If you’ve ever spent an evening in Napa Valley, you know the magic: golden-hour light spilling across the vines, glasses clinking over candlelit tables, and food that celebrates the land. Those of us who live here are lucky enough to get to experience this magic regularly,...
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We often think of Rosé as being an appetizer wine, or something that you merely sip while lounging in the sun, and while it’s great for both of those things, don’t forget that it can also be a great wine to serve with a full meal! Our Estate Host, Peter, recently enjoyed our 2024 Melinda’s...
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Picture it – it’s a Saturday night and you’re cooking something special, so you decide to open a bottle of Taplin Cabernet Sauvignon to go with the meal. Good decision! But before you pop the cork and start pouring, here’s a little insider tip: decanting that bottle...
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Napa Valley vs French Cabernet Franc: What’s the difference, really?

Cabernet Franc, the elegant and peppery red grape long revered in France’s Loire Valley and Bordeaux, is planting some major roots in a second...
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Rosé comes in many styles, but for those of us who love it, the first thing that catches the eye is the color—so many beautiful shades of pink!

But what determines the color? First, the grape varietal plays a key role. Different red grapes...
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The Terra 9 Cabernet Sauvignon is our most popular wine at Taplin Cellars, and it is no secret why. Made from blocks of our estate vineyard that are hand-selected by our winemaker, Julien Fayard, the Terra 9 delivers a knock-out wine (especially...
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Inspired by a dish recently served at a Taplin on the Road event in Florida, our Estate Host, Peter Lilly, crafted this lamb lollipop dish to pair with our 2022 Terra 9 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Lamb lollipops are individual or double-cut...
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This coming Saturday, February 22, Stephen and Sylvia Taplin will pop open a 2002 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon for Open That Bottle Night. 2002 is a special year for them, as it is the year that they met. They weren’t making their own wine then, but the producer that this wine is from was using grapes...
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Our annual members-only Midsummer Winemaker’s Dinner is a highlight of the year for us. This very intimate dinner pairs Taplin wine with a five-course meal, and our winemaker, Julien Fayard, speaks to every course and mingles with guests.

The...
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Lamb Chops with Advieh & Minted Yogurt

Advieh literally means “spices” in Farsi, but also refers to a fragrant blend of sweet and savory spices frequently used in rice dishes, grilled meats, and stews. Like all spice blends, the exact composition of advieh varies...
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What is your place in the Taplin family, and what does being a part of it mean to you?

I’m married to Adam, who’s in the sixth generation of Taplins who have lived in St. Helena. 

We met in college,...
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Recipes by Peter Lilly, Taplin Cellars Host

These three recipes showcase summer produce at its peak. The grilled steak or lamb recipe works wonderfully with 2017 Terra 9, as its Chilean Merquen seasoning adds some spice, which a wine with...
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What kind of work are you currently doing with the vineyards?

If you read my previous interview, you...
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What is your place in the family, and what does living on the land mean to you? 

My ancestors settled in the Napa Valley in the 1870s, in two separate locations: one family where I am now, and another over on Silverado Trail. I’m now the sixth...
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We are pleased to announce that our 2021 Terra 9 Cabernet Sauvignon is now officially released!

The 2021 Terra 9 is a sun-kissed vintage with opulent fruit, rich aromatics, and an irresistible...
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Our annual members-only Winemaker’s Dinner is a highlight of the year for us. This very intimate dinner pairs Taplin wine with a five-course meal, and our winemaker, Julien Fayard, speaks to every course and mingles with guests.

The 2023 menu included a wonderful Cabernet Braised Pork...
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Entrecôte Bordelaise – Steak with Bordelaise sauce is a classic, and easy to serve over the holidays.

To pair with the 2016 Taplin Cabernet Sauvignon, we recommend doing this recipe with a filet mignon. With the 2019...
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The members of the Taplin family are a varied bunch, but one thing we all have in common is our love for hosting, and our passion for sharing wines that we love with our guests. Over the years, I have honed my hostess skills, and here are five tips I recommend when you are...
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At Taplin Cellars, one of our core tenets is being good stewards of this land that has been in our family for over 150 years. One part of this stewardship that we take very seriously is our commitment to sustainable farming, and doing what we can to take care of the environment and ecosystem that...
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When the 5^th generation of Taplins took stewardship of the land, all of our vineyards were planted with Cabernet Sauvignon.  Then almost 10 years ago, we planted a small block with Cabernet Franc, which we made our first wine from in 2019. We couldn’t believe...
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When you hear the term library wine, sometimes it is unclear exactly what that means. What makes a wine a “library wine”? The term “library wine” refers to keeping a certain quantity of some vintages stored in the cellar after their initial release, so that they can...
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Grilled Pissaladière au Fenouil

Like Melinda’s Rosé, this is a Napa Valley twist on a Provençal classic. Sweet, fresh fennel joins the traditional caramelized onions on this flatbread, melding seamlessly with the wine’s wild garrigue notes, and drawing out its fresh red fruit...
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Crispy-Skinned Duck with Vietnamese Pistou

This recipe blends French and Vietnamese flavors in a hauntingly exotic herb & walnut pistou. The secret ingredient is Vietnamese fish sauce, which layers marvelous depth and umami without weighing down the mint- and basil-flecked...
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Have you ever tasted a PNV wine?

PNV stands for Premiere Napa Valley, an event where the top Napa Valley wineries put a limited amount of wine from their best barrel, or produce a unique blend to offer it up for auction to benefit the Napa...
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The process of making Terra 9 starts in our vineyards every year as the vines awaken from their winter slumber and begin to breathe again with new life.

We make Terra 9 using a different approach from that of our Taplin Cabernet Sauvignon,...
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This vegan recipe draws (loose) inspiration from feijoada, the national dish of Brazil—an intensely rich, meaty black bean stew often seasoned with tempero baiano and served with toasted cassava root, sliced oranges, and greens. Here, layers of smoky and herbaceous flavors in the...
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Grilled Flank Steak
Flank steak is a lean meat; therefore, the marinade and accompanying sauce are all-important. This recipe pairs very well with our 2017 Terra 9. The simple marinade with brown sugar helps to create a soft caramel sauce in the steak, enhancing the black cherries...
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Shaved Zucchini and Parmesan Salad

Ideal for a hot summer day, this salad features raw zucchini shaved into thin ribbons and tossed in a lemony dressing, with Parmesan, herbs, and some crunch from toasted nuts. Basil and pine nuts, or parsley and almonds, are each good options...
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Are you confused by the many types, colors, and flavors of rosé wine? Our sister Melinda Taplin was, until she spent a year in France and fell in love with Provençal rosé: dry, with gentle flower and fruit aromas.

Back home, she dreamed of making rosé in California. After years of work,...
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Recently, I was busy making dinner and rushed to my wine cooler to get a bottle of Cabernet that I thought would pair well with the beef I had cooked. When we were all ready, I opened the bottle at the table. BIG Mistake. The wine was too cold, and it tasted tight, with notes of rubbing alcohol. It...
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Thank you to everybody who has had us in their thoughts.

Harvest had wrapped up when the fire started and the wine is in a safe facility. Our property did not suffer damages. We did have to work off-site for a few days, but we are back to our schedule determined to continue on.

We are...
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While sharing a bottle of our wine with an esteem sommelier in France, we were meticulously describing our Cabernet Sauvignon. He stopped us and said, you do not produce a Cabernet, you produce a St. Helena.

Herein is the concept of terroir, hard to define but often interesting to explore....
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When Melinda Taplin was diagnosed with breast cancer over 10 years ago, her brother, a physician, connected her with Dr. Susan Love. It was often difficult to even articulate the questions Melinda wanted to ask her doctor, but Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book provided guidance...
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Summer time, longer days, and more down time invite a good glass of wine. But what if you didn’t have your favorite wines shipped in the spring, and it’s already 90 degrees? You might be worried about “cooked” wine showing up at your doorstep.

We have good news. Shipping...
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