Caymus-Suisun spotlight
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2024 Caymus-Suisun The Walking Fool, Suisun Valley across the open market. Their published U.S. low is $30.40 and the average is $34.36. Our slash is $29.00.
Suisun Valley Red Blend • 1 Liter
2024 Caymus-Suisun The Walking Fool, Suisun Valley, USA, 1L
Jenny Wagner's Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, a full liter, twenty-nine dollars.
The Walking Fool is Caymus-Suisun, not the Rutherford Cabernet. Jenny Wagner makes it from Suisun Valley Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. This bottle holds 1 liter. The price is $29.
A liter from the valley next to Napa
Suisun Valley sits one county line from Napa and became an AVA in 1982. The Wagner family farms there and bottles Caymus-Suisun. The Walking Fool is the red blend, Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, made by Jenny Wagner. This format is 1 liter, glass, natural cork. Twenty-seven bottles are in the shop at $29.
Cherry cobbler, blackberry, plush tannins
The producer note published with the 2024 is an aroma of cherry cobbler, lightly buttered toast, vanilla, red licorice, and a whiff of sweet cigar. The taste they name is blackberry, vanilla, and brown spice, bright and lively, with round fruit and plush tannins. The house line on the wine is simpler: juicy raspberry, espresso, and softly fine tannins. No blend percentages are published.
Jenny Wagner. Zinfandel and Petite Sirah.
Caymus-Suisun says Jenny Wagner produces The Walking Fool. The blend is Zinfandel and Petite Sirah from Suisun Valley. The winery does not publish the percentages, the barrel time, or the alcohol on the estate page, so those stay off this page. The bottle in the shop is 1 liter, not 750 ml, closed with a natural cork.
Named for Johannes Glos, who walked.
Caymus-Suisun tells it this way: the wine is named after Jenny Wagner's great-great grandfather, Johannes Glos, who came to Napa Valley in the 1880s and often traveled by foot. The label is the man with the yoke and the two pails. The valley itself is an agricultural preserve. Chuck Wagner has said Suisun reminds him of Caymus in the 1970s.
The bottle in this photo reads 2024 Red Wine Blend, Suisun Valley.
Glazed ribs. A ribeye.
Zinfandel and Petite Sirah want char and a little sweetness on the plate. The two recipes below are the match. The winery does not publish a dish list for this vintage.
Kansas City barbecue ribs
Sticky, smoked pork ribs. The picture is glazed ribs. The recipe is the Kansas City style, sauce at the end.
Why it works: Raspberry and brown spice in the glass want a lacquered rib, not a lean fish.
View Recipe for Kansas City barbecue ribs (opens in a new tab)
Ribeye steak
The picture is a ribeye in a skillet. This recipe grills the same cut over a two-zone fire.
Why it works: Plush tannins and blackberry want a crust and rendered fat.
View Recipe for grilled ribeye steaks (opens in a new tab)Twenty-nine dollars. One liter. Open it this week.
Jenny Wagner. Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. Suisun Valley. The 1-liter bottle is $29.
Twenty-seven bottles are in the shop. Pull one for ribs, or take twelve and let the shipping ride.
