(This offer was originally offered in August during the height of vacations, so many of you may have never actually read it. Those who bought on the original offer now have a chance to buy more. We are huge fans of both the wines produced by Honig Vineyards as well as the owner Mike Honig who is a true gentleman.)

I was thinking there were not a lot of OG owners left in the California wine industry.  Those old-guard (original gangster) winery owners have shaped the wines as we have come to know them today.  Gone are the days of building a brand through hard work, grassroots selling door-to-door, and making deals with trust and a handshake. Replaced by lawyers and boardroom deals created by ivory tower wunderkinds. Most OG wineries have been bought by large mega companies or gone corporate and are beholding to their stockholders.  Those pioneers of the ’80s and ’90s who were strong in their convictions had a long-term plan and commitment to the quality of their brand and, at times, took a path less traveled.  Michael Honig is one of the OG winery owners who, through dogged hard work, has become a pillar of Napa Valley. 

Michael Honig’s grandfather, Louis Honig, ran a successful advertising business in San Francisco when he decided to buy land in Napa Valley.  He purchased 68 acres in 1964 from the Wagner family, the owners of nearby Caymus Vineyards.  The vineyard was planted to two varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc, and for a number of years, the grapes from this property were sold to other area vintners.  Louis dreamed of the day he could retire from his San Francisco advertising agency and make wine from his vineyard.  Unfortunately, Louis passed away before he could realize his dream, leaving the estate to his family.  The family produced a few hundred cases of Sauvignon Blanc in tribute to their father in 1980, which won a Gold Medal, but they did not have the sales and marketing expertise to promote a wine brand.  At one point, the family considered selling the property. 

Grandson Michael Honig’s early memories of the Honig Ranch were from coming up from San Francisco on weekends and summers to this grape farm. When he was 13, he bought an old 1964 Chevy two-door that he and his brother ripped the trunk out, created a rumble seat, and drove around the farm doing what young boys do.  Michael realized at an early age that if they sold this property, they would never be able to afford to buy additional property in the valley.  After a discussion with his father, who was California’s Superintendent of Schools, it was jointly decided Michael would drop out of school and focus on building their fledgling wine business.  In 1984, at only 22 years of age, he took over the management of both the vineyard and the winery. 

Early on, Michael knew his strength was in selling the wine, not making the wine.  He hired the former assistant winemaker from Forest Springs, James Hall, Honig Winery’s winemaker for the next 10 years.  Their business plan was simple.  Michael said, “James, look, you’re going to make the wine, and I’m going to go sell it.” James later went on to found the brand Patz and Hall, which was initially started at Honig Winery as a side project of James Hall.

Honig’s first wine was their Sauvignon Blanc, which Michael would load into his car and drive around to wine shops and restaurants, making each sale by hand. Initially, this was difficult as there wasn’t much Sauvignon Blanc being produced in Napa. Soon, they added Cabernet Sauvignon to their portfolio, he continued to market the wine, and they developed a growing following for his wine.  Today Michael continues to maintain a busy travel schedule promoting his wines domestically and internationally, which still consist of only two varietals, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

When wineries state they are sustainable, my eyes roll to the back of my head.  It is a buzzword that is constantly overused in the industry.  When Honig Vineyards and Winery quietly states they are sustainable, they mean it in every sense of the word.  To start with, Honig in German means honey, and there is an image of a honeybee in the Honig logo.  Their beehives are located along the river, where the bees can get fresh water and forage for pollen along the banks, the cover crops in the vineyards, and the gardens around the winery and houses.  They are part of Honig’s thriving ecosystem of beneficial insects.  Also found are bluebird and owl boxes to keep harmful insects and rodents in a natural balance in the vineyards. Bluebirds consume 12% of their body weight daily in harmful insects, and an owl can consume 1,000 rodents in a season.  Honig traps gophers then freezes the carcasses and uses them to feed orphaned and injured owls being rehabilitated by the Hungry Owl Project.

On average, there are 260 sunny days per year in Napa Valley, so this is a natural place to utilize solar energy sources.  In 2006, Honig installed 819 ground-mounted solar panels, enough power to run the winery.  As the winery grew, so did its energy needs, so in 2015, it added an additional 696 roof-mounted solar panels, doubling its power production.  Not only are they saving thousands of dollars a year in electric bills, they are eliminating about 300,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually.  In order to cut down on their carbon footprint while simultaneously saving costs, they no longer bottle their wines using foil.  Based on their production, this saves nearly 1 million foils each year.

In the vineyard, Honig uses sniffer dogs, golden retrievers, that can detect the female mealybug pheromone.  Early detection of the bug allows the grower to treat or remove a vine or two, alleviating any broad use of pesticides.  To date, vine mealybugs are very difficult to detect, being nearly invisible to the naked eye, and hide under bark and roots.  You can also find in Honig vineyards, during the spring and fall, Wooly Weeders (sheep).  They love to eat the grass, weeds, and plants that grow as a cover crop between the vines.  Sheep helps eliminate the need for chemical weed killers linked to disease in humans and animals, as well as herbicides and fertilizers in the vineyard.  They also help to reduce the number of tractor passes needed to take care of weeds with the built-in fertilizer they put back into the vineyard through their waste.  As an added bonus, the stimulation of sheep’s hooves in the dirt helps build microflora in the soil, which promotes eco-diversity and a healthier vineyard.

 “We are stewards of the land, and it is our responsibility to take care of it and pass it on to our children in excellent condition.  Better soil and better grapes also make better wine. If you buy a nice heirloom tomato and you buy a commercially grown tomato and make sauce out of each, clearly, you’re going to have better sauce with the heirloom tomato.  It’s the same with grapes and wine.  A beautiful vineyard is a healthy vineyard that produces great wine.” Michael Honig

Michael stopped by Yankee Spirits a couple of weeks ago to visit and taste his wines. Michael is a quiet, unassuming Napa winery owner with an incredible depth of knowledge not only about his wines but also about Napa. He doesn’t brag about his wine but lets the product speak for itself, and he is proud of his wine. We have always done well with his wines. His Sauvignon Blanc is in one of the most stunning packages, with a view of the vineyards seen on the back label looking through the bottle. Although his intent was to sell us his Sauvignon Blanc, his number one seller, and he had a rare program on the wine offered by the distributor to help make room for the next vintage. And we like the Sauvignon Blanc, a lot, but we really loved his Cabernet. Honig Winery sells all the wine they can make every year, and I was surprised that they let us have the Cabernet on the program as long as we also bought the Sauvignon Blanc. Part of how we convinced him to include the Cab was that this offer is not advertised anywhere, not found on Wine Searcher, and only seen by our Email newsletter readers. Take advantage of this offer because it took a strange galactic event of all the planets aligning just right to get the price this low, just this once, on this outstanding wine.          

Another classic Honig Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon expresses a lovely combination of black raspberry and cherry enhanced by savory notes and exotic spices (think Garam masala) and cocoa nibs. The texture is rich, framed by just the right amount of tannin and acid, giving a sense of perfect balance.  While enjoyable upon release, this wine will age gracefully through 2031 and longer if you would like.

Blend: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5.3% Merlot, 4.6% Malbec 2.4% Petit Verdot 1.4% Cabernet Franc, 1.2% Petit Syrah

Aged: 18 months in French and American oak barrels, of which 25% was in new American oak and 20% in new French oak barrels.

Attractive dark-fruited character here offering ripe blackcurrants, dark cherries and dark spices with bark and walnut undertones. Full-bodied, polished and chalky with tight-grained tannins and succulent dark berries underneath.  Long and mineral finish.  James Suckling 93 pts

There are 15,000 cases of Honig’s affordably priced 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon.  While it may not make you see stars, it’s a solid value play (for Napa Valley), matching mixed cherries with mocha and cedar shadings and some loamy notes.  It’s medium to full-bodied, nicely weighted, and textured, with a silky finish.  Robert Parkers’s Wine Advocate 91 pts

The grapes used for this wine come from sustainably farmed vineyards in Rutherford and other vineyards across Napa Valley.  The blend is 85% cabernet sauvignon, blended with 5% merlot, 5% malbec, and a remaining mix of petit verdot, cabernet franc, and petit syrah, aged 18 months in French and American oak barrels.  (25% new American Oak, 20% new French Oak.) The texture is silky despite a fair bit of oak poking into the wine.  Look for savory, minty black cherries and raspberry with licorice and roasted espresso.  The finish is long and persistent, if a bit oaky.  This needs three to five years to settle into itself.  Grismondi on Wine 90 pts

Honig Napa Valley Cabernet 2021

As I mentioned, we had the honor of tasting this wine with Mike Honig a couple of weeks ago. It was in a flight along with his Sauvignon Blanc and his single vineyard Bartilucci Vineyard Cab. I’ve got to say the Bartilucci was massive, inky, and aggressive; for my taste, I enjoyed his Napa Valley Cab more for its drinkability. Dark garnet color in the glass with cassis and other dark fruits in the nose. In the mouth, it was medium to full-bodied with lush fruit, some spice, dark chocolate, and dark berries. Tight tannins with moderate acidity to keep the flavor alive. A long cherry finish. We all loved this wine. At $50 a bottle, I can see why his neighbors in Napa Valley are not to happy for him to sell his wines at such a value. I’m sure at $38 a bottle, they would have a seizure. Get this highly-rated wine while you can because I can guaretee you will not be offered this wine at this price again, and quantities are limited.

- The Yankee Spirits Wine Team

Regular Price: $52.99

*Sale price is on 3 or more bottle purchase

Wine is packed in a 12-bottle case

Quantities are limited

*Wine pricing for these wine promotions are held for two weeks after the email offer.

We can hold wines in unpaid reserves for two weeks to allow you time to pick up your wine. If it takes you longer than that to pick up your wines, give us a call, and we can process your wine and move it to paid reserves.

Orders must be done by replying to this email. The reason is that we need to keep control of the inventory in one central spot. Emailing or calling your favorite wine geek at one of our four stores may not get your orders in on time to be counted or processed and this creates a helter-skelter for us to get you the wine. For the same reason, ordering on our online Web Store is linked to our regular price, and this sale price is only offered on the email platform. It is also why it takes us some time to respond due to the deluge of orders that we sometimes get. We haven't reached the efficiency or volume of Amazon yet. Thank you in advance for your patience.

Let us know your preferred store for pickup: Attleboro, Norwood, Sturbridge, or Swansea. If you don't state the store, we will assume you are picking up in Sturbridge.

Place your order now while you've got everything in front of you. Reply to this email along with your name and which store you want to pick it up.

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Cheers!

—Yankee Spirits Wine Team

Attleboro

628 Washington St.

Norwood

942 Providence Hgwy.

Sturbridge

376 Main Street.

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207 Swansea Mall Dr.

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