Flora Springs Winery and Toad Hall Cellars are both owned by The Komes Family. Both of these wineries are located in the Napa Valley AVA and pull much of their grapes from their estate-owned vineyards located in the Carneros, Rutherford, and Oakville AVA’s located within the Napa Valley AVA.

About Otto Komes—Otto Jerome Komes was born Feb. 11, 1967, to John and Carrie Komes in San Mateo. He passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Feb. 18, 2010, at the age of 43.

Otto was diagnosed with cancer in 2008. His long fight with this disease showed off the personal traits that were so admired about him, such as his great courage, strong personal faith, tremendous amounts of patience and a love for life that he fought so hard for throughout his ordeal.

The Komes family moved to St. Helena in 1978 to start Flora Springs Winery. Otto attended the St. Helena Parochial School, Justin-Siena High School and graduated from St. Helena High School in 1986. Otto loved to spend his summers working at Flora Springs Winery. It would be easy to find him either in the cellar taking care of barrels or on the bottling line excited by the next new vintage.

While studying at Lewis and Clark College, in Portland, Ore., Otto met his wife, Kirsten Nyby. Otto graduated with a degree in communications in 1990. He enrolled at UNLV for the first hotel/hospitality management courses that the university offered. After receiving his master’s, he moved to Santa Monica and managed the Miramar Hotel for two years. It was in Santa Monica that Otto married Kirsten Komes, his beloved wife of 17 years.

Otto became a partner in the Rancho Caymus Inn in Rutherford, Calif. He lived in Rutherford for 15 years. It was in Rutherford that Otto and Kirsten started a family: Christian, Mary Grace and Elisa Noelle Komes.

Otto will always be remembered for his dry humor, his detailed storytelling and his untiring efforts of proving to the world that great Pinot Noir can be made from the Carneros region.

Flora Springs Winery

2006 Trilogy

Winemaker Notes: Flora Springs has built its legacy on beautiful and complex wines that can be enjoyed either as young and vibrant or as cellared and graceful. The 2006 exhibits all the classic Trilogy attributes with a lovely cassis and cherry bouquet, as well as huge black fruit flavors that envelop the palate. Each varietal is vital to the outcome - the Cabernet exhibits black cherry and dark cocoa character, while the Merlot carries these flavors to the back of the palate where the Cabernet Franc adds notes of coffee and toffee to the finish. Unrelenting with power and grace, the 2006 Trilogy, our 22nd vintage, beautifully marries the complexity and elegance of our earlier vintages with the sheer bravado of our favorites from the late 90’s.

2008 Soliloquy Sauvignon Blanc

Winemaker Notes: Soliloquy is a perfect introduction to the wines of Flora Springs. It exemplifies our understanding of tradition, devotion to innovation, and responsibility to our stewardship of over 650 acres of sustainably-farmed vineyards in Napa Valley.

In 1989, we crafted the first vintage of Soliloquy in a style still unique to Napa Valley white wine. Following fermentation, the wine is sur lees aged for eight months in 1600 gallon, sixty-year old, neutral oak, upright oval barrels. The combination of bright acidity unique to this vineyard site, and the wonderful complexity that comes with the sur lees aging, creates a long, smooth finish of clean fruit flavors of melon and fig that linger on the palate. The result is a “Soliloquy” in perfect harmony.

Toad Hall Cellars

2007 Carneros Pinot Noir

Winemaker Notes: Located in the heart of the Carneros district, our vineyard has been producing wonderful pinot grapes for years. Planted in twenty-two year old St. Clair Clone vines, the ideal soil and growing conditions in south Napa allow the fruit to ripen slowly and evenly, producing luscious grapes that are full of flavor. On the nose, this wine has hints of chocolate covered cherries and ripe raspberries. The flavors of dried cranberry and savory, earthy spices are followed by a finish that is bright and lingering. The well-balanced tannins will allow this wine to age gracefully.

2005 Bodacious

Winemaker Notes: This year’s exceptional wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from our Windfall Vineyard. Located in the Rutherford Appellation of the Napa Valley, Windfall Vineyard’s soils are rocky bale loam and are remarkably well suited to the production of world class Cabernet Sauvignon. The fruit from this vineyard is intense and produced an incredibly dense wine. Aromas of cherry and cocoa are followed by flavors of cherry liqueur, cassis and bittersweet chocolate with just a hint of black tea. The mouth feel is rich and accented by the full sweet tannins associated with great Cabernet Sauvignon. Enjoy this wine now for its big, bold Bodacious flavors or continue to cellar several more years.