Ovid Experiment N3.8 Pritchard Red Blend Napa Valley

WSI95 Our third vintage from the N series, 2018 Experiment N3.8 is predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon. N3.8 bursts with notes of cassis, boysenberry, cherry and forest floor. Cocoa nibs, vanilla bean and sandal wood aromas round out this rich and redolent neighborly adventure that is sure to please for years to come.

Seeking an external frame of reference to reshape ideas and inspire new ones, we purchased a small amount of fruit from a neighboring vineyard. We learned the why and how of our colleague’s site, studying their row orientation and trellis setup. This different approach allowed us to learn and improve upon what we do here at the estate.

Evenly paced rains began the 2018 vintage and refreshed the soils during the first months of the year. A few warm days gently awoke the vines from their slumber in late March, pushing out the tender shoots. April brought some of our biggest rainfall and set the stage for a luxurious growing season. Long and clement summer days coaxed the grapes along as they slowly reached their full fruition. A warm, early September brought on a relatively compressed harvest, starting the second week of October and finishing triumphantly just 10 days later. 

This is the third wine in our “N” or Neighbor series. With this wine, we were interested in exploring the effect of canopy structure. The vineyard of choice employs a canopy structure known as a Modified California Sprawl. Shoots grow up from the cordon, arc out toward the center of the row and then drape downward or sprawl. Our expectation was that the sprawling canopy will allow good midday light interception by the fruit and good afternoon protection from the heat and sun.

My father, who was also a winemaker, told me early on that great winemaking is constant experimentation. Every vineyard and cellar have their own needs and protocols to maximize the potential of the wines. But there wasn’t any history at OVID to draw on, so we needed to try things in a variety of ways, to understand how to make the very best wines possible.
AUSTIN PETERSON, WINEMAKER

A pristine property high on Pritchard Hill producing tiny amounts of coveted wines. 5 years waitlist to access the mailing list and only a handful of wholesale partners worldwide.
These Experiment wines are typically reserved for the Mailing List and a few other direct accounts, Wine Spectrum now being one of them. 
Interesting detail: the labels are printed on a 300+ year Guttenberg Press and they are stunning! In fact, everything about this Estate has this level of meticulous attention level to it.

Austin Peterson brings a breadth of knowledge and experience to his position as head winemaker at OVID. Peterson grew up in northern California, immersed in the culture and business of wine, as the son of a winemaker. While studying enology at UC Davis, Peterson financed his education by making and selling his own wine. He began working at OVID in 2006 as Enologist, having already compiled an impressive resume that included winery positions in Napa, Sonoma, Bordeaux, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Argentina.
Peterson’s love of travel has exposed him to a wide array of winemaking ideas, philosophies and techniques. In 2010, Austin Peterson was appointed to the position of Winemaker at OVID. His distinctive combination of innovative thinking and broad perspective is an essential component of OVID’s continual pursuit of winemaking excellence.