Đồi Đá Wine

Đồi Đá (pronounced doy dah) was founded with its inaugural vintage in 2022, a Cabernet Sauvignon. Their 18 acre rocky property is located directly behind (east) of Signorello Vineyards. It is surrounded by other AVA’s but is not within any of them, rather this is designated as Napa Valley Appellation. Although perhaps these rocky slopes should be a part of a small AVA due to this being a distinctive region. The Pham family (Cuong and Ann) purchased this site in late 2021; the previous owners had begun the process of planting the vineyard but had not yet acquired the necessary permits. The Atlas Peak Fire burned through the property in 2017 but remarkably spared the house with the fire burning surrounding vegetation, almost up to its edges. And Đồi Đá is an appropriate name for the brand; translated from Vietnamese to English it means ‘stony hill’.

This was not the family’s first introduction to Napa Valley. Cuong is a former IT consultant in Silicon Valley who has worked for Apple, Oracle, and Verizon. While still working for Apple he relocated to the city of Napa.

A seven acre vineyard was planted in 2024 by Pina Vineyard Management, overseen by winemaker and Master of Wine, Nova Cadamatre; she chose the clonal and rootstock selections. The property had never before been planted to grapevines. And Pina Vineyard Management laid out the vineyard footprint and planted the vines. This was a rare opportunity in 2024 to develop a new mountain vineyard in Napa Valley.

It is an exceptional vineyard site; the primary knoll is planted entirely to three clones of Cabernet Sauvignon including 4, 169 and 685 (one of Nova’s favorites to work with), wrapping almost 360 degrees around for ultimate exposure. The south facing side of this knoll is perched above the valley offering immediate access to breezes blowing in from the San Pablo Bay to the south. But a short walk around the other side of the knoll offers much greater protection from the wind and the afternoon sun.

And another hillside block, which Nova refers to as the ‘blending block’ is planted to clone 327 of Cabernet Franc and clone 400 of Petit Verdot. The Cabernet Franc is protected and has some shading while the Petit Verdot is on the most exposed side of the property. Based on its variable aspects and exposure, this is a complex site; the nuances and complexities of this terroir should be reflected in the resulting wines. The first vintage should be in 2027 or 2028, so look for the first estate wine at the end of the 2020 decade.

And how Nova was introduced to Cuong was by chance. On January 1, 2022 Nova noticed some remodeling was occurring near her house on a neighboring home which was for sale. She was introduced to the agent who asked her what type of work she was in. She mentioned, winemaking and the agent told her of a client that might need a winemaker; it was Cuong. And remarkably this was the first day that she started her consulting business. If only marketing one’s services was always this easy.

Nova’s journey towards being a Master of Wine began in 2007 after graduating from Cornell. She was attracted to pursuing this because of its intensity and difficulty associated with the program; the challenge lived up to the reputation. Like a number of now MW’s it took her several times before she was able to pass; the one attribute we value higher than almost anything else in the wine industry in particular, is persistence and a drive to never give up. She became an MW in 2017.

Select Wines
The 2022 Doi Da Cabernet Sauvignon (100% varietal) is a blend of grapes from Oakville and Rutherford vineyards; this wine is deep ruby in color. The first aromatic we noted was raspberry jam, with additional red fruited scents including red cherry, Persian mulberry and currant with a lasting note of dried tobacco leaf, sage, nutmeg, cinnamon stick and cocoa powder. On the palate there is a union of both red fruits and some savory herbal characteristics. These flavors include cherry, raspberry, currant and cranberry lingering with a note of tobacco, and mocha. Both acid and fruit driven, this is a refreshing and elegant take on a wine from two appellations which often produce more hedonistic and opulent bottlings. The lightly grainy and broadly coating tannins are seamlessly integrated into the lively, refreshing and mouth watering finish. Very much a food friendly wine, in the spirit of Vietnamese culinary heritage and from personal experience, this wine pairs very well with Cơm tấm (broken rice).

The vineyard sources for the early Đồi Đá vintages have varied including from Oakville in 2023 and from the Ed Cora Vineyard on Atlas Peak in 2024.

Red Boat Fish Sauce
Cuong was born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. His mother, a teacher would prepare meals for her family using fish sauce from her cousin’s factory located on the island of Phu Quoc. Cuong fondly remembers the taste of this particular fish sauce. At age 20 in 1978 he was forced to flee the country; he remembers hurriedly boarding a boat with no possessions other than his clothes in the Mekong River. He was separated from his parents; the boat he was on departed. His parents were unable to leave.

Eventually the boat he was on reached tiny Bidong Island off of the east coast of Malaysia which officially opened as a refugee camp for the ‘boat people’ in August of 1978. He remembers the boat they arrived on was purposefully sunk so to ensure that they had no way to leave the island due to their refugee status. Not all boats or passengers survived the journey; boats sank due to storms or over crowding, there were attacks by pirates and general hardship of conditions led to many deaths at sea.

Cuong spent 9 months at this camp with no electricity or running water; the refugees received food supplies from the United Nations and were rationed a gallon of water per person per day. At its high point the conditions were incredibly crowded with some 40,000 refugees located in a space not much larger than a football field. This camp officially closed in 1991, but the last of the refugees did not leave until 2005. During a span of nearly 30 years, an estimated 250,000 refugees spent time here.

His brother had left before the ‘fall of Vietnam’, moving to Italy and then immigrating to Boston, Massachusetts. Cuong was able to track him down and send him a physical letter which was picked up by the Red Cross and then later delivered. The letter reached his brother who then sponsored Cuong to come to the U.S. At the time Cuong spoke no English.

Priority was given for sponsorship to minors and families with younger children and teenagers more likely to be sponsored by foster families or relatives. At one point there was a miscommunication about Cuong’s actual age; the officer thought he was 21 and was going to deny sponsorship. Fortunately this was quickly clarified.

After moving to the U.S. Cuong noticed he was not able to buy the type and quality of fish sauce he remembered enjoying while living in Vietnam. So he began to think of how he could develop his own fish sauce and create something of high natural quality that didn’t smell or taste overly ‘fishy’. And this was while still working at Apple. He remembers telling friends of his idea and they thought he was a bit crazy for trying to start something like this, as he already had a very good job. But he did; in 2005, he took over and expanded the operations of a small an struggling family owned fish sauce making facility on Phu Quoc. This is now the home of the Red Boat Fish Sauce factory.

The island of Phu Quoc is located in the Gulf of Thailand, located closer to the Cambodia border than the Vietnam border. It is an extremely popular and family friendly destination for tourists due to the fact that unlike mainland Vietnam which requires visas for many nationalities, Phu Quoc offers a visa exemption for citizens of numerous countries. And it is also appealing for its weather, beaches and affordable prices.

Cuong chose the name Red to refer to the auspicious color in Asian culture – with red prominently displayed during Vietnamese New Year’s celebrations. And he chose the boat and its particular image to represent two important items: his story of escaping Vietnam on a boat and homage to how the process of creating fish sauce begins – on a boat, catching anchovies.

And this is truly a family owned and operated business. While Cuong oversees the overall operations, his wife Ann and their children Tracy, Kevin, and Tiffany all have assumed specific responsibilities within the company.

The process of producing fish sauce has some similarities to crafting wine. Its origin is an integral part of its quality; for Red Boat, black anchovies are caught in the waters surrounding the island of Phu Quoc at night using light to attract the fish. Boats with up to 20 employees put out nets when a school of black anchovies are located. Dropping and pulling in the several hundred kilograms of net can take upwards of an hour. The capacity of each of the main fishing boats is around 20 tons. Fishing occurs daily unless winds are too strong. Generally their best hauls are during July and August; a large catch in a single night would be around 15 tons. On average however, they catch and process around 100 tons each month.

The anchovies are then transferred to one of two smaller wooden boats for transport to the factory. Cuong said the boats return either when they are full or the boat has run out of food for the employees.

After the anchovies are caught, any resulting liquid is immediately drained and salt is quickly introduced. While there are only two ingredients that go into making the Red Boat Fish Sauce (anchovies and salt), the overall process from catch to bottling must be very disciplined to result in a product of the highest quality. Red Boat Fish Sauce keeps plenty of bags of salt in storage for use as needed. This is natural sea salt produced from a salt farm about 150 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City. They purchase the salt about a year in advance of needing to use it and then store it letting it further dry. The anchovies start fermenting immediately after they are caught. And where they swim, what they eat and the time they are harvested are all integral factors in making a premium fish sauce.

Like wine, fish sauce is aged in wood but unlike wine the wood is not meant to impart any flavor characteristics. Four types of wood are used for aging fish sauce – they are the following: Bời Lời (Litsea glutinosa) – the most common, Vang (Fibraurea tinctoria) – strong and resistant to decay, Chai (Hopea odorata) – also long lasting and Mít (Jackfruit Wood – Artocarpus heterophyllus).

The wood is air dried for 6 months prior to being used and then is assembled at the factory. And the 13 ton tanks generally contain between 54-56 individual staves. And when one of the staves needs replacing, they pull out the old stave and recycle it for additional use in a deck which docks their two wooden boats. While their tanks are open top vats, a layer of salt always covers the surface. At times during fermentation, the sauce is pumped from a valve at the bottom of the tank and then dispensed on the surface.

And like some of the best lots of wine which are made from free-run juice, Red Boat bottles only the first pressed fish sauce. Also similar to the need to monitor characteristics as the wine age, so to in terms of making fish sauce, but in regard to its salt content. Early detection of the amount of salt in the fish sauce is important as it relates to quality. For smooth fermentation, its always better to err on the side of extra salt rather than too little.

There is a distinctive difference in quality of young versus aged fish sauces both in terms of color, umami flavor and texture. The fish sauces are aged for a maximum of 12 months to fully complete fermentation in the wooden vats; after 12 months there is not much added benefit to any extra aging. And over time due to evaporation the sauce becomes slightly more concentrated – referred to as the ‘angels share’ in winemaking.

Blending is conducted at the end of fermentation. During the aging process they identify their most premium batch; sauce from this is bottled separately, never distributed and is only sold through the website. These higher quality batches have higher natural nitrogen content, typically between 40 and 50 grams/liter. These reserve bottlings are labeled using the number of their measured nitrogen content.

During the length of fermentation the fish solids are significantly broken down. After pressing about 30 to 40 percent of ‘solid’s are left. This remaining material is used for fertilizer.

Production is completed at the factory in Phu Quoc; the fish sauce is then transferred into plastic drums and is exported for distribution. These drums are used just once and then later sold. All the bottling and distribution is done from their operations in Hayward, California. The bottles are distinctive and stand out both for their shape but also for the simple and catchy labeling. And the bottles are all glass except for 2 liter sizes bottled in plastic for restaurants.

In addition to the traditional brand of Red Boat, the company has expanded its product offerings including a special fish sauce aged in bourbon barrels, curries, salt, sugar and pepper and even a Red Boat cookbook.

Marketing has been organic; chefs discover their product and use it and promote it in their restaurants. Le Bernardin in New York City was the the first restaurant in the U.S. to use the Red Boat Fish Sauce. A number of prominent chefs have also discovered the Red Boat fish sauce including Viet Pham of Salt Lake City based Pretty Bird Hot Chicken, restaurateur David Chang, culinary author Andrea Nguyen – and also co-author of the Red Boat Cookbook and Los Angeles based chef, Diep Tran among many others.

The sauce is also distributed in Australia, Europe and parts of Asia. And we discovered its aromatic and flavor profile many years ago at one of our favorite local Asian markets. It is also carried nationally including at Whole Foods and Trader Joes.

For more information about Đồi Đá Wine, to purchase the current vintage or to signup for their mailing list, visit: www.doidawine.com and for more information or to purchase Red Boat Fish Sauce, visit: www.redboatfishsauce.com