Cabernet Sauvignon is the most planted red grape in California and the dominant variety in the luxury market. We do not source it. The decision is deliberate. A short explanation.
The market is saturated
California produces more Cabernet than anyone needs. Napa alone produces twenty thousand acres of it. Sonoma adds another five thousand. The grape is well-served by major producers, by mid-tier producers, by retail stores, and by restaurant lists. A member who wants California Cabernet has hundreds of options at any price point. The club's job is to find what those options do not offer.
Southern California is not the best place for it
Cabernet wants the day-night thermal swing that Napa, Paso Robles, and parts of Sonoma provide. Southern California's marine-influenced climate is too mild for Cabernet to develop its strongest structure. Local Cabernets are not bad. They are simply not the best expression of the grape, and we have access to Rhone and Spanish varietals that ARE the best expression of their grapes when grown here.
Members want what they cannot find elsewhere
The structural argument for the club is access to wines a member cannot buy at retail. Cabernet is at retail. Picardan, Counoise, Bourboulenc, Clairette, old-vine Carignan, are not. The club's sourcing rule follows from this argument: we pour what the wine shop does not, from vineyards that produce them best.