Ondulé Wines Awarded Prestigious Silver Medal in Tasting Alliance Competition
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Now completing its first year of sales, Ondulé Wines has proven to be a viable newcomer to the robust $40.2 billion California wine industry.
The new Napa Valley-based label has been awarded the prestigious 2019 Silver Medal by the Tasting Alliance's San Francisco International Wine Competition (SFIWC) and a Bronze Medal at the 2020 SF Chronicle Competition. The Silver Medal recognizes wine that is outstanding in its category, showing "refinement, finesse, and complexity."
The Ondulé story is classic yet atypical in the world of California winemaking, which is dominated by 3,900 family-owned, multigenerational wineries. In 1946, patriarch Jack Bernstein founded Oak Paper, a leading corrugated manufacturer. Over the years, a key area of expansion included supplying shipping materials for the exploding wine industry in California.
Eventually, Oak Paper spawned Acorn Paper Products and Acorn West in Northern California which today produces and distributes the boxes and eco-friendly pressed pulp for 80% of the California wine industry's needs. For four generations, the family has played an under-stated, but key role in the vibrant wine business.
The family's passion for good wine, coupled with a deep love of all things Californian, inspired Jack's grandson, David Weissberg (now CEO of Acorn), to jump into the wine biz and create his own family label. Weissberg, his son Jake and cousin, Randy Seff established Ondulé Wines. As a nod to their legacy, the name Ondulé is French for corrugated. They hired the talented winemaker Jason Holman (a protégé of the esteemed John Kongsgaard) to create a custom crush that appealed to their love of big, bold reds.
Ondulé's award-winning first vintage is a full-bodied 2013 Napa Bordeaux inspired blend made in the old-world style using organically grown, new world grapes from the Coombsville AVA. 2013 is arguably Napa's finest year for Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.
The decision to follow their passion and create fine wine has paid off. Ondulé, which is currently being self-distributed and sold in California, is becoming known as the next great premium juice in a crowded wine landscape. Some of the prestigious places now carrying Ondulé include Waldorf-Astoria (Jean Georges), Pelican Hill Resort, Craig's Restaurant, Alexander's Steakhouse, Angelini Osteria and more.
Early in 2020, the Ondulé family will release its second wine, the 2014 Esmé. Like its predecessor, Esmé's elegant blend confirms that the Weissberg/Seff family may be new to winemaking but sincere in their determination to bring timeless, first-rate wine to Californians.
Weissberg says, "For decades my family provided packaging and protection for the beautiful bottles of our customers, allowing us a peek into the world of winemakers and wines. We got into this knowing that our competitors would be some of California's great vintners, but we were eager to introduce our own distinctive wine. These acknowledgments affirm that we're on the right track."
"We've gone from cardboard to Cabernet!" jokes Weissberg.
SOURCE Ondulé Wines
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