Napa Valley’s Cain Rises Like A Phoenix from the Flame

Still Cain—Like a Phoenix Rising: Cain Vineyard & Winery releases the 2021 Cain Five—the first estate-grown Cain Five following the 2020 Glass Fire
(Aug. 12, 2024; St. Helena, Calif.)— Nearly four years after the harrowing Glass Fire that took the winery and much of the vineyard in 2020, Cain is finally releasing its first estate-grown Cain Five since the devastation. “Cain is like no other vineyard in the world. It started with a vision and now has become a reality,” says Wine-Grower, Chris Howell. “And even more impressive, it’s a reality that can’t be destroyed by fire. This wine is undeniably, still Cain.”
Chris Howell and Katie Lazar, winegrowers and co-general managers of Cain Vineyard & Winery, based in Napa Valley’s Spring Mountain District are proud to announce the release of the 2021 Cain Five-Estate, “The Phoenix.” The 2021 bottling is the first vintage of Cain Five since the winery and much of the iconic vineyard burned in the 2020 Glass Fire.
Chris Howell comments about the fire and the recovery:
All who’ve visited the Cain Vineyard have said that it’s like no other vineyard they’ve ever seen. Indeed, the unique combination of breezy ocean air, the spectacular terraces cradled in a bowl, and the soils formed of ancient marine sedimentary rocks create a situation unlike any other in the Napa Valley, Sonoma, and beyond. It’s a terroir that can only yield a wine unto itself.
Today, we are thankful to be able to offer you our 2021 Cain Five, the 32nd vintage of Cain Five, and it is a classic. We are especially thankful to have this first vintage following the devastating Glass wildfire of 2020. Though we were only able to glean just three hundred cases, we are deeply gratified to discover a true Cain Five, worthy of this magnificent place and four decades of work.
It was in the middle of the 2020 vintage, when, on a Sunday evening, the fire swept through the vineyard. We couldn’t take time to pause to mourn the loss. Immediately, that Fall, we set to work clearing fallen trees, opening the roads and avenues, and repairing drains to protect the vineyard from the coming winter rains. By February, we were able to return to our traditional work of the season—pruning vines, selecting the canes and the buds for the coming season to give new shoots for the coming years, and grapes for the annual vintage.
Among so many vines lost, we wondered what was left, but we had hope. We found survivors, here and there, in various corners throughout the vineyard. The truth is, we pruned more vines than would ultimately survive. And in several places we overlooked rows and whole blocks that showed us over the next couple of years that they did indeed survive, even though, for a year or two, we had given them no love.
Many vines survived, but far from most. Some were unscathed; in certain rows a few vines were lost, while others still thrived. Nature continues. Cain would have a harvest. The seasons brought forth buds, shoots, leaves, flowers, and grapes. The grapes turned purple. As they developed, not every shoot, nor every cluster was well. It was important to be attentive, and to select only the fully ripened fruit. Once again, the importance of a long-term, dedicated crew of vineyardists was demonstrated.
As soon as grapes of the 2021 vintage began to ferment, we were thrilled to find the familiar aromas of the wines of the Cain Vineyard: floral notes—rose, jasmine and the delicate, evanescent daphne; herbal notes—thyme, rosemary, tarweed; forest notes—Douglas fir and bay laurel. As the new wines developed, the amazingly silky tannins were revealed. In the barrel, the wine developed just as the young wine had promised.
The 2021 Cain Five is the validation of the Cain Vineyard, a project with a history of more than four decades. First dreamt in 1979 and planted in 1981 by Jerry and Joyce Cain, then continued by Jim Meadlock, now in his 38th year as an owner of Cain, and, most importantly, carried forward by a dedicated team, many of whom have been tending the vines for twenty years or more.
Thank you for your continued support of our work in the Cain Vineyard.