Introducing Grounded Wine Co.

Who is Josh Phelps?

Josh Phelps grew up in the salad days of Napa’s golden age surrounded by energetic young farmers and winemakers that would go on to become the new world’s wine royalty. Josh’s father is of course Chris Phelps, an instrumental winemaker in those days California really emerged onto the world stage. Chris Phelps is the consulting winemaker at Grounded Wine Co. today, Josh managing the day-to-day in the cellars.

In a fascinating way, the stories of both father and son shadow each other. Phelps Sr., after studying winemaking at UC Davis, mastered in oenology at the University of Bordeaux in the late 70’s and early 80’s. He went on to work at Pomerol’s Château Pétrus with Christian Moueix. In 1983, Christian appointed Phelps as their founding winemaker at The Moueix family’s Napa venture, Dominus. He went on to work for several iconic Napa estates until, at his son’s urging, Chris Phelps at last minted his own brand, the iconic AD VIVUM. 

And so Josh Phelps had a front row seat to a legendary Napa cohort, yet he didn’t take much of a shining to wine at first. Out of high school Josh went into pre-med, and even worked fighting forest fires in Idaho some summers, despite no lack of opportunities for winery and vineyard work. But over his first few years of adulthood wine gradually took hold of him. A family trip to Bordeaux at the age of 21 was the coup de grâce, coaxing him into the wine business for good. 

Thereafter, Josh followed in his Dad’s footsteps, studying oenology at the University of Bordeaux (and learning French while he was at it!), then apprenticing at Château Pétrus as well. But when Josh returned to California, he approached wine with a slightly different prerogative. His aim is and has been to make authentic American wines of place that the next generation can also afford. And so Grounded Wine Co. was born, a kind of pan-American négoce with its feet grounded in Napa’s young but lignifying styles and traditions.

Josh Phelps: Crafting Authentic Wines with Neo-Classical Elegance and Affordability

At Grounded Wine Co. the byword is sustainable, high quality, varietally- and terroir-correct wines with a grounded approach to pricing.

Josh is the first to acknowledge that when outstanding Cabernet’s like AD VIVUM’s are selling for hundreds of dollars per bottle, it’s crucial the Phelps family style can also be accessed in less precious bottlings. And that style is wonderful: It is that classically opulent California richness nuanced by both their time’s studying in Bordeaux.

“We’re making wines that I think are pure, honest, and authentic; wines that are correct, which isn’t always the case at the price points that we’re at.”

There’s a neo-classical taste for greater freshness and balance in Grounded’s bottles, but when drinking these wines you get the immediate impression that the baby has not been thrown out with the bathwater. This is our kind of winemaker—one that can dance their own way and still dance with the one that brought them. The wines are poised without jettisoning the most appealing elements of Napa and its environs: the long hang times, the rich phenolics, the lush tannins, and the magnanimous fruit. We are less interested in wines that idealize and ape the old country stylings than we are in wines that push for greater balance while embracing the true nature of their terroir’s fruit. This is the alignment of vision we find in Josh Phelps’ style.

In-Depth Guides:

Explore the Napa Valley AVA wine region and develop deep insights and knowledge via the in-depth profiles on www.vinerra.com:

• California Wine Profile
• Napa Valley AVA Wine Region 
• Columbia Valley AVA Wine Region
• Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Profile
• Cabernet Sauvignon Grape Profile

If you want to know more about the characteristics of this area you can take a look at www.vinerra.com

THE WINES of JOSH PHELPS



Alberta CSPC/SKU #896126

2021 Grounded California Sauvignon Blanc

Full bodied but not naked, the style of Josh Phelps' California Sauvignon Blanc is fresh and zesty, blending cool-climate parcels that lean into that lean mineral-driven style with fruit from warmer climes giving a Bordeaux-like ripeness that gives a more tropical and full bodied richness. The aromas range from white peach to passion fruit and guava highlighted by high tones of fresh lime and meyer lemon. On the palate, it's alive and refreshing with a long finish of lingering jasmine, green apple, and bosc pearl.



Alberta CSPC/SKU #896127

2020 Grounded California Cabernet Sauvignon

What a find! Featured on countless magazines' and critics' best-value lists, a California Cab of this caliber at this price point is a rare bird. It's the culmination of Josh Phelps' longstanding mission to make sustainably grown and no-corners-cut Cali Cab available to a new generation of wine drinkers in a time of runaway pricing. Part of that mission is to have that Cabernet cut a classic California profile, and 2020 does not disappoint. The fruit hails from a very select group of sustainably farmed premium vineyards Josh works with in less expensive corners of California: Paso Robles, North Coast, Central Coast, and even the interior valley. It's this hunt for great fruit that makes this awesome wine possible. 2020 was a moderately warm summer that allowed a long ripening period, resulting in the gradual development of enhanced dark fruit and tannin, the harvest for this wine's fruit not complete until their central coast blocks were picked in late October in the cool of night. The wine leads out with heady aromas of black cherry, cassis, and licorice. The palate shows ripe blackberry, dusty cocoa, and sweet oak, awash in those silky Cali Cab tannins. At 13.9% and drinking beautifully right out of the bottle, this wine is a home run.

Alberta CSPC/SKU #896129

2019 Collusion Washinton Cabernet Sauvignon

This Cabernet driven Bordeaux blend exemplifies Washington's fascinating terroir. It lands in the glass with an opaque ruby hue, offering gorgeous aromas of juicy blue fruit, red currants, violets, and leafy tobacco. On the palate we find a dense core of red berry fruit scaffolded by ripe tannins. A gracefully bold fruit profile with a dazzling finish. The style is classic—de-stemmed, sorted, fermented in stainless steel, macerated 15 days, then pressed to French oak barriques (30% new) to develop for 20 months before bottling. Washington so often offers profound bang for your buck, yet somehow the Collusion still exceeds expectations.



Alberta CSPC/SKU #896128

2021 Steady State Napa Cabernet Sauvignon

This is Grounded's tête de cuvée with 2021's bottling transforming from a four region Cab driven blend into a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon entirely from their Oak Knoll District vineyard, the valley area of Napa nearest to the cooling influences of the Bay. 2021 was one of the driest vintages on record, yet rainfall in late winter and early spring helped build good soil moistrure. Budbreak was mercifully late, saving this prized vineyard from frost damage, and the consistently warm and dry summer weather led to modest canopies and and very modest yields—a detriment economically but a blessing for quality. The cluster sizes and berry weights were quite small, translating into deeply concentrated flavour when the fruit was hand-harvested in the early morning hours of September 30th. Stunningly red garnet in color with its signature violet edge, the 2021 Steady State Cabernet Sauvignon is immediately alluring. Fresh, vibrant cassis, raspberry, and black liquorice are highlighted by completely integrated oak. A silky texture and inviting tension carry these flavours through the very long, complex finish. While this wine can be enjoyed now, it is built to age in the bottle for 15-20 years.