Session 001 · First Pour

"Eat, drink & be merry."— Sir John "Plump Jack" Falstaff

The name PlumpJack comes from one of Shakespeare's most unforgettable characters — Sir John Falstaff, the irreverent, wine-loving rogue from Henry IV who believed that life's finest moments happen over a shared glass. It's a fitting namesake for a winery that has never taken itself too seriously, even while producing some of Napa Valley's most celebrated wines.

PlumpJack Estate Winery in Oakville was founded in 1995. What started as a passion project quickly became a pioneer: in 2000, PlumpJack made headlines by bottling half of their Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon under screw cap at the Napa Valley Wine Auction, challenging the conventions of luxury wine and proving that great wine doesn't need to be pretentious.

From there, the collection grew. In 2005, they established CADE Estate Winery on a 54-acre estate on Howell Mountain — California's first LEED Gold Certified estate winery and one of the first to achieve organic certification. In 2012, they acquired the former Steltzner Vineyard in the prestigious Stags Leap District, transforming it into Odette Estate Winery, another LEED Gold Certified property that won the American Architecture Prize in 2017. And then there's Adaptation, crafted by the same winemaking team at Odette, designed to showcase the remarkable diversity and range of Napa Valley's terroir — proof that world-class wine can also be wonderfully approachable.

Every label in the collection carries a thread of Shakespeare and literary history. Every bottle reflects a commitment to the land, to craft, and to the belief that wine is meant to bring people together.

Why PlumpJack

The wines for Session 001 were personally curated, and the decision to feature PlumpJack wasn't made from a catalog — it was born from an experience.

Earlier this year, Andrea and I had the opportunity to join a winemaker's cruise sponsored by PlumpJack that took us from the coast of Nice through the wine regions of the Mediterranean, all the way to Spain. Over the course of that trip, we didn't just taste incredible wine — we got to know the people behind it. We spent time with Andrew Haugen, Head Winemaker at Odette Estate and Adaptation, whose journey from studying biology at Cal Poly to harvesting grapes across New Zealand, Australia, and Oregon's Willamette Valley before finding his home at Odette is the kind of story that makes every sip more meaningful. We connected withZoey, PlumpJack's Senior Sales Manager and a great group of other travelers, whose passion for these wines is contagious.

What struck us most wasn't just the quality of the wines or the food — it was the shared passions. A love of craft, of bringing people together, of creating experiences that linger long after the last glass is poured. That's exactly what B-side Sessions is about, and it's why PlumpJack felt like the perfect collection to launch our first session.

Andrea and I look forward to sharing these wines — and this story — with you.