Evidence Wines. We have heard a number of stories behind the names of wine brands in Napa Valley, but this is one of the more unique narratives. One day early in his winemaking career, while working in the cellar at Cardinale Winery, founder and winemaker Jason Court noticed twenty cases of wine stacked on a palate was being stored; it had been recovered from an individual who stole wine from multiple brands (fortunately, not a common occurrence in Napa Valley). Unfortunately, this wine could never be sold due to its theft. An employee had wrapped tape around the entire palate and hand wrote the word, evidence on the outside of the tape.
The beauty of winemaking is that this industry attracts people from all walks of life. Jason is originally from near Chicago; his degree is in Theatre Arts. While living in Chicago he bartended and is where he met winemaker Chris Carpenter, who was also bartending at the time at Butch McGuire’s, a family-owned bar dating from 1961. Fast forward to the early 2000s when he was living in Los Angeles and working in film as an actor in several roles including for the video game Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II.
In late summer of 2002, he found himself out of work as the film unions were striking and work was going to Canada. He was still in contact with Chris Carpenter who by that time was making wine in Napa Valley for Cardinale; both men spoke, and Chris offered Jason one of his three harvest intern positions for the 2002 harvest. Jason moved up to Napa and worked his first harvest at age 39 that year. Chris has since become one of his strongest mentors in the industry.
One day in October, he recalls a special morning driving up the Silverado Trail. The temperature was brisk, hot air balloons were hovering above part of the valley and it was quiet; there were no sirens and helicopters buzzing like one often finds in Los Angeles. Jason had an epiphany inspired by Napa Valley’s visual natural beauty and the fact that he was learning hands-on winemaking. It was the first time in a long time that he felt so engaged and alive, and it felt right. He never went back to film making; his 20th harvest in Napa Valley was in 2022.
Jason never went to school for winemaking, rather he worked with Chris for seven years learning winemaking in the cellar for Cardinale, Lokoya and LaJota. For four years he lived on the second floor of the old stone La Jota Winery, high on the slopes of Howell Mountain. Living so close to the wines he was completely immersed in the details of his craft at the most intimate level one can have.
Jason started Evidence wines with his first vintage in 2009 with several bottlings from Lodi including a Zinfandel and a red blend. The bottlings under the first iteration of Evidence were larger production and featured a thumbprint on the label. Jason did not make Evidence wines in 2014 and 2015 and was ready to shelve the brand and focus on consulting winemaking gigs. But then one morning he received a call, in regard to a block of fruit on Mt. Veeder that was not under contract. He was asked the question, “do you want these grapes”? It was a question he couldn’t say no to.
Evidence produces distinctive wines which are rooted in vintage, site and variety rather than cellar manipulation. These are texturally driven rich wines, balanced by bright acidity but without the high accompanying alcohol. These are wines that are ready to drink upon release, but always make a compelling argument for additional aging.
Select Wines
Chenin Blanc
Jason produced his first ever commercial white wine in 2021, a Chenin Blanc from the Eldorado Hills in Eldorado County. These grapes were picked early to preserve and showcase acidity; it was fermented in stainless steel with fermentation stopped with 4% remaining sugar to balance the high acidity. It was then aged for 6 months sur lie and underwent battonage once a week. And it was kept from going through malolactic fermentation. This wine is medium golden in color; we initially wrote zesty to describe its opening aromatics including of lime and lemon but give it time to open and it will reveal floral notes including citrus blossom, honeysuckle and jasmine along with green apple. The palate is clean and crisp with a refreshing brightness accompanied by flavors of guava, tangerine and lemon juice (but without the tartness). This bottling is 11.2% alcohol. And like all his wines, a short line of text relating to each bottling appears on the label. For this wine it is: – of clarity.
Grüner Veltliner
The 2023 Evidence Grüner Veltliner of Harmonic Resonance, Marfarm Vineyard Edna Valley is medium gold in color. The beautiful and remarkably layered bouquet is a tangy union of citrus influences, tropical fruits and herbal notes. These aromas include lemon oil, citrus blossom, jasmine, young kaffir lime leaf, green apple, lemongrass, lemon verbena, thyme, not fully ripe pineapple, passion fruit and fennel. And there is a compelling saline/briny layer at play here. On the palate there are flavors of green apple, underripe pineapple, passion fruit, guava, Meyer lemon and subtle but finishing notes of fennel and tarragon. Some might call its acidity nervous, but we call it scintillating. The fleshy and silky mouth feel flows gently across the palate, lifted high by the juicy and vibrant finish. Mouthwatering and filled with loads of movement and energy. This wine will pair well with the fresh scallops we purchased earlier today at Santa Rosa Seafood (shoutout here to our favorite local seafood market) with a light flavor injection of fresh ginger and shaved lemongrass. This wine is a breezy 11.0% ABV. A wine of this cadence and character should be sold at Compline in Napa. The first vintage of Grüner Veltliner bottled by Evidence was from 2022.
This wine was whole-cluster pressed and then fermented in stainless steel. Its élevage was for 6 months in 5000L neutral oak puncheons where it sat on the lees and was stirred once a week.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Immaculate Vineyard
In 2017 Jason began making wines from the former 1.6-acre vineyard site of Inherit the Sheep wine brand in Coombsville. The former owners, Clay & Tersilla Gregory purchased this site in 2001 along with several sheep who were living on the property at the time. The Gregory’s planted the vineyard in 2001 after Clay met with his neighbor, vintner John Caldwell, an expert in soils and how they relate to choosing clones and rootstalks. Caldwell’s vineyard is planted to a number of varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Cabernet Franc; with comparable terroir and John’s recommendations, the Gregory’s choose to plant these three varieties. The Syrah was budded over to Cabernet Sauvignon after a few years. Both the Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc from this vineyard are used in the Evidence bottlings. The Gregory’s eventually sold the property, and the new owners renamed the site to Immaculate Vineyard.
The 2022 Evidence Cabernet Sauvignon, Immaculate Vineyard Coombsville- of divine intervention is a blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cabernet Franc. This wine is deep ruby and nearly opaque; loads of berry fruits make an immediate appearance on the bouquet including fresh blackberries, dark raspberries and boysenberry, accompanied by cherry pie and Satsuma plum at the peak of its ripeness. Its non fruited scents include a light ferrous quality, mocha, dark cocoa powder, sweet tobacco, Graham cracker and baker’s chocolate. Fully ripe but especially bright from its vibrant acidity, this wine tastes like dark plum, blackberry, boysenberry, Persian mulberry and finishing notes of chocolate, cocoa powder and roasted coffee bean. This is a bright and beautiful expression of what was a very challenging year due to the vintage’s overall heat including the extended temperature spike centered around Labor Day weekend. This wine was age in 100% French oak barrels of which 70% were new.
The 2018 Evidence Cabernet Sauvignon, Immaculate Vineyard Coombsville – of divine intervention (with 20% Cabernet Franc) is dark ruby in color with purple tinges on the rim in the glass; this is an elegant bouquet and one can notice the effects of the higher percentage of Cabernet Franc. This wine is more floral than the 17 vintage and shows aromas of violets, sage and other dried herbs along with a hint of licorice. Like all of the Evidence wines, this bottling needs time to breathe and open and when it does it shows more fruit including blackberry. We love the textural density and feel of the tannins on this bottling; they are dusty, long lasting and linger with a youthful brightness of both fruit and acidity along with notes of dried tobacco leaf. A contemporary Napa Valley wine under 14% alcohol? We don’t taste to many of those these days.
The 2017 Evidence Cabernet Sauvignon, Immaculate Vineyard Coombsville – of divine intervention was blended with 8% Cabernet Franc. Both varieties ripened at about the same time and were co-fermented. The bouquet is elegant offers aromas of dark spices, old leather, dried herbs and a scent that reminded us of our grandmother’s old jewelry box made of cedar (which we were gifted when she died). The palate offers higher toned fruit flavors, reflective of Coombsville cooler growing region including currant and red cherry. The finish shows somewhat savory with a lively mouthwatering tartness from the acidity, dusty but integrated tannins, a hint of white pepper and a lingering note of dried tobacco spice which persists deep into the finish.
Bruadair Vineyard
The 2022 Evidence Cabernet Sauvignon, Mt. Veeder – of the matter is 96% Cabernet Sauvignon (clone 337) and 4% Malbec. This wine is deep ruby and fully opaque. The first aromatic hit we noted is a tobacco spice including of dried tobacco leaf with ripe blackberry, boysenberry, dark mulberry, dark plum, black cherry, baked figs and non-fruited scents including smoked herbs, dark cocoa powder and baker’s chocolate. This is a fun wine to smell. Perhaps less oak influence on the palate than the bouquet, this wine tastes like blackberry, Santa Rosa plum, Persian mulberry, dark raspberries and boysenberry. But there is a lot more than just fruit going on here; its finishing notes include dried sage, dried Bay leaf, a minerally or crushed rock character and smoked cedar. The firm but integrated grainy and gravelly tannins echo its mountain pedigree and persist in tandem with the fruit and savory attributes on the extended and bright finish. This bottling will be highly age worthy; this is not always something we note for 2022 red wines from Napa Valley.
The 2018 Evidence Bruadair Vineyard Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with 16% Malbec (twice the amount in 2017); this wine is dark ruby in color and almost opaque. The bouquet initially offers aromas of sweaty leather, a meaty note, iron (almost a bloody quality) and dark plum. Give it time to open and it will reveal the core of its fruit including additional aromas of blueberry and blackberry along with violets. This is a big mountain wine with dense, persistent and gripping tannins. The finish lingers savory with mouthwatering acidity accompanied by an earthy and dust nuance. This vineyard is located at an elevation of approximately 1,600 feet above sea level. BBQ tri-tip please.
Jason sources grapes from the 8.5-acre Bruadair Vineyard (meaning dream in Gaelic) at about 1,600 feet on Mt. Veeder (near Hess Collection). The 2017 Evidence Bruadair Vineyard was blended with 8% Malbec. This wine is dark ruby and fairly opaque in the glass; it offers aromas of blackberry, dark plum, blackberry, dark raspberry and olive. We described its aromatics as slightly brambly. This is a robust but balanced bottling; its character is fleshy with layers of flavor anchored by dense, chewy and long-lasting tannins. It also lingers with notes of dried tobacco leaf.
Hospitality
For several years, Jason personally hosted tastings at The Parlor house at Feast it Forward in the city of Napa (by appointment only). He has since transitioned his tastings to the Napa Valley Car Club, located at the members only and private Napa Valley Car Club, located in the Oxbow District directly next to the Napa River. Several spaces are available for tastings including weather permitting outside on the nearly 5,000 square foot patio among the palm trees and a private room. The Barn houses a collection of fine exotic automobiles, a lounge area and bar and the upstairs vault for playing pool. Tastings with Jason are unscripted, informative and at your own pace.
Total annual production is around 600 cases with plans to grow slowly. The wines are primarily sold direct to consumer through the mailing list and website but also have limited distribution in Los Angeles and in Napa Valley. In the city of Napa select vintages are sometimes available for purchase at Napa Cigar or Backroom Wines. And in Yountville, at the French Laundry.
Tastings with Jason are always private, fun and educational. For more information, to schedule a tasting or to purchase wines, visit: www.evidencewines.com
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