Vineyard {511}. Living in Southern California with a shared passion for both travel and wine, proprietors of Vineyard 511, Irene and Ed Ojdana pondered having a home in Italy and France. But then as Irene told us, they thought about “jet lag and all the time they already spend in airports plus the great distance to travel” and they made a wise decision to search a bit closer. They were referred to a real estate agent from a friend who also owned a winery; this agent introduced them to some hillside property in the Diamond Mountain District. Their original intent was to purchase a home with a small existing vineyard. This property perfectly qualified in that regard.
They left previous careers – Ed was CEO of Experian Interactive and also the founder of FreeCreditReport.com while Irene worked in Human Resources at CCH Coputax, Inc and also taught English at several colleges around the country. It was at Experian that Ed began to enjoy wine – tasting with several of Experian’s executive team at the time who were wine collectors.
This tiny less than an acre vineyard is perched on a rocky west facing hillside in what feels like a very remote part of Napa Valley despite being a short drive from Calistoga. The surrounding hillsides are mostly wooded, rural and very steep. The soils in their vineyard are volcanic white ash; during one visit to their property a neighboring site was being cleared of topsoil revealing white, chalky type soils. We have not seen a lot of this type of soil on Diamond Mountain; one other site we know of with similar soils is the Andrew Geoffrey Vineyard. Due to erosion ordinances restricting new vineyard plantings on steep slopes, Vineyard 511’s vines would not be able to be planted today.
Nearby vineyard neighbors include the acclaimed Diamond Creek Vineyards and the properties formerly housing Reverie and Von Strasser wineries. Vines from these properties almost reach the Vineyard 511 fence line. At about 750 feet above the valley floor and based on their particular location they do not experience frost during the critical late winter and spring months when the vines bud and then bloom. Their elevation also puts them above the fog line. Almost without fail during the growing season, winds blow through in the afternoon (we have personally experienced this on the property) – helping moderate temperatures on the site. Sometime after veraison shade cloths are placed row by row covering the west facing side of the rows (to help protect the grapes from the warm afternoon sun).
Several vineyard managers have overseen this small vineyard over the years including Jim Barbour of Barbour Vineyard Management, John Truchard of Truchard Vineyard Management and today, John Derr of Derr Vineyard Management.
The vineyard was planted entirely to clone 107 of Cabernet Sauvignon in 2001 and the fruit was sold to Duckhorn for several years. After Ed and Irene purchased the property in 2008, they sold the fruit to another small producer. Then in 2008/2009 the economy faltered, and they were unable to find a buyer for their wine grapes. They decided to keep their fruit; 2009 was their first vintage.
Winemaker Rob Lloyd (Lloyd Cellars) has made every vintage of Vineyard 511. During a visit to Frank Family Vineyards in Calistoga, Irene’s nephew met long time employee Dennis Zablosky. Irene’s nephew introduced them to Dennis who in turn connected them with Rob (Rob’s brother was working in sales at Frank Family at the time).
The label design is a direct result of a cruise they took in the Caribbean. While on this small cruise ship they met a number of other passengers – who when they found out the Ojdana’s were from Napa mentioned there was another couple from Napa on board and that they needed to meet. The individual they met was head of label design for Constellation Brands at the time. With perfect timing, they hired him to help design their own label. After a number of designs and input from friends and family they choose a classy looking outline of a diamond connecting their label with their Diamond Mountain location.
Vineyard 511 produces wines distinctive to their small vineyard; they typically spend 30 months in new French oak and then up to another 18 months in bottle before being released. The mountain tannins are handled thoughtful and carefully, resulting in approachable wines upon release but are also one of the characteristics of their wines that will ensure they are very age worthy (along with their bright acidity). All their wines are 100% varietal.
Select Wines
The 2018 Vineyard {511} Cabernet Sauvignon is dark ruby in color; immediately evident on the bouquet is a dark spice note with hints of menthol/mint/sandalwood and aromas of dried herbs which are consistent through almost all the vintages we tried. Also shows notes of old cedar box. Flavors of plum and blackberry are on the palate with youthful broadly distributed tannins. The finish is somewhat savory showcasing bright fruit with flavors of red cherry and currant along with a slight tartness and a persistent grip of tannins. This wine features a lot of life in its youth and is certainly built to age. Incidentally this vintage took one of the coveted double gold medals at the San Francisco Chronicle wine competition held in early 2022.
The 2015 Vineyard {511} Cabernet Sauvignon was produced from a low yielding vintage (only 110 cases produced). This wine is dark ruby in color with an elegant smelling bouquet, offering aromas of rose petal, mint, dried cigar, anis, and some five-star spices. Give this vintage in particular time to open and it will continue to show more fruit on the nose. The tannins are rounded in texture but feel density, broadly distributed across the palate. The Vineyard 511 brightness on the finish is clearly on display with this wine.
The 2013 Vineyard {511} Cabernet Sauvignon is dark ruby in color; it offers aromas of dried herbs including dried sage, dried tobacco leaf, blackberry and plum. There is also a five-star Asian spice note to the bouquet. 2013 was generally considered a robust year featuring big wines that needed time to be tamed in the glass. One of this wine’s hallmarks is its rounded approachable tannins; they are slightly chalky and feature a long-lasting pleasant grip on the finish. Lingers brightly with great acidity, mouthwatering along with a hint of dried parchment paper/dried tobacco. Like the 2015 vintage, this wine smells and tastes younger than its actual age.
The 2012 Vineyard {511} Cabernet Sauvignon is medium to dark ruby in color; this wine’s bouquet differs from the other vintages we tried. Its aromatics are riper, showing a sweetness of fruit and dessert spices rather than a savory character. As the wine evolves in the glass the bouquet offers additional aromas of mocha and cocoa powder. This wine is very well balanced across the palate with plenty of tannins still showing; they are not course in their texture but rather rounded and persistent on the long finish. This wine has plenty of life 10 as we tasted 10 years post vintage date; it still has a number of years ahead as it continues to age and evolve.
The inaugural release, the 2009 Vineyard {511} Cabernet Sauvignon, is more restrained than the 2010 vintage yet has elegant aromatics. It is a delicate bouquet showing red fruit and as it opens more of the oak influence shows while simultaneously revealing sweet vanilla. The palate is very much in balance between fruit and structure. Well integrated tannins anchor a pleasing finish. The mouth feel is supple throughout.
And we tried the 2009 vintage 13 years post vintage date. It had held up very well and still has plenty of life. The bouquet offers a hint of white pepper and tobacco spice, along with baking spices and black licorice. The aromas feature simultaneous darker fruit and spices including clove. This wine shows flavors of plum and blackberry and finishes with darker still-present tannins. The finish is juicy and mouthwatering lingering with some subtle hints of cocoa powder and mocha.
The 2010 Vineyard {511} Cabernet Sauvignon reveals a plethora of aromas in the glass; it is bursting with life, showing more intense fruit than the 2009 vintage. The bouquet features a sweet core of fruit that is initially black berry with a hint of white pepper and as the wine opens, baking spices. But the fruit is always there and as it evolves in the glass notes of brown chocolate show (chocolate covered cherries). The palate is balanced with fine grained delicate tannins. A clean finish lingers with high toned fruit – and lasts for some time.
While known for their estate Cabernet Sauvignon they also produce micro amounts of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the Truchard Vineyard in Carneros; these wines are available almost exclusively for their club members but sometimes are poured at wine dinners hosted by Ed and Irene. Production is usually only one or two barrels of each wine.
The 2020 Vineyard {511} Chardonnay is medium gold in color; this wine offers layers of aromatics including honeysuckle, honeycomb, melon and some floral tones including of jasmine. The bouquet also shows hints of apricot, white peach and mineralities. This wine is very flavorful and rich across the palate. Its texture is rounded and slightly creamy with flavors of stone fruit including apricot, peach and nectarine along with notes of mango and cantaloupe. The finish is mineral laden, bright and long lasting with some light citrus notes. This is a beautiful showing. This wine was aged in 70% American oak and 30% French oak and went through 90% malolactic fermentation. But it is neither oaky nor buttery on the bouquet nor the palate.
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Both Ed and Irene are actively involved in the wine community. Ed has served a number of years on the Executive Leadership Board for the UC Davis Viticulture and Enology program. He helped raise money to fund the college’s state of the art research winery. They are founding patrons of the Napa Valley Film Festival and Irene serves on their board. Ed was also Executive Producer of the critically acclaimed “culinary” movie – Jiro Dreams of Sushi – about a Sushi Chef in Tokyo who runs a 10-seat restaurant in a basement of a metro stop – which also happens to have earned the coveted 3-star rating from Michelin.
Vineyard 511 maintains a mailing list; much of their wine is sold direct to their customers and sometimes they attend select consumer tasting events. Select distribution includes several local Calistoga Restaurants and a few premium wine shops in Los Angeles including Manhattan Fine Wines and in Indiana. Ed is an alumnus of Notre Dame – after the college renovated the official hotel on the campus, Morris Inn – several changes were made to their wine program including featuring winemakers who are graduates of Notre Dame. Ed is in good company; other prominent Notre Dame winemakers or vintners with connections to Napa Valley include Paul Hobbs, Ray Duncan co-founder of Silver Oak, Jack Novak (Spottswoode), Carmen Policy (Casa Piena), Jim Knighton (Knighton Family Vineyards), Rick Mirer (Mirror Napa Valley) and Tim Busch (Trinitas Cellars), among others.
And while it is common for vineyard owners to have dogs, the Ojdana’s own a pet peacock (not the first Napa based winery we have come across with this pet but one of the very select few). You know you’re in wine country, when your pet is named Cabernet.
The Vineyard 511 wines are poured at selective consumer and trade tastings throughout the year (mostly in Napa Valley, San Francisco Bay Area and parts of Southern California) and they have offered special prices for at least one private member’s only club in the region. Locally one can sometime find their wines for sale at the Oakville Grocery. Total production from their estate vineyard is usually between 90 to 200 cases depending on each vintage. For more information or to join their Encounter wine club, visit: www.vineyard511.com
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