Ortega Family Wines was founded by Jesus Ortega in 2018 (first vintage). Jesus was born in and raised in Napa Valley; his father Jesus Sr., migrated to the U.S. with his two brothers from Michoacán, Mexico for the first time in 1947 as part of the United States Bracero Program. This program was established in 1942 by the Mexican Farm Labor Program to primarily address an agricultural worker shortage during World II by providing Mexican men short term labor contracts. The Bracero Program ended in 1964. Ultimately because of this program, numerous families eventually settled in Napa Valley, and over the years we have met many of their heirs who work in the valley’s wine industry.
Jesus Senior initially worked in Oregon and Washington picking pears, apples and other seasonal crops. He came to Napa Valley in 1964, settled in Yountville and began working for Yount Mill Vineyards. These vineyards have been owned by the Hoxey family for four generations and are among Napa Valley’s largest contiguously family farmed vineyards and are also some of Napa Valley’s most historical vineyards. Incidentally, the Hoxey’s also own Napa Wine Company.
Jesus Sr. worked nearly 5 decades for Yount Mill Vineyards; he and his family lived in southern Oakville next to part of these vineyards for a number of years. Jesus recalls his childhood was spent racing dirt bikes through the vines with his brothers (he is the youngest of 7 siblings) and walking his family’s dirt driveway to the mailbox to pick up mail – being very careful not to cross Highway 29 per his parents’ explicit instructions. He spent school breaks while in his late teens working with his family in the vineyards; he remembers being disappointed in having to work while all his friends were off enjoying their holidays up at Lake Tahoe, but now wishes he had spent more time learning from his father.
After attending Motorcycle Mechanic School in Phoenix, Jesus returned to Napa Valley. A winemaker friend invited him over for a barbeque one evening and during the party brought over a 2003 vintage of a Lodi grown Sauvignon Blanc. He asked Jesus his thoughts on the wine and to describe it’s smell and taste; at this time Jesus had not yet produced wine and was much more familiar with vineyard work. He replied that the wine smelled like oak, however his winemaker friend told him it had never seen a barrel of oak in its life. His friend then offered Jesus a job and told him to come by the winery in a week. Jesus did and recalls that he arrived while chewing gum. His friend immediately sent him home and said to return without the gum. Despite the rough start, Jesus began working with him and over the years significantly refined his palate through his mentorship.
Jesus is a self-taught winemaker; he produced his first wine in 2014 for J Vintners, a brand he started with several partners. In addition to operating Ortega Family Wines, Jesus is a Vineyard Consultant for a number of small vineyards, primarily located in Napa Valley. He oversees vineyard development and management, organizes labor needs and during harvest handles numerous logistical requests.
Select Wines
Jesus focuses on producing limited production, primarily 100% varietal wines from vineyards he either consults for and or manages or has input into their farming practices. The grapes used for Ortega Family Wines are often from some of Napa Valley’s most historical vineyards. Jesus strives to produce food friendly, balanced and both fruit and acid driven wines. Rather than all smelling and tasting similar, these are wines with their own personalities and character. And the brand’s heritage is deeply rooted with family beginning with his own father; Ortega Family Wines are crafted to honor the legacy of Jesus Ortega senior.
Pinot Blanc
In Napa Valley, Pinot Blanc is a rare variety; Jesus is aware of only several small vineyard blocks of this variety including the one he sources from on the Napa side of Carneros (off of Ramel Road in the far southern reaches of the appellation). Bottlings of this variety in Napa Valley are far and few between; over the years we have tasted only several Pinot Blanc wines (or blends) grown in Napa Valley from Napa producers including from Robert Foley, Eponymous, Silenus (permanently closed) and Robert Sinskey. This white wine grape variety is a genetic mutation of Pinot Noir; Jesus compares its character to somewhere between a Chardonnay and a Sauvignon Blanc.
The 2021 Ortega Family Wines Carneros Pinot Blanc is medium to deep gold in color; the bouquet is immediatley tangy and brightly lit with higher toned ripe fruit and floral aromatics. Its scents are a union of canned pineapple slices (an aroma that reminds us of our favorite dessert, pineapple upside down cake), citrus blossom, honeysuckle, lemon oil, apricot, bruised golden apples, sea shells, dried nectarines, lemon juice, beeswax and golden plums. And as the wine opens, there is an underlying note of vanilla and caramel. And like on the bouquet, the palate is also tangy. The first flavor we noted is of pineapple, along with golden delicious apple slices which have been sitting out for several hours, Meyer lemon, a honeyed character (but not sweet), loquat, kumquat and a subtle bitterness, tarragon and vanilla on the finish. Its texture is silky and supple, lifted nicely by its balanced acidity. This wine is showing some bottle maturation at this age, four years post vintage, both on the bouquet and palate but is still very much fresh and vibrant. Its listed ABV is a refreshing 13.2%.
The 2020 Ortega Family Wines Pinot Blanc is medium straw color; the aromatics initially show notes of cut grass, lemongrass and citronella oil. Give it time to open and it will reveal some additional floral aromatics including jasmine. The palate shows a noticeable texture; it is creamy and supple with mineralities and flavors of nectarine, white plum and apricot. The acidity is energetic and keeps this wine fresh, especially noticeable with its brightness on the finish. It drinks very well by itself. But if we were to pair this with something, it would be fresh seafood, perhaps lightly seared scallops. We wish there was more Pinot Blanc planted in Napa Valley.
And the 2020 vintage of this wine was highlighted in the book, It’s A Vibe, A Food & Wine Experience By Armando ‘Tito’ Tam and Jaton Guntner.
Zinfandel
One doesn’t associate contemporary Atlas Peak with Zinfandel. Dern Vineyards, located next to Stagecoach Vineyard grows a small section of Zinfandel, Jesus sources from this site. The 2018 Ortega Family Wines Zinfandel is medium ruby in color; the bouquet offers aromatics of baking spices including clove along with red cherry. The bouquet was a bit closed at the time of our tasting and needed additional time to open and reveal more fruit. This is not a ripe, jammy or sweet Zinfandel; the palate from start to finish shows a brightness and tartness from its high acidity along with higher toned fruit flavors including red cherry, pomegranate and a lingering herbal note. The tannins are well-integrated and persists along with a very light dusty nuance. Recommended pairing: pizza or pasta.
Malbec
The 2018 Ortega Family Wines Malbec Oak Knoll was only produced this one vintage. This 100% varietal wine is dark ruby in color with purple tinges on the rim in the glass; this wine offers an initial sweet aromatic thread including of dried prune, boysenberry, mulberry preserve, black licorice along with mocha, vanilla, chocolate and a hint of Graham cracker. The bouquet offers an alluring union between both primary and secondary aromas. A hallmark of this wine is both its density of flavor and tannins which show a light dryness on the finish. Medium plus acidity.
Red blend
The 2016 Ortega Family Wines Red Wine Blend is composed of Malbec and Syrah. This wine is deep ruby and nearly opaque; at 9 years post vintage is color is starting to slowly transition. The bouquet offers some bottle bouquet at this age including of more mature fruits. Its savory scents are of sweet pipe tobacco, sweaty baseball mitt leather, cloves, old cedar box, toasted oak, toast, smoked sage and dark chocolate. And as it opens, it reveals mocha and assorted baking spices including cinnamon and clove. Notice that we didn’t lead with any of its fruit aromatics, but they are still very much present with a darker vibe. These include Satsuma plum, dried blackberries, Persian mulberry and boysenberry. We love the layering here on both the bouquet and the palate. Fresh and bright, this wine tastes like red plums, boysenberry, blackberry, red cherry, and assorted herbs including smoked sage. The overall feel of the palate is lifted from its vibrant and juicy acidity. This wine lingers more red fruited than dark; its broad shouldered tannins sport a grainy and gravelly feel running in tandem with the fruit. This wine clearly has a long runway of life still in front of it.
Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2021 Ortega Family Wines Rosé of Cabernet Sauvignon is deep salmon in color; the distinctive bouquet at this age is part cran-apple, kumquat, dried orange peel, bitters, boiled rhubarb, pickle juice, fermenting apples, and tiny wild strawberries, an aroma that reminds us of harvesting these fruits in our neighbors backyard when we were kids. Like the bouquet, the palate shows plenty of maturation; for reference, we tasted this wine four years post vintage. Its flavors have transitioned into being muted rather than fresh. They include flavors that somewhat remind us of bitters and botanicals, grapefruit pith and a light note of dried orange peel; the finish lingers with a light but lasting drying character, felt more on the front of the palate than the back. Its texture is creamy and silky like running one’s fingers across the fur of young miniature Schnauzer puppy. This weight is accompanied by a soft acidity. Its listed ABV is 12.2%.
The 2018 Ortega Family Wines Cabernet Sauvignon, Rock Cairn Vineyard Oakville is from a site located across from Brix Restaurant. This wine is deep ruby and opaque; sweetly fruited with some floral and barrel influenced undertones, this wine smells like ripe blackberry, boysenberry, Persian mulberry, dark cherry and plum with additional layers of lavender, lilac, bakers’ chocolate, a light skosh of darker baking spices, mocha and espresso, but the fruit clearly dominates at this age, 7 years post vintage. It shows plenty of exuberance across the palate, is bright and fresh, lifted by its generous acidity. Its flavors are of dark plum, red cherry, boysenberry, blackberry, dark currant and blueberry. Finishes with layers of both fruit and texture; the firmly gripping tannins out last the fruit on the finish with their grainy, gravelly and dusty character. They don’t want to give up their relentless hold; time the finish – you won’t be disappointed. Mouth watering. This is a great steak wine, perhaps with a well-marbled Wagyu and a BBQ. And a summer evening. Not the cold rainy November day we are experiencing as we needle and nose this bottling.
The 2018 Ortega Family Wines Cabernet Sauvignon, Dern Vineyard Atlas Peak is deep ruby with some brickish colors showing and completely opaque; for reference, we needled and nosed this 7 years post vintage. It shows an advanced maturity on both the bouquet and palate, beyond what one would guess from its age in the bottle. The bouquet offers scents of dried, stewed, stale and very ripe fruits including plums and blackberries, baked cherries, sweet pipe tobacco, milk chocolate, Graham cracker, toasted walnuts and caramel. The palate offers muted, dried and stewed fruit flavors including of blackberry, dark plum, cherry, and dark mulberry along with dark chocolate and caramelized nuts (but no accompanying sweetness). The tannins feel grainy and gritty, persisting beyond the fruit with a dusty feel, broadly and densely covering the entire palate with a moderate to firm extended grip. Features a simultaneously bright but simultaneously perceived softened acidity.
The Ortega Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (non-vintage, with equal parts wine from 2015 and 2016) is dark ruby in color; the bouquet offers simultaneous sweet and savory aromatics including dark licorice, cherry cola, cooked blackberries and some darker spices. This wine shows great acidity across the palate and is dominated by higher toned red fruit flavors including cherry and red plum. The finish lingers with tannins which offer a light gravelly texture along with a tartness of red fruit. Jesus recommends pairing this wine with a Mac n Cheese Chicken Empanada. And he speaks from first-hand experience; he first enjoyed this pairing in Oakland while attending an event hosted by Top Chef Nelson German.
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Ortega Family Wines produces their wine in a shared production and hospitality space in what is known as the Crusher District, a business/industrial park located a few minutes south of the city of Napa. Visits are always hosted with Jesus and are personalized and offer an unscripted look at the operations of a small producer whose roots are deeply planted in the soils of Napa Valley.
The wines are primarily sold direct to consumer with some limited retail placement in Napa Valley including at La Chevre Restaurant (located in the old adobe building, the oldest building in Napa County). Total production is only approximately 300 cases per year. For more information, to schedule a tasting or join their wine club (two shipments per year), visit: www.ortegawines.com
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