On Q Wines

On Q Wines was founded by vintner Steve Baker in 2010. He grew up in rural Napa Valley, in Gordon Valley in particular, located slightly east of the city of Napa. While he had friends in the wine business while growing up, he did not become a winemaker; rather he became a marine engineer and spent years at sea for Chevron. His interest in making wine came much later in life.

Steve really enjoyed a particular wine made by Fife Vineyards called Max Cuvée, a blend containing Syrah and Petite Sirah. He decided to plant both of these varieties at his home in 2003 where he was living at the time (Browns Valley, Napa) as he planned to make a wine similar in style to the Max Cuvée. In order to learn more about both viticulture and wine making he enrolled in the Viticulture and Winery Technology program at Napa Valley College.

He credits professor Dr. Stephen Krebs (an influential and well-liked professor who taught at Napa Valley College for 25+ years) with teaching one of the most valuable courses he took during his enrollment. As Steve’s vineyard grew, he continued to take viticulture courses and by the time the vineyard produced its first fruit he was taking oenology courses. He acquired more hands on knowledge by making home wine for five years with the consulting help of longtime friend and wine maker Mark Jessup.

Ultimately, he decided to make the jump to producing wine commercially; he worked on the early vintages himself and then in 2012 hired consulting winemaker Julien Fayard to make the wines.

Steve has played the trumpet since he was a child and continues to play in several bands in the San Francisco Bay Area. He searched for a name that would combine both his love of wine and music. A cue is a gesture by a conductor signaling musicians that it is time to begin a piece. Steve shortened this to simply “Q” – as he says, “In wine, music and life, timing is everything”.

With On Q, he has already experienced one such lucky break of timing. In a natural disaster, sometimes there is an extremely fine line between those effected and those who are not. Take the earthquake in Napa in August 2014 for example. Steve stored his barrels at a wine facility in Napa and when the 2014 South Napa earthquake hit at 3:20am Steve was in Singapore. His friend later texted him a photo pulled off one of the TV stations. It was the storage facility where he kept his wines and many of the barrels were lying in a huge pile on the floor wine free flowing on the concrete; the complete destruction was dramatic especially seeing this in person but looking at photographs much later produces a similar gut feel impact.

As luck would have it, his few barrels were precariously balancing on the steel palates, precious centimeters from coming off and crashing onto the floor. Remarkably, none of his wine was destroyed by the earthquake.

For a small vintner, to lose all your production would have been devastating and Steve admits he may not have been able to afford to continue if his wine was destroyed. The red wines reviewed below were the ones that survived the earthquake.

Appellation Trading Company
In 2022, On Q was sold to Appellation Trading Company. This business was founded by Charles Bartlett in 2008. 2008 brought a financial downturn and he began looking for other opportunities besides printing labels. He began buying and selling barrels, worked in winery equipment sales but then discovered that because of the economic hardships at the time, wineries had plenty of inventory but were having difficulties selling their wines. Sensing an opportunity and leveraging his relationships with wineries, he purchased finished wines which were not yet bottled. And he would then private label the wines and offer premium wines at very reasonable pricing. This entrepreneurial spirit formed the early roots of Appellation Trading Company.

As the economic crisis faded and the economy became stronger these deals from the wineries were no longer available. So, he began to purchase bulk wine and sell to niche markets, more of a negociant model. He developed numerous labels in house (at the time of our latest update to this review they own nearly 40 individual wine brands). And over the years they have also acquired existing Napa Valley based brands, beginning in 2013 with Edict Wines, in 2019 Beau Vigne, in 2020 Frisson and in 2022 On Q. Production has been remarkable over a fairly short amount of time; today they produce over 200,000 cases of wine each year.

The name fits their business model perfectly, Appellation in regard to purchasing wines from various wine appellations and trading, referring to the buying and selling of wine. Their operations are in a business park in south Napa; all primary fermentation is done off site and their role is storing wines in barrel and tank with final blending decisions made on site. And they have their own mobile bottling truck so they can bottle at their convenience, for their own projects only (rather than offering custom bottling services) and also label on site. Minimum orders begin with a pallet of wine.

Select Wines
Chardonnay
The 2023 On Q Megandina Chardonnay, Napa Valley is medium gold in color; ripe, generous and fruity, the bouquet holds nothing back. If it wants the dance floor, it can have as much as much space as it needs, because its aromatic personality is outgoing and demands attention. This wine smells like ripe pineapple, apricots, Alphonso mango, fully ripe papaya, canned peaches in syrup, vanilla, creme Brule, butterscotch, baked apples, quince, warm butter and honey. There are loads of aromatic layering at play here. The palate straddles the line between richness and balance, with restraint and balance ultimately winning this tug. Its flavors include pineapple, golden apples, apricot jam, yellow peaches, pineapple guava (a flavor we are intimately familiar with as we harvest these tasty fruits every fall), ripe honeydew melon, nectarine, vanilla and butterscotch. The texture is lightly silky, pulled upwards by its bright and balanced acidity. This wine finishes ripe and sweetly fruited with a persistence of flavor. It is a listed 13.8% ABV.

Grenache Noir
The 2015 On Q Grenache Noir reveals attractive tropical aromas with grapefruit and notes of pear. A sweetness of fruit shows on the front of palate with a mineral component. This bottling displays a noticeable crispness; it is a refreshing wine on the palate. A very unique wine from a Napa Valley producer is their Grenache Noir; this is a red variety but they are making a white wine from it. Rather than keeping this wine on the skins – they avoid skin contact during the wine making and pick the fruit at a lower brix then normal. It is sourced from a vineyard in El Dorado County, was fermented and aged in stainless steel and did not undergo malolactic fermentation.

Cabernet Sauvignon
On Q focuses on making Cabernet Sauvignon from cooler climate regions in the Napa Valley with a focus on Coombsville, one of Napa’s cooler sub appellations located just east of the city of Napa. Steve told us he enjoys the balanced wines from grapes growing in the cooler microclimates of Coombsville. On Q currently sources from several vineyards including Massoumi and Lambert Family Vineyard. Both are highly sought after with several other local winemakers also sourcing grapes from these vineyards. Incidentally both vineyards are located very close to each other, but the soil types vary dramatically even within such a short distance.

The 2022 On Q Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley is deep ruby with an amaranthine rim and completely opaque; the bouquet is a harmony of both darker fruits and barrel complements. Its fruit notes include blackberry jam, cherry pie, boysenberry spread, baked plums and dark raspberry. And is non fruited layers are of milk chocolate, sweet pipe tobacco and dried tobacco leaf, toast, mocha, dark cocoa powder and roasted coffee beans. This wine delivers loads of aromatic pleasure and its tough to pull away. Its smells perhaps riper than its listed 14.3% ABV. The palate is more dark fruited than red with flavors of blackberry, cherry, boysenberry, Himalayan purple mulberry and dark plum. And a finishing and lasting note of toasted oak, smoked cedar and a light but comforting warm kiss felt deep in the throat. These three characteristics outlast the fruit on the finish. Its acidity is bright and balanced. Nothing in terms of its texture dominates; these are not sharp edged tannins, rather their feel is ripe, rounded and resolved, a union of both grape and oak tannins. Cumulatively they offer a creamy mouth feel with a light ‘goodbye’ drying character.

The 2022 On Q Cabernet Sauvignon Cadence, Napa Valley is deep ruby with purple tinges and opaque; modern, ripe and bright, the bouquet includes both red and dark fruits and an influential sway from its time in barrel. Its heady aromatics include blackberry, boysenberry, dark cherry, Persian mulberry, Satsuma plum, dark chocolate, dried tobacco leaf, lavender and dried sage. If this wine was playing in an orchestra, its aromatics would be most equivalent to a cello. Positively mouth coating in terms of flavor but without any heavy texture, this wine mimics the bouquet to some extent with flavors of blackberry, boysenberry, dark cherry, black plums, dark currant and mulberry. It finishes on a darker note, including of smoked cedar, toasted oak, crushed peppercorn, dried sage and dried bay leaf. The tannins sport a grainy, gravelly, and dusty character, broadly felt across the palate. A tri-tip covered in an assortment of dried herbs and spices and a BBQ please.

The 2013 On Q Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a rich expression of this variety (noticeably bigger than the 2012 vintage) offering bright aromatics, lively fruit aromas – elegant cedar box tinged with herbal notes. Red cherry, sweet fruit and a number of spices show including cinnamon and vanilla. The palate is about darker fruit with tannins bringing plenty of structure. Still young of course at the time of our tasting; this wine should have plenty of life ahead of it. BBQ? Yes please. Perhaps a well marbled tri-trip.

The 2012 On Q Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the Lambert Family Vineyard in Coombsville with tiny amounts of Petite Sirah, Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc in the blend. The nose is elegant and fruit forward (blackberry, cherry) – with a gentle herbal nuance – that peeks out every now and again through the dominant fruit. The mouth feel shows a pleasing suppleness front to mid palate. Then the well-integrated tannins become noticeable framing a lingering plum and currant tartness on the finish. Good food wine.

Apassionata
It had been 10 years between vintages, since we tried this bottling, far too long. This is On Q’s most premium bottling, a wine to never to hurry through, and to fully appreciate as it evolves.

The 2022 On Q Appassionata Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville Napa Valley is deep ruby and nearly opaque; the bouquet has depth and resonance and is far more dark fruited than red. Its bright breath includes blackberry, dark cherry, boysenberry, dark currant and as it evolves, opens to notes of dark chocolate, leather, mocha, cocoa powder and roasted coffee beans. And as equally well-endowed on the palate, this big boy delivers plenty of intensity in terms of flavor, and in terms of texture, plenty of noticeable girth. It tastes of blackberry at the peak of its ripeness, a flavor that brings us back to our childhood and picking these fruits at the edges of wild blackberry thickets, boysenberry, dark cherry and dark plum. The oak is a flawless complement here, riding shotgun with its comfortable conversation. The broadly dispersed tannins from both grape and oak persist with a firm handshake, a drying grip that outpaces the fruit by far on the finish. Bright and juicy. This wine is built for the now, but also built for the future with the proper cellar care.

The 2012 On Q Appassionata Cabernet Sauvignon is dark ruby color in the glass with sweet cherry liqueur notes to the bouquet, ripe plum and blackberry aromas. The palate is a rich expression of fruit showing mostly darker tones, along with dark chocolate and a meaty and finishing savory component. It lingers juicy and mouthwatering with earthy and long-lasting tannins. Can we pair this with a warm summer evening, a gathering of friends, a Wagyu steak and a BBQ? This wine was aged for 30 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Apassionata is a term Steve was introduced to many years ago when he accompanied a pianist during a performance. This term means passionate in Italian and commonly refers to Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor.

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Total annual production was as boutique as you can find in Napa Valley; when we met Steve it was around 300 cases annually but has since grown especially with the change in ownership. The wines are selectively distributed at restaurants in California including at times by the glass at Morimoto in Napa and in Hawaii. For more information, to purchase current release bottlings and to join their mailing list or one of several wine clubs, visit: www.onqwines.com

ARCHIVED NOTES
Tastings, Vintner’s Collective
In 2016 On Q became part of a coveted collection of vintners represented at Vintner’s Collective, the city of Napa’s oldest collective tasting room. The On Q wines are no longer sold or tasted here but we keep our notes for historical reference. Vintner’s Collective showcases wines from a select group of mostly Napa Valley based producers – most of which do not have their own tasting rooms. And it’s not easy to have one’s wines represented here. Vintner’s Collective has an in-depth vetting process to make sure the wines match what their customers are interested in, including varieties, price points and wine styles.

The tasting flights differ everyday which is certainly part of the appeal for visitors. Unless one is acutely tuned into the world of boutique Napa Valley producers, one probably will never have heard of any of the labels that are being poured, and that is not a bad thing. These wines represented are typically from producers who have a maximum production of 1000 cases. A number of tasting flights are offered and are geared towards all levels of wine interest and prior knowledge.

Walk-in customers are generally welcome if space allows but appointments can also be requested including for more private tastings hosted upstairs.

Charles spent his formative years in Napa Valley (graduate of Justin Sienna High School), went to college at Chico State University and after graduating working in printing in San Francisco. Tired of commuting from Napa to San Francisco he started his own printing company in Napa and began printing labels for various wineries.