Kata folded into Realm

Got this email this morning. I was a buyer of Kata, on the waitlist for Realm…wonder if this will help?

"In 2011, Benoit Touquette and I set out to make a special wine from an unusual blend of grapes telling the story of an extraordinary historic site, the Beckstoffer Bourn Vineyard in St. Helena.

Since that inaugural year, we’ve grown Kata’s production and reputation, added Ghost Dog to the mix, and built a wine brand that we’re truly proud of. We gained some fans along the way, and one was Scott Becker at Realm Cellars. Scott and I have been friends for many years and I have always admired what Scott has done at Realm, bringing it from relative obscurity to one of the most well-respected brands in Napa Valley. Scott’s appreciation for what we were doing with the Cabernet and Petite Sirah at Bourn led us to thinking about what we could do together. As is often the case, what started as a crazy idea began to make perfect sense. Kata and Realm were a natural fit.

So today I’m thrilled to announce that Scott and I have formed a new partnership and Kata and Ghost Dog will be folded into Realm’s prestigious portfolio of wines.

We believe that there are great synergies to this partnership. Now in the hands of the Realm team at their new state-of-the-art winery, the wines will thrive as part of the Realm portfolio. On the winemaking side, the transition will be seamless as Benoit will continue to make the Realm wines as well as Kata and Ghost Dog. And although I will be stepping back from the wine production side, my focus will remain on ensuring that the vineyard continues to push the wines to new levels.

As part of the Kata community, you will now also become part of the larger Realm family, enjoying access to the world class wines and programs that Realm has to offer. This includes the opportunity to participate in the upcoming Fall offer in just a few weeks. The Vertical membership benefits you have earned will be maintained through the 2017 vintage of Kata and Ghost Dog, which will be released in November.

I thank you for your support and enthusiasm over the past eight years, without which we wouldn’t be in a position to take this next step. I hope you share my excitement for what’s ahead and are eager to participate with us in the next leg of our journey.

All the best,

David Beckstoffer"

Just got the email from Realm stating the same thing.

There was a thread back earlier in the year when Realm announced that Juan was moving on to a new Paso venture. Someone said there was more news to come with Realm and they were correct.

Crap. All this means is that I will only be offered my standard one bottle of Dr Crane for a while longer as they “fold” in the Kata people.

I’ve loved Realm for years. I like the move. It shows me they are continuing to look at their brand and what they can do to expand/make it better. To me, it’s better than a label that is doing the exact same thing year over year. I’m excited to visit the new winery.

I am not sure I am happy about this. I am all in favor of maintaining those old PS vines, but I am not a big fan of blending it into cabernet, as Kata has done, and I hope Realm does not expand that practice into other bottlings, especially The Bard which is a blend of a lot of several sourcings of cabernet, and quite good as it is. Also hope there are no price impacts.