Ashes & Diamonds
This exciting winery debuted just before last fall’s wildfires were threatening Napa Valley. It’s a mix of old-style Cabernet and a new-style, salon-like tasting room with a punk rock music sensibility. The distinctive, bright
white building with its zigzag canopy and jazzy interiors is in the Oak Knoll district. It feels very open and mid-century California – quite different from the faux-Tuscan and architectural statements that dot the valley.
The mastermind behind the winery is creative executive Kashy Khaledi, whose father owns Darioush winery. He calls it a ‘habitat for the wines’. Inspired by tastes of Napa Cabernets of the 1960s and 1970s, he had a romantic image of shaking things up by collaborating with progressive winemakers to revive the restrained style of that era. (The winery name comes from a 1950s Polish film.)
He lined up Steve Matthiasson and Diana Snowden Seysses (and, for one vintage, Dan Petroski of Larkmead Vineyards and Band of Vintners) and acquired the Oak Knoll property, which was planted with Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Then they all hunted out other vineyards from which to buy grapes.
So far there’s a fresh, zingy Cabernet Franc rosé, a bright Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blend, a lush Cabernet Franc, and a few serious single-vineyard Cabernets, including one fascinating cuvee for which Matthiasson painstakingly copied 1960s examples.