Those of you who know our story know that we often talk about the incredible journey “from the brink of bankruptcy to the top of Wappo Hill.” Today, we are both proud and humbled to add “…and Pritchard Hill” to that story.
In 2012, we were working from plastic folding chairs in a subleased office in St. Helena…wondering how we were going to make payroll. We never could have imagined where our journey would take us over the next 10 years. There was a lot of blood, sweat and tears along the way, and many sleepless nights – we’ve written about this elsewhere on our website. There were also great partnerships and relationships that fueled and inspired us on our journey – buying fruit from Andy Beckstoffer to start, and later the opportunities to continue building upon legacies started by Bob Hartwell and Frank Farella. We are honored to now include the Chang family as another such relationship that has been integral to the Realm journey.
The Chang family purchased a young vineyard at the top of Pritchard Hill in 2010. The site was surrounded by some of the best names in the wine world – Colgin, Ovid, David Arthur, just to name a few. The Chang’s children (Chris, Aimee, Jason, and Jason’s wife, Flora) worked together to design and develop a winemaking facility. They brought in David Abreu to farm the existing vineyard and worked meticulously to cultivate a few more acres. They chose to name the winery Nine Suns and the surrounding vineyard Houyi Vineyard after a Chinese legend.
The legend tells the story of ten individual suns that would rise and set each day, taking turns doing so. One day all ten suns rose at once scorching the earth and wreaking havoc. Houyi, a mythological Chinese archer, was asked by the emperor to eliminate the suns – he successfully shot down nine suns leaving only one. The earth was once again restored, balanced, and harmonious. This idea of harmony is core to winegrowing, and encapsulates the family’s vision for this unique site.
Houyi Vineyard is perched above the fog line at an elevation of approximately 1,300 feet. The site enjoys plenty of sunshine coupled with cool breezes in the afternoon from the bay. On a clear day, you can see San Francisco with the Salesforce Tower shining in the distance. The soils here are unimaginably rocky, adding a dimension of difficulty to the farming but also a depth to the wine.
Like the Changs, we were drawn to the majesty of Pritchard Hill early on in our journey. We dreamed about making a wine from this special corner of Napa Valley. In 2013, we got an opportunity to buy fruit from the Chang family, and began producing a wine designated as Houyi Vineyard. It was composed entirely of Cabernet Sauvignon since that was the only varietal available to us. Over time, we developed a better understanding of the vineyard – it’s consistency, how to balance richness with freshness, etc. We think our wines from here have become more precise over time – as evidenced by the 2018 and 2019 vintages – and we are beyond excited for the next chapter.
After nearly a decade of working together, Jason Chang and Scott Becker sat down in the fall of 2021 to discuss the future and a possible transition. The Chang family decided over the years to sell most of the fruit from the vineyard, which meant their own wine label Nine Suns was relatively small. It also meant the winemaking facility was underutilized. Aimee Chang lived in New York and was now focused on a new career. Chris Chang had gradually stepped back from the business. Jason and Flora were running the day-to-day business but recognized there was an opportunity for someone to do more with it. So the Chang family had been looking for someone that could build upon what they started, someone who could take the estate to the next level. Jason and Scott spent the next six months working out the details of a transition.
As we have done previously with the Hartwell and Farella families, we worked hard to find an approach that was respectful of the past and also provided a clear path for the future. Relationships matter, and our decade-long partnership with the Chang family helped us arrive at an agreement that worked for everyone. Realm acquired Nine Suns and the Houyi Vineyard – including the land, facilities, brand and inventory. We are glad to provide Houyi Vineyard fruit for Flora Chang to continue her personal wine brand Plinth. We even agreed she could make the wine in the facility for the first few years until she establishes the brand. It may be the end of one chapter but it’s also the beginning of a new one.
Knowing it was possible we could acquire the property in the middle of the growing season, we gambled in January 2022 by taking over the farming right away. We didn’t want to wait until closing to take over farming because we would miss the opportunity to influence key moments in fruit development. Benoit wanted a headstart on the wines from 2022 by directing specific viticultural practices. This was a rather unorthodox approach and we had to be willing to assume all risks and liabilities, even if the transaction didn’t close. It’s not the first time we’ve been willing to bet on ourselves in the name of pursuing the highest quality…and thankfully it appears this time like it will have been worth the risk.
As new owners of Nine Suns Estate and Houyi Vineyard, we are honored to be the stewards of this special place. We look forward to working with all 22 acres of vineyards and trialing a few new varietals – Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Grenache (!) to name a few. We also look forward to welcoming members to the property for unique experiences and events beginning in 2023.
There will be two bottlings of 2021 from Houyi Vineyard to share with the Realm mailing list next year – one produced by Realm (the same wine since 2013); the other one vinified by Nine Suns and finished by Realm. This is not only a way to showcase two different expressions of the vineyard, but also a final tribute to the two entities working alongside each other through the transition. Beginning with the 2022 vintage, Realm will bottle one estate wine continuing with the name Houyi Vineyard.
Scott: "This next chapter of the Realm journey promises to be our most daring adventure yet. In some ways, this is a natural progression for us – we’ve been in the vineyard for almost a decade already. Yet on the other hand, we have to recognize that purchasing this land is a big leap for us which carries big risks. Wildfires, increasing interest rates, the looming threat of recession, climate change, you name it. We have a lot to learn and we don’t have it all figured out yet. Mother Nature and the economy will have a lot of influence over our future. But if we take the long view, I actually think the greater risk is to not take the leap…to become complacent or to miss an opportunity to own some of the best ground in Napa Valley. Realm stands for dreaming big and pursuing quality at all costs…or it stands for nothing at all. So now the real work begins – in the vineyard, in the cellar, in the office – to prove that Realm’s best wines (from Houyi and elsewhere) are still ahead of us."
Thank you to all our members, partners and friends for your support. The best is yet to come.
