En Cavale is California wine seen through a natural prism: old-school grapes like Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel, made soulful, accessible and alive, with a nod to the team's favorite bottles from France and Italy.
Backstory
En Cavale was started in 2017 by Wolfgang Weber and Chad Westbrook Hinds. The two teamed up to re-examine classic West Coast varieties through the lens of natural winemaking, aiming to make expressions of old-school California wine that stay genuinely affordable. The winery began in Richmond, in Contra Costa County, and later moved north to Etna in far northern California.
The Region
The fruit is drawn from California, including Contra Costa County and North Coast sources, with the cellar now based in the small town of Etna in Siskiyou County. The wines tip their hat to European classics while remaining unmistakably Californian.
Vineyards and Farming
All of the fruit is sourced from organically farmed vineyards. En Cavale describes itself as a flirtatious expression of sustainable winemaking, with a deliberate dedication to affordability.
Winemaking
The winemaking is low-intervention: spontaneous fermentation in neutral oak with indigenous yeasts, and the wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered so they stay lively in the glass.
The Wines
The lineup centers on classic West Coast grapes, notably a crisp Sauvignon Blanc and an old-school Zinfandel, made in an honest, everyday style rather than a showy one.
