Silver Oak drew a cult following before cult was cult. Locals would drive for hours and dozens would fly in the day before just to be a part of their annual release day. Remember when the light used to go on indicating fresh doughnuts at Krispy Kreme? It was like that only better. And it was wine! As fate would have it back in the early 90’s I found myself in Napa, at Silver Oak a week after their release party seeking to embark on a Silver Oak wine tour. Keep in mind this was before smart phones, reservation booking apps, etc., and I was a rookie trying to drop in and experience the aura that is and was Silver Oak. They did not disappoint.
The staff was amazing, the story even better and the wine was superb. Once again, I was hooked. It would be another 10 years before I and my wife Denise, who is now the Cellar Angels Chief Operating Angel, would open our retail wine store in Chicago where yes, we carried Silver Oak. It would be another 3 years after that when we decided the great small batch artisan wines of Napa and Sonoma needed a larger national audience and the vehicle of delivery would be Cellar Angels. But it had to start somewhere. I was bit by the proverbial wine bug and the rest as they say, is history.
We’re ardent supporters and fans of the small, artisan producer at Cellar Angels and we love both telling the stories of these producers and sharing their wines with an ever increasing national audience. The journey must start somewhere and I’m curious, what’s your story?
