Stringer Cellars

Stringer Cellars. Founded by winemaker Casey Stringer in 2016, the focus of his production is on small lot wines from both Napa Valley and beyond – including Santa Barbara and Sonoma counties. Casey remembers visiting Napa Valley for the first time. He was on a trip with his parents to scope out several college campuses including USF and Humboldt State in Arcata. Scheduled on the itinerary was a visit with a great aunt (who he had never met before) living in San Francisco. But she passed merely two days before their visit. As a result, the family had a few extra days on their trip. Casey’s father who enjoys wine suggested they drive up to Napa Valley for a visit.

Casey recalls his first visit to Napa Valley was something like, “I like this, this feels good,” referring to both the visual beauty of the vineyards and surrounding hillsides along with the restaurant scene. This initial attraction has led to numerous winemaking jobs over the years. Hooked, but without really much background in wine yet, he returned to the Milwaukee area and began working at Grapes and Grain (a wine shop). Later he moved to Santa Barbara to study photography at the Brooks Institute of Photography (closed after 70 years in 2016). While studying photography Casey took a part time job in the cellar at Fiddlehead Cellars. He quickly realized making wine was a newfound passion and left photography school to work at Fiddlehead Cellars full time.

In 2004 he moved to Napa Valley and worked in the cellar at Robert Sinskey and later at Archery Summit in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. He realized that to continue and further his career in winemaking he would need more education. This decision took him to Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand where he completed a two-year winemaking and viticulture certificate at the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) while simultaneously working at wineries on both the north and south islands. Back to California in 2009, he took a cellar position at Jonata Vineyards in Santa Barbara.

Returning to the Milwaukee area he met Brooke who would eventually become his wife – he also began to work for his family business, Matenaer, a Wisconsin based metal manufacturing company. But winemaking was never far from his mind. In 2013 he decided to purchase Sryah grapes from a coveted vineyard in the Ballard Canyon AVA of Santa Barbara through connections he made while working at Jonata; the single ton of grapes was loaded into a refrigerated truck and driven across country where he made the wine in Wisconsin and later gave it to friends, family and clients of his family’s business. The following year he purchased the same amount of Syrah but also some Howell Mountain Cabernet and again transported the grapes across the country. By this time, he had bonded a small section of one of the buildings at Matenaer, as a winery and the wines were produced there for a short time. These two wines were essentially the impetus for Stringer Cellars.

Between the logistical challenges of making wine across the country from where the grapes were grown, plus the additional headaches of compliance, various regulations and retail perception of high quality (and higher priced wines) from California but being produced in Wisconsin, Casey made the decision to move the winemaking operations to Napa Valley. Like with his own winemaking career, his ‘winemaking home’ has been in a number of cellars in both Napa Valley and neighboring Sonoma County over the years.

Casey’s winemaking style is one that embraces the California sunshine, yet simultaneously emphasizes freshness over power and balance over boldness, especially when it comes to his Napa Valley produced Cabernet Sauvignon wines. He harvests based on acidity and doesn’t pick under ripe nor over ripe either. And an integral part of his success is rooted in exceptional vineyard sites.

Select Wines
Stringer Cellars, WHITES
The 2021 Stringer Cellars John Sebastiano Vineyard Chardonnay Santa Rita Hills is medium gold in color; the layered bouquet offers aromas of honeysuckle, honeycomb, dried hay, a waxy note like beeswax, graphite, and some stone fruits aromatics including nectarine, peaches, apricots. It also showcases scents of mango and pear. The bouquet is more tropical and ripe than the palate. Supported by a lightly fleshy viscosity, the palate is brightly lit with mineralities and flavors of mandarin orange, lemon zest and pomelo. It is a balanced bottling with bright acidity, especially noticeable on the finish. This is a Chardonnay that will change proponents of the ABC movement (anything but Chardonnay) to reconsider their perspectives of this variety. Stringer Cellars has been producing Chardonnay from this site since their inaugural vintage. This Chardonnay was fermented in 500L puncheons of which 20% were new French oak. The wine is not racked until right before bottling.

The 2018 Stringer Cellars Linda Vista (Oak Knoll District) Chardonnay (clone 4) offers a pretty bouquet with aromas of ripe apple, a hint of vanilla, citrus and darker desert spices. Very balanced but certainly not oaky – the wine is carried by a brightness of fruit across the palate lingering with just a hint of butter on the finish. Spent 12 months aging sur lees but without any battonage. Casey tends to pick his Chardonnay a little bit earlier and in regards to this variety in particular, he is not a fan of ‘too much’, especially oak. He ferments in both new 500-liter puncheons and neutral oak barrels. This wine went through full malolactic fermentation, but with a strain of malolactic bacteria that is known for producing less diacetyl (a compound that results in buttery aromas and flavors).

Stringer Cellars, REDS
The 2019 Stringer Cellars June Mountain Vineyard Grenache was sourced from a site in the Fountain Grove District in Sonoma County, an AVA which neighbors Napa Valley’s Spring Mountain District, just off of Calistoga Road on the hills before dropping into Santa Rosa. It is a fairly windy site. The Alban clone vines would set only about 1/3 to 1/2 of fruit per acre before they were finally grafted over to Cabernet Sauvignon. 2019 was the last vintage from this vineyard. This wine is ruby red color with a pink and purple hue to the rim with a freshness and a vibrancy that envelopes the glass immediately. There are notes of raspberry, strawberry and a ‘pine freshness’. Also red licorice – its typicity is very ‘Grenachy’. Well balanced in its extreme youth at the time of our tasting, this bottling is built on its bright acidity. The tannins are dark, slightly earthy/dusty and linger with a light grip accompanied by notes of cigar smoke, and bright cherry. A pleasure to drink.

And the energetic label is based off of a painting Casey’s family commissioned of artist Tom Uttech who is known for his works depicting wildlife migrations through forests growing in the northern United States and south-eastern Canada. Not a wine drinker, Tom does enjoy receiving a few cases of wine each year from Stringer Cellars to share with family and friends.

As Casey admits, if he could build a business entirely on single vineyard expressions of Syrah – he would. His time working in Santa Barbara certainly was an important influence.

The 2021 Stringer Cellars Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah Santa Maria Valley is deep ruby with an amaranthine rim and opaque; the bouquet is elegant, intriguing and immediately open-knitted offering both floral and fruit characteristics. These include scents of violets, rose petals and berries: blueberry, raspberry and blackberry. There is a spice note across the palate including of crushed black pepper, but is not peppery. It offers flavors of spicy plum skin and dark raspberry. This is a bright, fresh and invigorating bottling of this variety on both the bouquet and the palate. The tannins sport a light gravelly and grainy texture and are well-integrated on the finish. This wine lingers lively with a mouth watering acidity but no tartness, while accompanied by a light dusty character. Pair with ribs on the BBQ.

The Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah is one of the pillars of the Stringer Cellars bottlings and the source block is entirely the Estrella clone. The wine was fermented 30% whole cluster with aging occurring in 500L puncheons of which 50% were new. During the Glass Fire of 2020, Casey called upon contacts he had made when living in Santa Barbara. He needed to find grapes that were not affected by smoke taint. He was told to call the vineyard manager at Bien Nacido Vineyard. One block was available at the last minute. He continues to source Syrah from this site, although unlike in 2020, he now has full control of when the grapes are harvested.

The 2018 Ballard Canyon Syrah is medium ruby in color with an elegant bouquet showing aromas of violets; it offers a liveliness of exuberant fruit with some savory notes as it breathes. Not a spicy bouquet. Shows a roundness and density on the palate. Lingers with long lasting tannins and a noticeable grip, but their texture is not course. Also notes of darker spices; this wine is juicy and mouthwatering. Casey noted the bouquet is more old-world style while the palate is more California style. It’s easy to see what he means after trying this wine.

The 2021 Stringer Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is the largest production wine in the Stringer Cellars portfolio; this bottling includes grapes from Oakville, Yountville, Howell Mountain, Atlas Peak, Oak Knoll and Pritchard Hill. It is a blend of about 50% mountain and 50% valley floor grapes. This wine is deep ruby; the bouquet offers a minty/eucalyptus note and a red chili spice; there is a light herbal character but its not green or vegetal and that is an important distinction. And there are red fruits at play including cherry and raspberry. It is vibrant, fresh and mouth watering across the palate; this wine sings with energy. The tannins are gravelly with a light dusty character. The palate is red fruited with flavors of cherry, plum, currant and cranberry. The finish lingers with notes of dried tobacco leaf and dried herbs. Texturally, the tannins outpace the fruit on the finish. The label on this wine is also based on a painting his family owns by Tom Uttech.

The 2018 Stringer Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (4% Petit Verdot) is a blend of grapes from various parts of Napa Valley including Stagecoach Vineyard, Rutherford, the Oak Knoll District and Howell Mountain. The bouquet is both influenced by youthful fruit and youthful oak. Offers plenty of ripe fruit aromas and is also savory at times with aromas of cedar. Chalky tannins linger along with darker spices including cracked peppercorn and cedar. Still needs some time to fully integrate. This wine is available at an attractive quality to price point.

The 2021 Stringer Cellars Ghostblock Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal; this wine is deep ruby in color; the aromatics are layered and darker with some spice characteristics including old cedar box, graphite/pencil shavings and baking spices. The fruit is there but it needs more time to be coaxed out in the glass. Balanced in its youth, this wine features the Stringer Cellars characteristic brightness. The palate sports flavors of red cherry, plum, currant and cranberry. The finish is bright fruited. The persistent tannins are dusty with an almost chalky character and far outlasts the fruit on the finish. This wine shows plenty of energy in its youth and should continue to be fresh for years to come. Casey has been purchasing grapes from Ghostblock since 2016. Casey calls Ghostblock an old-school Napa Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard. It ripens very early, usually in the first part of September. He produced this wine for the first time in 2019, a single barrel for his club members.

The 2021 Stringer Cellars Holmes Ranch, Oakville is a blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petite Sirah. It is deep ruby and opaque; the bouquet features scents of muddled cherries, black raspberry, boysenberry and blackberry with some barrel influenced spices including cinnamon, clove and a light toasted oak character. This is a fun wine to keep smelling due to its layered aromatics. It offers depth, complexity, and intrigue. The palate is both red and dark fruited with flavors of plum, blackberry and cherry. The tannins are grainy, granular and fully coat the palate while lingering with notes of pink peppercorn and a dust character. Their grip is persistent; this wine is very youthful, like an energetic teenager and at this age needs some time to fully open. Regardless, it is loaded with plenty of ageability potential with the proper cellaring. It is savory on both the bouquet and the palate. The grapes are harvested from 35 year old clone 7 vines growing on western Oakville benchland soils bordering Martha’s Vineyard. This bottling was aged in 75% new French oak for 19 months. Casey told us that this is, “one of those vineyards that reminds me of why I do what I do”. It is a special site indeed.

The 2021 Stringer Cellars Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is from a vineyard on Las Posadas Road. It is 100% varietal, a blend of clone 337 and 191, both of which were fermented together. For reference, we tasted this wine several months before it was released. This wine is deep ruby and opaque; the bouquet offers red-fruited aromas with notes of dried herbs including sage and bittersweet chocolate, subtle mocha and spicy plum skins. Gravelly and grainy and still course, the chewy tannins need time in the bottle for their edges to be softened. This is a powerhouse and a muscular mountain wine, both in terms of intensity of flavor, texture and acidity. The palate offers darker fruit flavors of plum, blackberry and dark cherry. There is a note of dried tobacco leaf on the finish and a drying character which continues to persist. The finish is long and mouth watering. Needs some protein in its youth. It is built to easily go several decades. And unlike some of the valley floor sites Casey works with, this wine has its dark color right from after it is pressed off. Casey considers Howell Mountain his favorite sub appellation to work with in Napa Valley. Unfortunately this was the last vintage from this particular vineyard bottled under Stringer Cellars. This wine was aged in 60% new French oak.

The 2021 Stringer Cellars Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (clone 337) is blended with 2% Petite Sirah. This tiny percentage helps flesh out the mid palate and Casey call it, “the ultimate Band-Aid in the cellar,” used for adding color, structure or rounding out a wine. The Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the Pritchard Hill part Stagecoach Vineyard; the source block was planted in 2014 and always features noteworthy acidity. This wine is deep ruby and opaque; the bouquet is immediately open-knitted with both floral and fruit aromas. These scents include violets accompanied by raspberry, red cherry, dried herbs and a light layer of dried tobacco leaf. Red fruited across the palate. It is energetic both in terms of its acid profile and its texture. A ‘wake up wine’ especially compared to some of Napa Valley’s more hedonistic and opulent bottlings of this variety. The still course, chewy and muscular tannins showcase a memorable, vivid, dense, drying and a long-lasting finish. This is quintessential mountain Napa Valley in a bottle. Or alternatively stated, a Texas steak lovers wine. We don’t try too many Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon bottlings with both a pH of 3.5 and over 15% alcohol like this bottling. But it works. And these numbers have been similar regardless of vintage. Super age worthy in the realm of 20 to 30+ years. It was aged in 80% new French oak barrels.

The 2017 Stringer Cellars Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (2% Petite Sirah from Calistoga) is dark ruby in color; offers aromatics of blackberry, red cherry, violets and some darker notes including tobacco smoke. Features long lasting earthy tannins with a moderate grip along with a tobacco leaf note. This wine certainly has the spinal fortitude to be able to age for years to come. We tasted three years after its vintage date; it is still a very youthful wine. And its price point is among the lowest of the Stagecoach Vineyard produced wines. Stagecoach is a large vineyard; the grapes for this wine were sourced from the northern part of the vineyard closest to Pritchard Hill with soils similar to what is found on Pritchard Hill. They are primarily volcanic, iron rich and red with plenty of rocks. We have seen these types of soils extend all the way into parts of Atlas Peak through sections of Kongsgaard Vineyard. This wine was aged in both a combination of closed top stainless steel tanks and in barrel – 80% new French oak.

The name and logo for the wines was carefully and appropriately chosen – reflecting both Casey’s last name and his love of fishing; a stringer is a row of fish hanging from a string.

Metal Bender
The 2019 Metal Bender Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc is medium yellow in color; offers aromas of ripe apple, cucumber water, a very subtle hint of lemongrass, pineapple and tangerine. Supple and slightly creamy, its rounded texture runs the length of the palate but is complemented nicely with brightness. Shows flavors of orange, mandarin and honeydew melon. Balanced and easy drinking. After pressing the grapes, the next day the juice was transferred into both neutral and new French oak barrels along with stainless steel vessels. Rather than inoculating all lots together, the juice in the barrels was allowed to ferment using indigenous yeast while the juice in the stainless-steel barrels was inoculated using a commercial strain of yeast.

Matenaer Corporation, West Bend Wisconsin
This now very sizable and impressive metal manufacturing business is located in an industrial park a few minutes’ drive from the charming town of West, Bend. The company was founded in 1972 by Joe Maetener whose focus was fairly limited at the time, a steel slitting house producing stamped metal washers from 1972 until 1992. In 1992 Casey’s father Chip purchased the factory and today Matenaer employs approximately 150 people including Casey’s brother Tim who is Operations Manager and other brother Andrew who is the Vice President.

Not having a background in metals, Chip brought a keen business sense to the company and since his purchase the company has grown dramatically to now over 130,00 square feet of space. Today the company has expanded into producing a wide variety of metal components primarily OEM parts and are distributed throughout the United States and also internationally. Individual buildings house specific machines including laser cutters, welders, CNC machines, stamping and lathes and mills among other equipment. A dedicated building houses their GEOMET® coating lines, products that need special coatings due to their proximity to marine environments.

The amount of automation with some of the machines is impressive; some of the machines run 24 hours a day. During a visit some of the highlights were a laser cutter deftly cutting out pieces from 3/8″ steel plates, a massive 800-ton stamp press, and thick steel ribbons on spooling machines waiting to be processed. The raw materials used are almost entirely produced in the United States.

With so many machines, a dedicated building houses their maintenance and repair operations.

Matenaer Corporation

Original Stringer Cellars Winery, Matenaer Corporation

West Bend

VAULT Wine + Artifacts
Stringer Cellars was a founding vintner member and part of a select group of small brands hosting tastings by appointment in VAULT Wine + Artifacts in Calistoga. This space was previously the home of ROAM Antiques; in early 2021 ROAM Antiques closed permanently, and the building underwent a major renovation which was completed by late summer 2021. The VAULT Wine + Artifacts space anchoring the south side of Lincoln Avenue on the far west side of Calistoga is a partnership between Mario Sculatti and Trevor Mallett.

The space re-opened as VAULT Wine + Artifacts in Fall 2021, a wine tasting space for several brands owned by Trevor and Mario, along with select other wines from ROAM and Sarah Francis, among others. In the spirit of the previous antiques business, a number of historical wine objects are displayed inside. These include winemaking equipment, hand-blown glass and an impressive collection of corkscrews. Other than the large items, most everything is for sale in the gallery.

The centerpiece of the space is an old Roman press, whose heritage Trevor told us, is possibly from either Austria or Ukraine. Old wooden Roman presses are extremely rare in Napa Valley. The only two wineries we know of who own Roman presses from earlier winemaking days are Nichelini Family Winery and Yates Family Vineyards. Another smaller wooden press is from Germany with words in German engraved in the wood which roughly translate to: “In good times and in bad times we still make red and white wine”!

As of our latest update to this review, VAULT Wine + Artifacts offers three tastings including Valley Floor, Mountain and Unique Varieties. Visits are preferably by appointment, but staff will try to accommodate walk-ins if not busy. A side room seats up to 8 people for a private and more intimate tasting. A large mirror greets visitors inside this room; it doubles as a secret door to another room, containing a library and office.

Total production of all the Stringer Cellar wines is around 3,000 cases annually, including several wines bottled under a second label, Metal Bender – in homage to the family business. The wines are selectively distributed in 13 states including California, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina and Florida. Tastings are by appointment and are always held with Casey, typically at VAULT Wine + Artifacts in Calistoga or at a production facility in Windsor or at a winery in Napa Valley. For more information or to join their wine club, visit: www.stringercellars.com