Kale Wines

Kale Wines was founded in 2008 by winemaker and owner Kale Anderson and his wife Ranko. Kale was born in San Diego, grew up in Santa Rosa (Sonoma County) and went to UC Davis to study pre-med. While not from a winemaking heritage, Kale discovered his love of wines on his own. By year three at UC Davis, he realized medicine wasn’t sparking a passion so he eventually he joined several tasting groups on campus and was introduced to a number of Rhône varieties. He was impressed by how a diversity of terroir affected the aroma, flavor, structure and other characteristics of wines – especially with Syrah. And it helped that he had a sensitive palate and was able to notice these differences. He was then hooked by the wine bug after taking an introductory course in Viticulture & Enology.

He informed his father (a surgeon) of his desire to study wine making rather than medicine; his father was immediately supportive of his sons’ interest in changing careers. After graduating with a degree in BS in Viticulture and Enology from UC Davis Kale traveled internationally trying various wines in different regions. He returned to California and took an intern position learning how to make sparkling wine at J Winery in Sonoma County.

Other positions including working at Colgin where he was introduced to a number of premium Napa Valley brands who were also making their wine here. He was assistant winemaker and then ultimately winemaker at Cliff Lede followed by a position as Director of Wine making at Pahlmeyer. Since 2016 he focuses on consulting winemaking for his business, Kale Wine Consulting.

In 2020 Kale and Ranko took on partners in Kale Wines including real estate developer Fred and and his son Trey Eppright. The Epprights also purchased the former Dutch Henry Winery property near Calistoga on the Silverado Trail following the terrible fires in 2020 in which Dutch Henry Winery burned to the ground. They did not purchase the Dutch Henry brand. The fire spared the residence and the cave despite both being in close proximity to the winery; the Epprights have since replanted their vineyard and plan to rebuild a winery on the property.

Kale is the winemaker for their own brand called Parable whose initial focus is on Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. But knowing Kale’s love and enthusiasm for Rhône varieties, its conceivable that Parable may also produce a Syrah in future releases.

In regard to combining the art and science of wine making, Kale says “I make wine with my senses, and I use science to gauge the risk. Wine always takes on a life of its own; I just help it get to where it wants to go”.

The majority of the wines bottled under the Kale label are from Rhône varieties. Kale’s wines from Sonoma County were originally distinguished by a white label and the wines from Napa Valley, a black label. That distinction, however, is no longer being used on his wines.

Select Wines
Rosé
The 2019 Kale McGah Vineyard Rutherford Napa Valley Rosé is 84% Grenache and 16% Mourvèdre (a variety that is also referred to as Mataro in the U.S). This wine is pale copper in color; the aromatics show lychee, watermelon hard candy, melon and subtle hints of a vanilla like sweetness and lemongrass. The texture is creamy and rounded from start to finish, almost saline (without being salty of course) in its textural feel. The palate offers flavors of citrus including grapefruit and a lingering spice and minerality note. The finish continues to persist with a richness of fruit. It is completely dry. This wine was gently whole cluster pressed into a concrete ‘egg’ where it was fermented and did not go through malolactic fermentation.

We’ve tasted a number of interesting and intriguing rosés over the past several years from mostly younger winemakers in the valley. The 2013 Kale Rosé Napa Valley is one of them; this vintage was Kale’s 13th vintage making a rosé. It is a blend of Grenache and Syrah. It is made in the Provençal style with the majority of the grapes whole cluster pressed and harvested merely three days after véraison occurred in the vineyard. They came into the cellar at 18-degree brix. Interestingly enough because of its’ very early harvest date and gentle pressing, the resulting juice was completely white when it went to fermentation (using a concrete egg). The Syrah was bled off using the French saignée method. Aromatically this wine shows fresh aromas of muddled white strawberry and raspberry. The wine initially hits the front of the palate with a sweetness of fruit but there is absolutely no residual sugar in this wine. The wine sports a pleasing texture and intensity of fruit which is felt across the length of the palate; this is all-natural acidity. It is a very refreshing wine to drink.

Chardonnay
The 2020 Kale Napa Valley Chardonnay, A18 Atlas Peak is deep gold in color; the diverse bouquet offers aromas of melting honey, hazelnut, apricot, pineapple at the edge of being overripe, mango, yellow peaches, lemon curd, ginger, creme Brule, butterscotch and vanilla. And the aromas are forward and present even when this wine is chilled at a lower than recommended temperature. Minerally, the palate sports flavors of baked apple, Golden delicious apple, pineapple, apricot, hard candy lemon drops, candied ginger, butterscotch, creme Brule, lemon meringue pie and a lingering note of hazelnut. This is a richer expression of the variety, but still very much in balance. Lingers with loads of fruit and mouth watering acidity. 13.8% alcohol.

The 2020 Kale David Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons Vineyard Chardonnay is medium gold in color; the bouquet offers a pretty white floral note including of honeysuckle, apricot, ripe yellow peaches, baked pineapple (reminds us of the flavors of pineapple slices on our favorite dessert, Pineapple Upside Down Cake), butterscotch and a hint of creme Brule. Richly flavored with a plethora of ripe orchard fruits showing apricot, yellow peach, honeycomb, nectarine and layers of tropical fruits including mango and pineapple. The rounded and supple texture is balanced by an intensity of both fruit and bright acidity on the finish. And the palate lingers with notes of butterscotch, toasted almond and hazelnut. For reference, we tasted this 4 years post vintage; its showing in a sweet spot right now. And regardless of producer, Hyde Vineyards continues to deliver some of Napa Valley’s most exceptional Chardonnay. 13.6% alcohol.

We don’t usually compare producers to each other, because every producer is its own entity and does things their own way, but some of the Kale Chardonnay’s we have tried are almost Aubert-esque in their profiles (but at much lower alcohol than Aubert’s bottlings), showcasing richness, everything that one can extract from this variety, but always supported with rich and bright acidity.

Grenache
The 2016 Kale Grenache McGagh Vineyard Rutherford is a blend of 84% Grenache and 16% Mourvèdre. This wine is medium ruby in color; the bouquet is sweetly perfumed, dominated by aromas of raspberry and strawberry along with the Nabisco-trademarked Fig Newtons, red licorice, cinnamon stick, mocha, vanilla bean, dried rose petals and a hint of dried anise seeds. This latter aromatic reminds of us our latest visit to India where dried anise seeds and tiny sugar crystals are commonly served in small metal bowls as an after meal snack. On the palate there are flavors of strawberry, raspberry, cherry pie, plum and a lingering note of sweet dill. The polished and velvety tannins are seamlessly integrated into the finish, lingering with a subtle dusty grip. For reference, we tried this bottle 8 years post vintage. This wine would be the ideal company of the ‘smoked beef brisket’ from downtown Napa based Bounty Hunter.

Syrah
The 2017 Kale Syrah Hyde Vineyard Carneros, Napa Valley is 96% Syrah, 3% Grenache and 1% Viognier. This wine is medium to dark ruby in the glass with distinctive aromatics of red cherry, pomegranate, cooked rhubarb, rose stem, sage, other herbal notes and darker baking spices along with some influence of white pepper. The palate features bright red fruits with broadly distributed, slightly dry and long lasting gravely textured tannins. This wine shows mouthwatering acidity. Rather than using tanks or normal sized barrels, it was fermented and aged in 500L puncheons with extended maceration post fermentation. This reason for the larger vessels was twofold; to minimize oak and maximize the fruit while also helping manage tannins.

Kale was attending a Rhône Rangers tasting (the Grand Tasting is held annually in San Francisco and features wine made from Rhone varieties) when he started talking to a gentleman next sitting next to him. This man, Dick Keenan told Kale he grows some fairly obscure varieties in a non-AVA designated part of Sonoma County. He told Kale that he has probably never heard of the region where his vineyards are located.

As it turns out, Kale knows this area very well. Dick grows wine grapes in Rincon Valley, a very much residential part of Santa Rosa in neighboring Sonoma County. Kale lived in Rincon Valley for many years; Dick’s vineyard is located just down the street from where Kale used to play baseball in the local Little League Park. And to further make this meeting a fortuitous one, Dick specializes in growing Rhône varieties.

Kale calls this wine the “HomeRun” for obvious reasons! The 2011 Kale Wines Kick Ranch Home Run Cuvee is 70% Syrah and 30% Grenache. It is very dark in the glass. Aromatically this wine is about the fruit showcasing black cherry, blackberry and some underlying aromas of white pepper. The finish lasts for some time featuring a pleasing intensity of fruit.

The 2012 Kale Wines Syrah from Alder Springs is 96% Syrah co-fermented with 4% Viognier. The grapes grow at an elevation of 2,700 feet which is the highest planting in Alder Springs. The grapes were extracted by foot treading or the French term, “pigage”. This process is labor intensive; we have met only a few producers in Napa Valley doing this – and always for very small productions. Aromatically the wine shows ‘juicy’ aromas including blackberry and blueberry with notes of earth/ damp forest floor. The palate is rounded and both tannins and richness of flavor linger for some time.

The 2012 Kale Wines Broken Axle is from Stagecoach Vineyard located high on Atlas Peak. The amount of rock that ‘grows’ in this vineyard is astounding. Founder and owner of Stagecoach Jan Krupp removed enormous quantities of rocks over the years; this wine is named in tribute of the huge dump trucks that have been beaten up (some with broken axles) while working on this property. This wine is a blend of 75% Syrah and 25% Grenache; it is deep ruby with a rim. The bouquet immediately shows alluring aromas; it is meaty with notes of leather and toasted oak, and it is dark and brooding. A gravelly component also shows. As the wine breathes hints of baking spices appear. On the palate the wine has richness and depth. The dusty but rounded tannins linger for some time. Notes of mocha linger slightly on the finish. This wine also showcases bright acidity.

The Wine Thief
As of July 2015, Kale Wines began offering their wines The Wine Thief, a tasting room located in downtown Napa that features small production Napa Valley based vintners. This tasting room is located on the corner of 1st and McKinstry Streets directly across from Gott’s Roadside Hamburgers and the Oxbow Public Market.

Wines are available for tasting by walk-in at the tasting counter, or appointments can also be made to try the current release of their wines in one of the two private rooms on site. Kale moved their wines out of here during part of the time their wines were represented at the Heron House in Yountville, but moved back into the Wine Thief in the summer of 2023.

Heron House, Yountville (permanently closed)
Kale Wines was a member of the Heron House in Yountville until December 11, 2022, when this space closed permanently. We keep these notes and photographs for historical reference. This retail wine tasting space in SoYo (South Yountville) opened the day after Thanksgiving 2019 and featured a select number of small-brand producers who did not maintain their own tasting rooms. Heron House was created by vintner, Allison Stelzner, and the brands represented here were winemakers or friends or colleagues of Allison.

Heron House was setup to feel like walking into someone’s living room – comfortable, cozy and inviting. The retail portion of the space was open during normal business hours and included mostly locally crafted products including select works of art, some of which were seasonal offerings. Sometimes pieces of art from South America, primarily Uruguay were also featured. Two private tasting rooms were available by reservation. Several curated flights were offered, each containing wines from the various producers represented. Allow up to 90 minutes for a visit. Hours are subject to change, but as of our latest update to this review, this space is daily from 10am until 6pm with the last tasting appointment at 5pm. Weather permitting, tastings can also be held outdoors at one of several tables in the courtyard.

Kale used to meet serious wine enthusiasts at the Grill at Meadowood and is where we first met him; tastings at this restaurant were private and were typically built around food involving either at lunch or dinner.

Kale is also ICON cork certified (a program offered by Portocork America) meaning all corks used in their wines are certified to be TCA free. For more information, to schedule a tasting or to purchase wines, visit: www.kalewines.com