Tempting Fate Wines. Fate is fickle. Fate is based on timing. Fate is either generous or unkind. To some degree, everyone’s life is touched by fate. Take the founders and partners in Tempting Fate Wines for example, Gordon (Gordy) Larum and former accountant Michelle Seuis. Fate brought them together, not once but twice. They knew each other when both attended junior high school in Pleasanton, CA in the 1980s. Fast forward to 2020; Michelle messaged Gordy, saying something like, “I heard you are making wine up in Napa Valley, I love wine, lets try to meet up”. So they did and began spending more time together.
Fate had touched both of their lives years prior; in 1989 Gordy was driving up Deer Park Road near Sanitarium Road in St. Helena when a drunk driver ran into his vehicle causing severe leg and skull injuries; he was pronounced dead on the scene. But fate had other plans. He lived and underwent a significant rehabilitation, attributing his will to survive to his youthful vigor. In 2004 Michelle’s husband Will, a police officer and 16-year veteran of the force was killed in Oakland while returning home from work by a hit and run big rig driver.
Nothing is ever to be taken for granted in this life. One can choose to live in fear and be overly cautious. Or one can take a different perspective, seeking out experiences. Gordon and Michelle have chosen the later and say, “Here’s to those who dream boldly, live fully, and never play it safe. Here’s to Tempting Fate.”
Gordy was born and raised in St. Helena; his father moved to Napa Valley after he took a job as the Director of Purchasing at Robert Mondavi Winery and later at Opus One, positions he held from 1981-1992. Gordy moved back to Napa Valley in 1985. After graduating high school his first job was at Beringer Winery at age 19 where he worked in the Rhine House initially washing dishes. He spent seven years at Beringer recalling part of his time was spent working with an elderly World War II vet “Gene” Metz who was one of Beringer’s tour guides at the time. Gene took Gordy under his wing; Gordy describes his time with Gene as like ‘being a sponge’ learning as much as he could about wine in two years.
Gordy has worked at a number of wineries over the years including at Clos Pegase, where he was responsible for their corporate dining events, later followed by Pine Ridge (a similar role) and at Kuleto Estate, helping plan both private and larger group events. And he has helped sell wines for small Napa Valley based brands including Arns and Black Cordon.
Gordy lived in Rutherford for many years, recalling one of his next-door neighbors was the Venge family. One of Kirk Venge’s prominent wines is Scout’s honor; Gordy remembers the original ‘scout’, the winery dog that the Venge’s owned – always stealing his shoes and hiding them in their chicken coop. He grew up close to other vintners or winemakers including Bob Egelhoff (Egelhoff Wines) and Ray Coursen (Elyse Wines). He also remembers the ‘old days’ of frequenting the bar in Rutherford and enjoying drinking with the ‘old timers’, primarily people from farming families.
Gordy has lots of stories about his decades living in Napa Valley. He enjoys showing people a photograph of he and Robert Mondavi from 2001, both dressed as pirates. While at the Napa Valley Wine Auction that year, hosted at Pine Ridge Winery, he sat with Mondavi during that evening. Mondavi had just recovered from back surgery; Gordy recalls assisting him as he walked through the large cave and Mondavi saying something like, “I am leaving the valley in good hands with the younger generation”.
It is clear to anyone who meets Gordy that he has a significant passion for Napa Valley, including its culinary and wine scene. He also has a love of people; they inspire him. In 2007 looking to start a wine brokerage firm, his path changed dramatically after being introduced to a LASIK surgeon who needed someone to show him around the valley. Impressed after touring with Gordy he asked Gordy if he would help organize tours and tastings on a much larger scale – for some of the 1000 LASIK eye surgeons who were having a conference in San Francisco. Gordy pulled this off successfully and began to think about creating his own tour company.
He has since parlayed his knowledge of Napa Valley, its vintners and wineries into running a highly personalized tour company called Eye on Wine (founded in 2006). The company is small, and Gordy leads nearly all of the tours. The company focuses on introducing clients to boutique wineries, typically those producing less than 1,500 cases annually. It was through his tour company that he co-founded a previous brand he is no longer involved in called Witchery Wines. As the owner of a wine tour company, one meets people from all walks of life and all over the country. Wine is the thread that brings people to Napa Valley; during a number of tours Gordy meets clients who become friends, and they become repeat visitors to the valley.
And Gordy is not the only one in his family in the wine business. His brother Jon Larum and his wife Françoise own Domaine des Girasols Vieilles Vignes Rasteau in the Côtes du Rhône in southern France. See our notes and photography below from our visit. Their son, Gordy’s nephew is their winemaker.
Colin Cranor and Craig Ploof of Syndicate Wines (Grape Culture, Nottingham Wines and Typicité) make the Tempting Fate Wines at their custom crush winery located south of the city of Napa. Michelle was already a club member of Notthingham Cellars and introduced Gordy to both Colin and Craig at a Notthingham Cellars club pickup party. Gordy mentioned he had recently left his partnership in Witchery Wines and they said they would be happy to make wines should he start a new brand. Tempting Fate Wines was founded in 2021 although several of the Tempting Fate wines predate their launch including a 2018 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay and a 2019 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
Craig and Colin introduced Gordy and Michelle to Oakview Vineyards off of Money Road. This property is owned by the Sonoma based Sangiacamo family of Sangiacomo Vineyards in partnership with the Nord family who oversee the management of the vines. This site produces the Cabernet Sauvignon for Tempting Fate Wines.
Select Wines
The 2022 Tempting Fate Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville Napa Valley is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot. The wine spent 18 months aging in new French oak barrels produced from Francois Freres. This wine is deep ruby and opaque; the rich, exuberant and generously layered bouquet is built upon both its core of fruit and accompanying barrel influences. Its scents include chocolate covered cherries, blackberry, dark plum, old cedar box, toast, roasted herbs including sage, roasted coffee and tobacco. Bright, balanced and light on its feet, this wine tastes like blackberry, dark cherry, boysenberry, dark raspberry and plum. Like the nose, its barrel influences are evident on the palate including a lasting note of smoked cedar, dried herbs, dark chocolate, tobacco and a light kiss of dark pepper. The combination of darker notes, fruit and acidity provides the finish a savory character. The tannins are fully resolved and polished three years post vintage. And in 2025, this wine earned a gold medal at the Orange County Fair Commercial Wine Competition.
The 2021 Tempting Fate Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville Napa Valley is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot. The wine spent 18 months aging in new French oak barrels produced from Francois Freres. This wine is deep ruby and opaque – both varieties in union from this vineyard have no problem producing plenty of color. The compelling bouquet offers primarily dark fruits including blackberry, cherry, plum, boysenberry, Himalayan purple mulberry and ripe blueberries. In terms of texture, this is one of the more approachable 2021 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons, however it fully contains the 2021 richness, density and intensity of flavor. This wine tastes like blackberry, dark plum, dark cherry and boysenberry, lingering with a light dusty character. This wine features perhaps a softer profile from the oak than the 2022 vintage, both on the bouquet and the palate; its barrel influences include dark chocolate, mocha, espresso and dark cocoa powder. The ripe tannins show a bit more weight than the 2022 vintage, and fully coat the palate with a light to moderate grip. Ripe, bright, balanced and showcasing plenty of energy. How does pairing this with a Ribeye (bone-in) and a BBQ sound? Sounds pretty appealing to us. this wine earned a double gold medal at the Orange County Fair Commercial Wine Competition.
Tempting Fate Wines also produces extremely limited bottlings of a Sauvignon Blanc and a barrel fermented Chardonnay.
—
Total annual production is small but growing with a typical vintage producing in the range of 150 to 200 cases of wine. The wines are primarily sold direct to consumer by request only with limited distribution in Kansas and Missouri. Sometimes Tempting Fate Wines participates in local events including MS Crush, the annual fundraiser and gathering to raise awareness about multiple sclerosis held at Reid Family Vineyards in Napa. For more information and to join the mailing list for exclusive access to new releases and limited allocations visit: www.temptingfatewines.com
Oakview Vineyards, Oakville
Domaine des Girasoles
Domaine des Girasoles is located about an hour drive north east of Avignon in southern France. This wine was founded with their first vintage in 1979 by Paul and Marie-Élisabeth Joyet. They chose the name from Girasols from an agricultural dictionary dating from 1750; it refers to a variety of opal.
This is the definition of a family owned winery. Their daughter Françoise, her husband Jon Larum (Gordy’s brother) and their son Julien oversee their entire operations. Their other daughter, at the time of our latest update to this review is a sommelier in New York. They have no outside employees.
Their property is 15 hectares with all grapes farmed organically. The cellar, built in 1978, is built against the side of a hill which helps moderate temperatures. Grapes are gravity fed into permanent fermentation vessels.
Select Wines
The 2025 Domain des Girasols Rosé is a blend of Grenache, Cinsaut and Mourvedre. It is pale copper in color; the bouquet immediately smells bright, fresh and lively. Minerally. Its aromas include Rainier cherry, raspberry, wild strawberry, strawberry guava, lime, ruby grapefruit and chalk. Easy drinking, this wine tastes like raspberry, white strawberry, guava and kiwi. Its texture is slightly rounded with a supple mouth feel. This is a very balanced bottling. Finishes with a gentle touch in terms of both flavor and texture. This wine was made entirely from free run juice.
The 2022 Domaine des Girasols L’Arbre de Vie (tree of life) is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, and Cinsault. The image features a ‘tree of life’ made by Francois’s sister using pieces from their mother’s quilt. This wine is medium ruby in color; the bouquet is primarily focused on its fruit with scents of dark raspberry and boysenberry, along with dried sage, rose petals and a hint of white pepper. Easy drinking and soft, this wine tastes like raspberry, red cherry, currant and cranberry. The tannins are lightly drying and persist in tandem with the fruit on the slightly savory finish. Lingers with notes of dried sage, white pepper and dried bay leaf. Pair with pizza.
The 2021 Domaine des Girasols Lampereuse is a 50/50 blend of Grenache and Syrah. This wine is deep ruby in color; the bouquet is dominated by the Syrah. It smells savory with aromas of forest floor, dried mushroom, barnyard (dissipates as the wine evolves in the glass), dark pepper, dried herbs including sage, and bramble, i.e., raspberry and blackberry. Be patient, with time the fruit starts showing more. The savory characteristics on the nose are not as present on the palate. Its flavors are dark fruited including Satsuma plum, cherry, blackberry, and boysenberry with its non fruited notes showing sage and pepper. The tannins are well integrated, lingering with a light textural tug. Bright, fresh and lively, the finish quickly invites another sip. The Syrah is aged in 600L puncheons. Jon and his friend designed the label.
The 2020 Domaine des Girasols Vieilles Vignes is 80% Grenache from oldest vines planted in 1912 and 20% Mourvedre. This wine was not aged in barrel. Its color is medium to deep ruby. On the bouquet there are ripe and sweetly fruited scents of raspberry, Santa Rosa plum, raspberry, blackberry and cherry pie. And assorted sweet baking spices. Soft in terms of texture and ripe across the palate, this wine tastes like raspberry, strawberry, Santa Rosa plum, boysenberry and mulberry. Despite the higher alcohol, there is a certain brightness to the palate. The tannins are ripe, broadly dispersed and feature a long lasting drying character that outpaces the fruit on the finish. Finishes warm but not hot. Its listed ABV is 16.0%. This vintage in particular was warmer than normal, producing unusually ripe wines. And the silver and black label is an homage to the then Oakland Raiders, Jon’s favorite NFL team.
The 2023 Domaine des Girasoles Rasteau is a blend of Grenache and Mourvedre. This wine is medium ruby in color; forward, ripe and sweetly fruited with some jammy notes this wine smells like raspberry jam, cherry pie, boysenberry, plum compote and red licorice. No pressed wine was used in this bottling and its maceration was for four days post fermentation. Built to drink in its youth rather than any extended aging, this wine tastes like cherry pie, blackberry jam, boysenberry and red plums. As ripe on the palate as on the bouquet, but anchored by a balanced but bright acidity this is a crowd friendly bottling. The tannins are integrated nicely with a well tumbled character. The soft texture is felt more on the front of the palate than the back.
—
Visits are always with one of the family; the conversation flows easily and casually in an intimate and relaxed setting. And note the numerous books and other memorabilia collected from when Jon and Françoise lived and worked in Napa Valley, she at Joseph Phelps and he for a few years at Robert Mondavi Winery.
While drinking wines, any wine not consumed should be poured into a larger wine glass collected by Françoise for her vinegar program. She bottles vinegar in small containers and gives them to her customers.
The wines are primarily sold direct to consumer to those who visit the winery. They do have some distribution in parts of France and used to have several retail outlets in California including Sunshine Market in St. Helena. For more information, please visit: www.girasols.com
Leave a Reply