Shaking Up Napa Valley With An Experimental ‘R&D’ Wine Club

By TOM MARQUARDT and PATRICK DARR

California winemakers are digging deep for guidance on creating wines for future generations, but perhaps none so deep as Adam Casto. With 25 harvests under his belt, most recently at Ehlers Estate, Casto launched a podcast aptly named “What’s the Problem?” He’s not waxing wine-geek about mealybugs and phenolic ripeness but instead probing cultural and consumer trends, honesty, and communication. It’s one of the most refreshing perspectives from a winemaker we’ve heard thus far.

Now, however, he has taken his own questions into the vineyard and the winery to develop a plan to introduce consumers to the discussion. Called “Research & Discovery,” a twist on the common R&D definition, the project is meant to shake up conventional wisdom.

For instance, he is offering a cabernet franc rosé made three different ways: a colorless blanc, a slightly tinted Provencal style, and a darker, saignee style that gets its color from bleeding off a portion of the red cabernet franc. Consumers can see the color difference but also taste what each process contributes to the flavor and texture.

Casto’s passion for the subject is so effusive that we gave up taking notes as he offered philosophical sound bites by the dozen. Before joining Ehlers Estate in 2023, he worked at wineries in New Zealand, Chile, Australia, and France. He spent more than a decade working alongside renowned consulting winemaker Philippe Melka at DANA and Gandona.

He said the first step is to be frank and honest with consumers.

“Every vintage is the greatest. Our technology is superior,” he said sarcastically. “That’s bizarre, and I think it’s an anachronistic attitude.”

Not only has he planted around 9 new grape varieties, including arinarnoa and marselan — two crossbred varieties invented by the French and approved for use in Bordeaux.

“We also have a huge abundance of clonal rootstock, vine architecture, vineyard architecture developments, and capacities within the existing framework,” he said.

He will make two semillons: one in a standard way and the other made from grapes whose shoots were pruned 10 days before harvest. Consumers will be able to experience a canopy management technique that contributes to a more viscous mouthfeel and aromatic profile. How cool is that?

To access these wines, consumers subscribe to a club that delivers 6-8 annual assortments representing Casto’s experiments—the rosés will be the first. The cost is about $25 a bottle—reasonable for a wine that costs a lot to produce in small quantities. The clever labels mimic something that would be attached in a label with Casto’s own handwriting font. Here’s the link:  Ehlers Estate 

Casto admits Ehlers won’t make money from this, but the education for him and consumers will be priceless.

Casto feels he’s blazing a new trail once blazed by California pioneers. He cites Robert Mondavi, Dick Peterson, Andre Tchelistcheff, and other legends who lent science to winemaking in the industry’s early days.

“We benefit today from all the work that people 50, 60, 80 years ago have done. How are we and how should we be investing in those that come 50, 60, or 80 years after us?” he asked. “We’re sitting on the shoulders of these giants. We need to continue to be meaningful.”

He thinks winemakers and grape growers need to keep inventing. “It’s like every comedian becomes famous and, all of a sudden, their material sucks because they stopped creating new material. They forgot what got them there.”

Casto added, “I really loathe and resent our industry for posturing to the consumer and each other that it’s ‘oh, just a wine.’ Well, if that were true, Hermes bags wouldn’t exist. Ferraris wouldn’t exist.”

Good point, no?

“We have to be honest with ourselves about this,” he said. “Stars are only burning balls of gas. Ballet is just spinning on your toes. Paintings are just colors smeared on a surface. Nothing means anything more than the meaning we give it. It is our job as purveyors, as practitioners, as producers to create and have a reciprocal relationship on that meaning.”

He didn’t want to define success from “Research and Discovery” because that would imply he’s done experimenting. “Success may be if the subscription is sold out and there’s a waiting list.”

Casto is quick to recall the names of trail blazers who left an impression on him, including Randall Grahm, the “mad scientist” and philosopher whose Rhone-style blends stirred the muck in the 1980s. He also recalled a line from war photographer Robert Capa, who when asked why he took photos of war, said, “Because I’m afraid that if I don’t, you’ll never see it.”

“I have to think there is such a value in holding that belief as a center point. And, so, it helps me justify it as well. I’m not going to put wine into a bottle just because it’s experimental. It has to be something I fundamentally want you to see.  If it is something that I’m putting in a bottle because I’m afraid that if I don’t, you’ll never see it, well, that’s kind of a high bar for me.”

For more information on the Research and Discovery wines, see Ehler’s website

Wine picks

The Paring Red Blend 2021 ($25). The depth and body of this blend far exceed its price. All of the wines from this producer enter that elusive “good value” territory. The

blend is cabernet sauvignon (60 percent), cabernet franc, merlot and petit verdot. Generous blackberry, mocha and anise aromas are followed by vibrant strawberry and black plum flavors. Juicy but balanced with bright acidity and fine tannins.

The Paring Pinot Noir 2024 ($25). From the Santa Barbara County AVA, this wine is another good value from the same house that produces The Hilt and Jonata wines. Bold but vibrant with youthful cherry fruit and a dollop of spice.

Villa Gresti IGT Vigneti delle Dolomiti 2021 ($40). This approachable and delicious wine from San Leonardo blends cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and carmenere to create a melange of intense aromas and flavors that are guaranteed to please. Smooth mouthfeel and fine tannins show what can be done in Italy with Bordeaux grapes.

Dutcher Crossing Winemaker’s Cellar Sauvignon Blanc 2023 ($45). This delicious and balanced sauvignon blanc from the Russian River Valley benefits from cool-climate fruit and oak-barrel fermentation. Absent is the green pepper and grassy notes, replaced by richness and mouthfeel. Pineapple, melon and pear notes with a thread of minerality.