The Art
A Massachusetts native, John Grillo graduated from the Hartford School of Fine Arts in 1938, studied at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco and also trained under the tutelage of Hans Hofmann, the legendary Abstract teacher. A seminal member of the Abstract Expressionist movement in the early 1950s, Grillo created a uniquely personal painting style that has evolved from vivid, freewheeling abstracts to lush figurative works.  The 1998 Artist Series features an untitled Grillo watercolor painted in 1974 that evokes an image of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney and the Guggenheim Museums in New York.

The Wine
An elegant, intensely concentrated wine with vibrant blackberry and black cherry fruit flavors, this wine exhibits rich, deep color, and hints of mint, spice and cassis.

With a history of crafting exceptional wines, Kenwood Vineyards winemaker, Mike Lee, selected grapes for the 1998 Artist Series cuvée predominantly from the Lindholm and Montecillo Vineyards.  Both vineyards are located at an elevation of about 1,400 feet on the Mayacamas mountain range, bordering the eastern side of Sonoma Valley.  These prominent vineyards are known for generating low-yielding crops of less than three tons per acre, producing complex wines that exhibit a high concentration of vibrant fruit.

After harvest in mid-October, the grapes were fermented in stainless steel tanks.  The lots were then aged separately in small French oak barrels for 30 months.  After final blending, the 1998 Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon spent an additional six months in French oak.  The wine was further aged for eight months in the bottle before being released to the market in the fall of 2002.  This Cabernet will continue to improve with bottle aging.

Composition:  92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc
Aging:   36 months in French oak
Alcohol:  13.7%