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The OVID Winery Napa Valley is a unique, dynamic, and ongoing experiment in terroir, located at an elevation of 1,349 feet, on an isolated peak in the western part of Pritchard Hill. The combination of iron-rich soils, abundant sunshine, and chaparral vegetation creates the ideal environment for wines characterized by intense concentration and long finish.
The estate produces four core wines, sourced from a 15-acre vineyard, farmed organically, with careful selection of rootstocks and clonal combinations of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Syrah. Each year, the winery releases a limited series of experimental wines, offering further insight into the "soul" of the estate. Under the guidance of winemaker Austin Peterson, the wines continue to gain recognition for their excellence, blending tradition with innovation. In 2017, the founders of OVID collaborated with Silver Oak owner David Duncan to share resources and maintain the winery's commitment to sustainability and quality.
Hexameter, the first wine produced by the Ovid winery, which began as part of the Experiment program, has become its flagship wine. Its production was based on a very simple question: How appealing can a Cabernet Franc-based wine from Napa Valley be? That early Experiment in 2005 produced an interesting wine, and over the next four years it was perfected, with particular emphasis on the best vineyard plots.
Hexameter is the poetic meter used by Ovid (hence the name Ovid) in his Metamorphoses and, in fact, in many Greek and Roman poems. The concept of meter is very important as it contains, enlivens, and organizes the information contained in the words of a poem. Transferred to wine, the vineyard is the impetus behind a poem, and wine is its meter and language. As such, Hexameter wine reveals a specific rhythm and structure in the vineyard, expressing its clear and deep affinity with Cabernet Franc.
For its production, the alcoholic fermentation takes place in vats and then the wines are transferred to oak barrels. A few months later, they are racked and blended, then returned to French oak barrels for a long, slow maturation lasting 14-16 months. Bright in appearance with an attractive purple color. Complex and impressive on the nose, it reveals notes of black cherry, plum, lavender, and sage, which coexist harmoniously with subtle hints of violet, orange peel, and bay leaf. Rich and exciting on the palate, it expresses power and finesse, with velvety tannins and a wonderfully balanced depth that promises to evolve exceptionally well over time.
Available vintage : 2017
OVID Napa Valley is the iconic wine of the winery. In the way it embodies the tensions and complexities of both the vineyard and the philosophy of the people at Ovid, the wine evolves just as they do. It comes from a blend of varieties that subtly changes from year to year, but is always based on Cabernet Sauvignon, which is perfectly associated with Napa Valley and the winery. Small amounts of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot complete the whole and provide the softness and finesse that are distinguished. It is a deep, harmonious wine, whose beauties and pleasures lie in its depth, vibrancy, timelessness, and complexity.
"Great wines can never be fixed ideas, as they represent the fluidity of time and nature. The evolving nature of this iconic wine captures the continuous transformations of our vineyard and reflects openness to fresh thought."
This is why OVID Napa Valley is a consistently strong, well-structured wine with recognizable characteristics in all vintages, which also incorporates the winemakers' inclination towards new ideas. They believe that to become fixed in specific ways or to rely on a formula means losing touch with the essence of the wine itself. With this conviction, the goal of producing OVID Napa Valley is to understand this place, not to showcase Cabernet Sauvignon. The final product exists as a reference point among the characteristics of the vineyard, the vintage, and the producer's perception of the ideal wine.
Brilliant and expressive, it offers notes of fresh berry, raspberry, black cherry, flint, and bay leaf, which impress with their clarity. Broad and full, this wine provides undeniable pleasure and promises to continue telling its vibrant, harmonious story for the coming decades.
Available vintage : 2017
"Change is the essence of life, and experimentation is the way it nourishes us."
This belief underpinned the Experiment series of the Ovid winery. The extremely limited series of wines that make up the Experiment series varies significantly from year to year, each one serving as a poetic response to a new set of questions posed by the art of winemaking. Although these constantly changing wines are called Experiment, they could also be described as "Research" or "Exploration." Each new experiment is a small piece of a much larger achievement. Each one tells us something new about the grapes, the terroir, the winemaking, and the wine itself. Only the most exciting experiments are bottled and made available on the market. Considering their vineyard as a continuous series of experiments on terroir, the people of Ovid create a fundamental image of the raw, unexplored land, noting every detail of the geology, appearance, and natural ecology. Because the geography of Pritchard Hill has myriad expressions, applying the same techniques to a neighboring vineyard will yield completely different results.
For the production of N5.0, a small quantity of grapes was purchased from a neighboring vineyard, where they wanted to study the orientation of the rows, the terroir, the rootstocks and trellises of the vines. For 2020, they focused on the effect of afternoon temperature and the subtle difference between the eastern and western side of Napa Valley. To fully explore this difference, they collaborated with two different vineyards on the western side to create a wine sourced from these two locations. Their interest was to understand how the expression of the wine differs from what they have at the OVID estate and how this might influence their choices regarding cultivation practices that affect grape development. The result of this exploration is a wine with very rich flavor, color, and depth. A wine with exceptional density, color, and depth. The slightly cooler afternoons on the western side proved to be a decisive factor in the expression of the fruit and the development of secondary aromas. Notes of forest, pine, and black fruits emerge from the glass, creating a unique character that differentiates itself from the expressions of the vineyard itself.
Available vintage : 2020
"Change is the essence of life, and experimentation is the way it nourishes us."
This belief underpinned the Experiment series of the Ovid winery. The extremely limited series of wines that make up the Experiment series varies significantly from year to year, each one serving as a poetic response to a new set of questions posed by the art of winemaking. Although these constantly changing wines are called Experiment, they could also be described as "Research" or "Exploration." Each new experiment is a small piece of a much larger achievement. Each one tells us something new about the grapes, the terroir, the winemaking, and the wine itself. Only the most exciting experiments are bottled and made available on the market. Considering their vineyard as a continuous series of experiments on terroir, the people of Ovid create a fundamental image of the raw, unexplored land, noting every detail of the geology, appearance, and natural ecology. Because the geography of Pritchard Hill has myriad expressions, applying the same techniques to a neighboring vineyard will yield completely different results.
For the production of N4.9, a small quantity of grapes was purchased from a neighboring vineyard, where they wanted to study the orientation of the rows and the layout of the support system. This different approach to viticulture allowed the people of Ovid to learn and improve everything they did in their own vineyards. The impressive harvest of 2019 yielded excellent results! The combination of Cabernet Sauvignon with almost equal parts Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot creates a harmony of fresh blackberry, currant, and licorice. Aromas of sandalwood and cherry complete the refined and delightful character of this unique wine experiment.
"Change is the essence of life, and experimentation is the way it nourishes us."
This belief underpinned the Experiment series of the Ovid winery. The extremely limited series of wines that make up the Experiment series varies significantly from year to year, each one serving as a poetic response to a new set of questions posed by the art of winemaking. Although these constantly changing wines are called Experiment, they could also be described as "Research" or "Exploration." Each new experiment is a small piece of a much larger achievement. Each one tells us something new about the grapes, the terroir, the winemaking, and the wine itself. Only the most exciting experiments are bottled and made available on the market. Considering their vineyard as a continuous series of experiments on terroir, the people of Ovid create a fundamental image of the raw, unexplored land, noting every detail of the geology, appearance, and natural ecology. Because the geography of Pritchard Hill has myriad expressions, applying the same techniques to a neighboring vineyard will yield completely different results.
N3.8 is the third wine in the "N" or Neighbor series. With this wine, they aimed to explore the impact of canopy structure. The vineyard they chose employs a canopy structure known as Modified California Sprawl. The shoots grow from the branch, curve toward the center of the row, and then hang down or spread out. Their expectation was that the spread canopy would allow for good midday light intake by the fruit and provide good protection from heat and sunlight in the afternoon. It was observed that this type of planting had very good results, which is reflected in the wine that showcases the exceptional quality of the fruit. Highly attractive in appearance, with a deep purplish color. It exudes intense notes of currant, raspberry, cherry, and earthy forest tones. Aromas of cocoa seeds, vanilla, and sandalwood complement this rich and aromatic wine exploration, creating a wine that promises to deliver enjoyment for many years.
