Some ran while others hit the ground and many screamed as two loud bangs rang out at the train station; once the panic subsided, those in the immediate area realized two men lay dead on the ground. And then, the realization that JC Weinberger, an important figure in the local community, was one of those men and someone had to tell his wife and daughter what happened. This incident, although extremely tragic, created a situation in the late 1800s that allowed a woman, Hannah Weinberger, to take her husband’s place as the director of the Bank of St. Helena, in Napa Valley, and, most importantly, to become the first recognized female winemaker in California who would tend to the olive tree grove and vineyards planted on their steep, terraced hillsides.
In 1889, Hannah traveled to Europe to attend the Paris World’s Fair and won a silver medal in a wine competition. She was very successful as a businesswoman and winemaker, never remarrying, yet she had to pull her vines out in 1920, during Prohibition.
Almost 100 years after the vineyard was grubbed up, a couple looking for a site with the potential to make stellar Cabernet Sauvignon with an authentic, rich history planted vines in 2019. Although it has been a long, arduous journey, first purchasing the property in 2013 and waiting for a permit that didn’t go through until the end of 2018, it was a thrilling prospect to be able to revive a great vineyard, which allowed a woman to thrive during a time when her gender made her a second class citizen, and continue the legacy of the first woman in Napa Valley to make great wine.
Hidden Vineyard Gem
Photo Credit: Thomas Heinser
Caren and Nick Orum are the married couple who took on this Herculean task and they do not shy away from a challenge. Both are from the South, Caren, born in rural Arkansas, and Nick, from Austin, Texas, and moved to New York City in the early 1990s and eventually made their way to San Francisco, where they sought to fulfill Nick’s dream to make great wine as he was a longtime Bordeaux wine lover.
So, they searched until they came upon a property near two Napa Valley vineyards that have received seven perfect 100-point scores from Wine Advocate, Vineyard 29 and Colgin’s Tychson Hill Vineyard- north of the town of St. Helena. They brought in vineyard engineers to test the soils and other aspects of the site to ensure if the potential for outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon was indeed possible. Every result assured Caren and Nick that the site did live up to its lofty neighbor’s potential.
That is when the idea for their wine, Arborum, was born. Arborum is a name that combines the word ‘arbor’ to represent how they want to protect the nature on their property with their last name.
Photo Credit: Thomas Heinser
The authentic history of the site also drew them to this property as there is a rustic home that was initially built as a hunting cabin, seamlessly integrated with the forest on their land, and today, they live there with their three children. Surprisingly, within that forest was a grove of over a century-old olive trees that have handmade square nails in them with old metal stamps indicating that they were planted back in the 1870s, some as high as 50 feet tall. Since these olive trees had been neglected for so long, they have become part of the forest. So, Caren and Nick had no idea until they took on the demanding task of clearing the underbrush on their 20-acre property with a 26% degree slope that they had these rare, heritage olive trees. The estate backs up to Spring Mountain, which provides a natural spring that flows through the property and has a wide range of biodiversity – hawks, owls and beneficial insects mitigate any issues with harmful pests.
Arborum
Caren and Nick meticulously take care of their 2.5 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, which ranges from 500 to 800 feet in altitude, by hiring Oscar Renteria and his team at Renteria Vineyard Management to practice precision vineyard management having a hands-on approach for each vine, becoming certified organic in 2021. Still, eventually, they knew they needed to find the ideal winemaker who could express the unique qualities of their historic site.
Photo Credit: Thomas Heinser
Caren said they reached out to an impressive list of eight Napa Valley winemakers, all of whom were eager to meet with them as the history and proximity to outstanding vineyards intrigued everyone. But they decided to go with highly respected winemaker Andy Erickson, who has had 25 years of winemaking experience in Napa Valley, as he takes a holistic approach as he is a winemaker who spends a lot of time in the vineyards, focusing on site expression and he has a wealth of experience of overseeing Cabernet Sauvignon vines on many premium sites in Napa Valley. Andy calls the Arborum estate “a real sweet spot” and talks about that feeling of walking certain pieces of land where he senses “something magical can happen,” knowing he can create a wine that reflects that “special place.”
Unlocking the Past
It has been over a century since the remarkable Hannah Weinberger won a silver medal in Paris with her wine from this incredible property. Yet, unfortunately, the glory of her vineyards was short-lived as Prohibition forced her to rip out the vines. Then, over time, it became overgrown, seeming more like a natural reserve than a once highly prized vineyard. Even Nick jokes that in his next lifetime, he will buy a property that already has a vineyard as they could not really initially appreciate the time and work it would take to plant a high-quality vineyard. But then that has been the issue with this special estate because it was too big of a mountain to climb for anyone to take on such the challenge of restoring it until Caren and Nick Orum came along.
When they first bought the property, Caren noted there was this old magnificent oak tree in the middle of their circular driveway, as the property has many oak trees, and immediately, her children, who were four, seven and ten, found it to be the ideal place to play. One day, their middle child ran in, and she said, “Mom and Dad, I found a key!” Lo and behold, she had found an old key in a hidey-hole in the oak tree. The key didn’t fit into the old hunting lodge they used as their home but it looked like it came from Hannah’s time. Hence, they decided to call their estate vineyards ‘Hidden Key.’ Unfortunately, two days later, the oak tree spilt in half right where the hidey-hole was located, which was devastating to Caren and Nick since every aspect of the history of their property is precious to them.
As they stood there looking at the place where the majestic oak tree once proudly stood, knowing that it had lived through so much and seen so many changes, a feeling came over Caren. It was a sign. It was a sign that the property was making the transition to them, as they had been handed the key, and Hannah’s legacy would not be forgotten as they would take it from where she left off, almost 100 years later.
***Link to original Forbes article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/cathrinetodd/2024/05/11/napa-valley-cabernet-sauvignon-vineyard-site-revived-almost-100-years-after-uprooting-vines/
Photo Credit: Cathrine Todd
Arborum will have their inaugural release this Fall, in 2024, and the two wines that will initially be released are below, 2022 Proprietary White and 2021 Proprietary Red, with a 100% Estate Cabernet Sauvignon planned for release in a few years. They intend to make around 500 cases of wine annually.
Caren and Nick Orum are committing to donate one million dollars ahead of the launch to kick off their mission to give back to their community and protect the environment. Then, in the future, 100% of Arborum’s net earnings will go to charitable causes. They will divide it between 50% of people who live and work in Napa Valley, as they recognize that the wonderful wines that come out of Napa happen through hard work from people who struggle to survive, helping with social services and safety nets. The other 50% will be allocated to environmental causes with a conservation focus.
In regards to the environmental practices on their own property, besides doing all the soil studies and slope reports for data that is helpful for their vineyard management assessments, they also conducted several environmental studies, some required and some not required, going as far to ensure that there were no endangered northern spotted owls on the property, because if these owls had a habitat they wanted to make sure to protect it as Caren noted that they want their property to be kept as a “wildlife thoroughfare” as there are not a lot of properties in their area as heavily forested as they have left their property.
Also, the Arborum wine labels have a tiny golden key in the middle as well as a key on the top of the capsule to reflect the connection to the old key found in the oak tree. There is also a wood cut impression at the bottom right of the label that is an impression of an old petrified stump found in their Hidden Key vineyard.
2022 Arborum, Proprietary White, Napa Valley, California: 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillon sourced from cool climate vineyards in Coombsville. A lovely bouquet of honeysuckle, white peach and crushed rocks with fleshy fruit on the palate that is lifted by notes of lemon peel, marked acidity and a saline minerality. Release price $125.
2021 Arborum, Proprietary Red, Napa Valley, California: 95% Cabernet Sauvignon from Arborum’s Hidden Key Vineyard and 5% Cabernet Franc from Pritchard Hill. A vibrant wine with beautiful purity of fruit that ranges from rich black cherries to bright red cranberries intermixed with blackcurrant leaves and cocoa powder with lots of energy on the palate balanced with dense black raspberry flavors with hints of forest floor and volcanic rock knitted together with fine tannins with a long finish that lingers with enchanting violet aromas. Release price $265.
