Empress Wines

Empress Wines was founded by Margaret Wong with the first vintage produced in 2019. In 2018 Margaret purchased what was called Castrucci Vineyard and also the Castrucci wine brand from the founders of Castrucci, David and Dawn Castrucci (who moved to the east coast). The nearly 11-acre property has since been renamed to Empress Court Vineyard. The property is in a part of Napa Valley surrounded by vineyards but in an area that lacks physical wineries. It is in the Napa Valley appellation although Carneros and Coombsville are nearby viticultural neighboring regions. Empress Court Vineyard is located among gently rolling hills, primarily with western exposures, slightly east of Highway 29 within about a 10 minute drive from downtown Napa. One can pass by here daily on the usually crowded highway without ever seeing this ‘hidden’ part of Napa Valley.

Their vineyard was planted in 2007; the Castrucci’s purchased the property in 2011. They sold grapes from the property to several area wineries until 2013 when they started making their own wine crafted by talented winemaker Steve Matthiasson.

The vineyard is planted to approximately an acre of Pinot Noir and previously 5 acres of Chardonnay. In 2020, a severe frost significantly stunted the Chardonnay vines and the decision was made to replant them to Cabernet Sauvignon (clones 4 and 7). The first harvest from this 5 acre block of Cabernet Sauvignon was in 2023.

While these gentle rolling hills look fertile and when covered in grass may appear to harbor deep soils, this is anything but true. These particular hills have shallow clay soils covered with a significant amount of fractured rock. We when we visited the property years ago, we remember the Castrucci’s telling us that they were told it was a very difficult vineyard to plant. Their ‘neighbors’ are jackrabbits, owls, coyotes and unfortunately at times, wild boar (can quickly damage vines).

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Margaret is an entrepreneur and a doer, someone who thrives on having a ‘full plate’ and cares deeply about her community and improving relations between the U.S. and China. Originally from Hong Kong, she immigrated to the U.S. in 1974 and worked as a corporate controller for Chicago based Bostrom Corp, a consulting, outsourcing and management firm. She moved to Sacramento, CA and in 1984 co-founded McWong International, Inc., rebranded to mwConnect in 2024. The company is based in a business park in Natomas, north of Sacramento and produces lighting controls, sensors (Bluetooth mesh networked) and electrical power components. Margaret calls their products, “the brains of the lighting industry”. The applications for their products are extremely diverse ranging from parking garages to sports facilities, to retail to education to hospitality. mwConnect maintains design and manufacturing spaces in both the U.S., China and Vietnam and warehouses in parts of the U.S. The company employs approximately 500 people.

In addition to running a major company, she is extremely involved in the local Napa Valley community. She is working with Napa Valley Historical Society, the mayor of Napa and others to to create a sister city program between the city of Napa and Yinchuan City, the capital of Ningxia, a prominent and the largest red wine growing region in China. This would involve various cultural exchanges and partnerships and support a better understanding between both countries. And she is working with Visit California, Napa Chamber of Commerce and Visit Napa Valley to build up momentum promoting Napa Valley to the Chinese market including both its wine and culinary offerings. She calls her role one of supporting food and wine diplomacy – in terms of both facilitating trade and building tourism between the U.S and China.

The Chinese were an integral part of California’s and Napa Valley’s early ‘western history’. Margaret is working to bring some of this heritage alive, including serving on the board of the Napa County Historical Society. Chinese came to work gold mines and build railways; this form of transportation was integral part of growing California’s early economy. They settled in Napa Valley and worked the cinnabar mines (ore for mercury) starting in the 1860s, primarily in the Vaca mountains and in Pope Valley. And later helped build stone wineries in Napa Valley and also some of the region’s earliest wine caves including at Beringer, Storybook Mountain, Stags’ Leap Winery, Schramsberg and what is now Del Dotto near the city of Napa. They were also the primary labor for Napa’s leather industry, located along the banks of the Napa River.

And ‘Chinatowns’ were located in both the city of Napa and also in St. Helena. What is now the oldest stone building in the city of Napa, housing Vintner’s Collective, used to be a Chinese laundry owned by Sam Kee (also still sometimes referred to as the Sam Kee building).

According to the Napa County Historical Society between the years of 1860 and 1880 the Chinese population in Napa County rose from only 20 people to nearly 1,000 people. The anti Chinese sentiment and the implementation of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 soon plummeted the population, causing Chinese residents to leave the county. Those interested in further reading about the Chinese contributions to Napa Valley can read the book Chinese in Napa Valley: The Forgotten Community That Built Wine Country, by Napa born and raised author, John McCormick.

Empress Vineyards

Not one to sit still for very long, Margaret founded the California Center in Sacramento in 2012, an organization that builds partnerships and introduces products and services to China. She is also involved with culinary programs in China through the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), including training and student exchanges. And she has been recognized for her efforts; since 2022 Margaret has been a member of the Committee of 100 (C100) a New York City based organization for Chinese Americans who are actively involved in civic engagement, public policy, arts, culture and philanthropy. Committee of 100 was founded by five individuals including prominent celloist, Yo Yo Ma and architect I. M. Pei.

Margaret was also instrumental in bringing the first NBA preseason game to China in 25 years in 2004, appropriately between the Sacramento Kings and the Houston Rockets. For reference it was a nail biter – the Rockets outlasted the Kings 88-86. Yao Ming was playing for the Rockets at the time; he would later start Yao Ming Wines in Napa Valley.

Select Wines
Castrucci
The Castrucci wines are produced for the Chinese market with some exposure in the U.S. Winemaker Ivonne Zhu been making all the Castrucci wines since the change in ownership, also also crafts the Empress wines.

The 2021 Castrucci Chardonnay, Reserve is medium straw in color; the bouquet offers a pronounced scent of corn tassel accompanied by pineapple guava, light popcorn butter and pear. On the palate there are flavors of apple, pear and vanilla. Balanced, built in a lighter style but with a noticeable textural component; the mouth feel is creamy but not buttery on the palate. This wine is easy drinking and goes down quickly. It is not put through malolactic fermentation. But Chinese market demands a more buttery and creamy style so moving forward this wine will be allowed to go through its secondary fermentation. This is the first non estate Chardonnay bottled under the Castrucci label. The grapes for this wine are from a small family owned vineyard on Howell Mountain; of the 1,200 Napa Valley based producers we’ve met with to date, this is the first time we have come across Chardonnay from this appellation known for its red wines.

Empress
This label only sells in the U.S. market. The first vintage of Empress was in 2020.

The 2020 Empress Estate Reserve Pinot Noir is pale to medium ruby; the bouquet is brightly lit and focused on red fruits including raspberry, strawberries, cherry cola, plum, cranberries and red licorice. And there are some subtle but noticeable scents of coca cola, root beer and cardamom. However, the often expressed Pinot Noir savory spices and earthiness are not present in the aromatics. The palate features a supple character with polished and rounded tannins and a texture, that for lack of a better word, feels cushiony. The palate mirrors the bouquet to some extent with flavors of red cherry, raspberry, currant and red plum and a lingering herbal note including rhubarb and tea leaves. The finish lingers with a light note of old cedar and tobacco spice. The acidity is balanced and bright. Refreshing. Juicy. Mouth watering. And like the Pinot Noir made from this property by the former owners, who favored lower alcohol wines, this bottling is an agile 13%. We wouldn’t mind pairing this wine with a slightly spicy dish of kung pao chicken.

The 2021 Empress Estate Reserve Pinot Noir is pale to medium ruby in color; the bouquet offers scents of cherry cola, soy sauce, dark raspberry, old cedar box, a light kiss of milk chocolate, cocoa powder and mocha. On the palate there are flavors of cherry, raspberry, strawberry, a hint of licorice and red plum. The palate is superbly balanced with a very similar supple texture as the 2020. Its mouth feel is creamy, sporting pillowy and chalky-textured tannins which linger with a very light but persistent dusty character. Finishes bright, although perhaps it is not as high-toned as the 2020 bottling. The fruit outpaces the gentle texture on the extended finish. This is not necessarily styled to be on the lighter end of the Pinot Noir spectrum, particularly in terms of flavor and texture. Like the 2020 vintage this wine also was aged in 35% new French oak barrels.

The 2020 Empress Estate Cellar Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is medium ruby in color; The initial hit on the aromatics is of baking/dessert spices, including clove, cardamom, nutmeg, mocha and vanilla, accompanied by a subtle hint of old cedar box. This latter aromatic reminds us of the inside of a velvet lined cedar box that was gifted to us by our grandmother more than two decades ago, formerly used to keep some of her jewelry. Its aromatic fruit influences are cherry, strawberry, dark raspberry, red licorice vine and Santa Rosa plum. The palate is primarily red fruited, including of currant, cherry, plum, pomegranate and raspberry. The tannins are well integrated, rounded, and linger with a light drying character, noticeable more on the front of the palate than the back. A perceived sweetness of fruit, is complemented by its lingering acidity on the finish. This is a balanced and thoroughly enjoyable Cabernet Sauvignon from a cooler part of Napa Valley. We would love to pair this with some of our favorite spicy Thai dishes including Yam Nua (spicy beef salad).

Empress M Restaurant
This restaurant opened in the city of Napa in 2021 at 221 Silverado Trail. Recognizing the fact that Napa had no high-end Chinese restaurant, Margaret purchased what was the Olive Tree Restaurant in 2019 and significantly changed the interior decor and converted it to an upscale Chinese restaurant including several rooms for indoor seating, a picturesque and calming outdoor courtyard and an impressive bar.

Prior to opening the restaurant she was advised to have a theme; it was suggested she call the restaurant Empress. She replied with, “empress is too generic”. Although the suggested name had merit; many years ago the Sacramento Bee coined a term for Margaret, referring to her as the, “business empress”.

So she created a theme centered around the only empress to ever rule Chine, Wu ZeTian. ZeTian lived from 624–705 and ruled China during the Second Zhou Dynasty (690–705). Prior to ruling as emperor, she was a concubine and then a queen. The restaurant decor is dedicated to her, based on various stages and stories from her life. In addition to the scenes on the walls of the restaurant, one unique items to take note of is the large Chinese medicinal drawer. This used to be part of a Chinese pharmacy with each drawer containing a variety of spices and herbs used in traditional medicines.

Empress M offers authentic Chinese food, prepared by chefs brought in from Sacramento, respecting China’s culinary heritage, but at the same time is also tailored to the American palate. And the food has been approved by her; she tells her chefs to prepare items that she enjoys eating. The menu is diverse, ranging from Peking Duck to spicy fish to lamb chops to assorted Dim Sum. The cuisine represents four different regions of China. Prior to 2020 the Chinese market in terms of visitors to Napa Valley were disappointed because there was no high-end Chinese food in the city of Napa. That has changed.

Empress M also offers catering services and hosts private events.

Gathering of Chinese owned wineries at Empress M

Empress M, Oxbow Public Market
This small satellite Empress M opened in the Oxbow Public Market in March 2024 and has become ground zero for testing out some of their quicker to make dishes. Seating is limited to a long wooden table in front of the space, or the market offers a number of other seating areas to enjoy food, both indoor and outdoors overlooking the Oxbow Commons.

Yue Huang Restaurant
This was an existing Chinese restaurant when Margaret purchased it in 2020. It is located in north Sacramento along the busy Truxel Road, only a four minute drive from her mwConnect headquarters. The culinary focus is on Chinese Dim Sum with flavors emulating southern Chinese cuisine. The selection is diverse with more than 70 dim sum plates available.

It is very popular at times, especially during lunch on weekends. If the restaurant is full, a digital kiosk at the front entrance allows patrons to sign up for the waitlist. Yue Huang has been named Sacramento’s Top 50 Restaurants by The Sacramento Bee, and in 2021 received the first of its coveted Michelin Bib Gourmands.