Visit to Venge Vineyards and Nils Venge

Visit to Venge Vineyards Saddleback Winery, Penny Lane Vineyard and Rossini Ranch with Nils and Kirk Venge

A Unwindwine memorable retrospective. Back in 2002, wine buddy AJ and I visited Venge Vineyards Saddleback Winery down at the northern edge of the Oakville appellation south of St Helena and met with legendary winemaker Nils Venge. 

Nils in Penny Lane Vineyard

After meeting and touring the winery and Penny Lane Vineyard there in Oakville, we took wine maker Nils Venge to lunch at Tra Vigne, our favorite Napa Valley dining site of that era. Dining in the adjacent outside garden with the fountain and the oversize monstrous granite dining table was a highlight of many visits to Napa Valley. 

Upon arrival at Tra Vigne, as if we needed another legend sighting/meeting, we ran into Margaret Mondavi.

Nils Venge and Margaret Mondavi

 At lunch with Nils at Tra Vigna, we dined on the terrace with the garden in the background amidst the blissful sound of the fountain. 

Tasting Venge Reserve wines with Nils Venge

 Over lunch, we tasted Venge Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 and the Venge Penny Lane Vineyard Family Reserve Sangiovese 2000. Nils was the first winemaker grower producer in Napa Valley to plant Sangiovese varietals and craft Sangiovese wines. 

After lunch, we drove up to the new Venge venture, Rossini Ranch, in Calistoga. There we met Kirk Venge who was stepping into and following the footsteps of father Nils. 

At the time they were deep into the development of the Rossini Ranch property digging the caves at the site. 

Nils, Kirk, & AJ in front of new cave
being dug at Rossini Ranch

 

Kirk was born in 1976 and raised in Rutherford, Napa Valley into a wine family and lifestyle. He earned his degree in Viticulture and Eonology at the prestigious University of California, Davis, graduating in 1998, and quickly set his sights on buying the Venge winery from his family. From this foothold he set out across the Mayacamas divide and set roots in Sonoma. 

 

Today, Kirk has acquired the namesake brand and business of Venge Vineyards upon Nil's retirement. He has succeeded in establishing himself as a leading winemaker, grower producer in Napa and has expanded his reach into Sonoma. His wines have earned high praise and he has vastly expanded the Venge portfolio and consults with many top brands in Napa as well as Sonoma County.  

 

In addition to his namesake vineyard and winery, Venge Vineyards, Kirk also founded Croix Estate in Sonoma County. In the spring of 2009, Kirk introduced the name "Croix" and a rough idea for property and an eventual winery in Sonoma. He released the inaugural vintage of Croix Estate in 2012 and opening of a new winery in 2018. From the Russian River site, Kirk focuses on estate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir but also produces a Zinfandel from the nine acre vineyard that dates back to 1904, and a GSM comprised of the Rhone varietals Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre.  

 

Kirk also serves as consulting winemaker for several other producers including BCellars, Renteria, Promise Wines, Hunnicut, Trespass Vineyards, 11:11 Winery, Jax, and Macaulley Vineyards.