, roast leg of lamb, wild mushroom dishes and aged hard cheeses.

Scores:

• 96 points, Decanter (Jonathan Cristaldi)

Winemaking: The 2023 Igneous was aged 22 months in French oak, 70% new, highlighting the ripe, fruit-forward character of Calistoga-grown Cabernet. Venge's methods include hand picking, destemming over a Pellenc sorting system, gravity flow into concrete and open-top fermenters, native yeast primary and secondary fermentations with extended maceration, gentle racking and bottling unfiltered.

Vineyards and terroir: Born from fire and magmatic rock, Igneous pays homage to the volcanic nature of the Calistoga district at the foot of Mount Saint Helena, with its hot springs, mineral-rich soils and warm days and cool nights. In 2023 the fruit came from the Huett and Kenefick Ranch vineyards and from Bone Ash, the estate vineyard surrounding the Venge winery. Kenefick Ranch, among the oldest continuously farmed vineyards in the area, sits on an alluvial fan of volcanic ash, and the soils across the blend range from gravelly beds to benchland tufa and mountain volcanics.

Family and history: Owner and winemaker Kirk Venge grew up in Rutherford working in his family's vineyard and winery, graduated in viticulture and enology from UC Davis in 1998, and in 1999 took over winemaking at Venge Vineyards from his father, the noted Napa winemaker Nils Venge. In 2008 he purchased the Venge Vineyards brand and, with his mother Candy, ten acres of vineyard on the eastern bench of Calistoga, where he built his winery and made his first harvest in 2010. The vineyards are farmed organically and regeneratively, without herbicides or pesticides.

In the pictures: Owner and winemaker Kirk Venge blending in the cellar; and Venge barrels in the winery (photos courtesy of Venge Vineyards).