Venge Vineyards

Venge Vineyards is Kirk Venge's personal estate in Calistoga, the label where the son of legendary winemaker Nils Venge (first American to earn a perfect 100-point score) crafts wines from his own 30-acre vineyard alongside consulting for numerous other estates. Founded in 2008, the winery allows Kirk to apply the family's accumulated winemaking knowledge to fruit that he grows himself, creating wines that represent the purest expression of the Venge family's style and the warm Calistoga terroir.

The 30-acre estate vineyard sits on the Calistoga benchland, planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangiovese, and Syrah. The warm Calistoga climate produces fruit of rich, concentrated character, and the volcanic soils add mineral depth. The vineyard's diversity reflects Kirk's interest in exploring beyond Cabernet, and each variety shows the generous warmth that the northern end of the valley naturally provides.

Kirk Venge produces a focused portfolio that includes estate Cabernet, Merlot, Sangiovese, and Syrah, each showing the bold, concentrated character of Calistoga fruit. The Bone Ash Cabernet, from the estate's finest blocks, is the flagship: powerful, dark, and polished, with the tannic structure of volcanic-soil fruit. The Sangiovese is bright and Italian-inflected, and the Syrah shows warm-climate spice. The Silencieux Cabernet, a reserve bottling, adds additional depth and concentration.

The tasting room on the estate provides a direct connection to the Venge family's winemaking legacy. Kirk frequently pours and shares stories from his father's career and his own, creating a tasting experience that bridges two generations of Napa winemaking history. The $55 fee includes the full portfolio.

Venge Vineyards allows Kirk to step out from his father's legendary shadow and establish his own winemaking identity. The estate wines show that the younger Venge has absorbed his father's knowledge while developing a personal style that is distinctly his own, particularly in the Sangiovese and Syrah that Nils never produced.