At Caymus Vineyards in the Napa Valley, the family creed is, "one wine, one label."  Caymus has been operating since 1971, when Charles F. (Charlie) Wagner, his wife Lorna, and their son Chuck built a winery on Skellinger Lane, naming it after a local land grant.  Over the years, that one Caymus wine has been emphatically red, and now, more than three decades later, Caymus is comfortably established as one of California's iconic wineries, noted for its Caymus "Special Selection." 

But as things have turned out, there's more to Caymus than Special Selection, including the somewhat confusing 'Charles-Connection.'  In 2002, Charlie Wagner passed away, leaving Caymus in the hands of his son, Charles J. 'Chuck' Wagner.  Chuck's two sons, Charlie II and Joseph J., are part of the extended Wagner winemaking tradition, though they make their own wines for separate brands that are independent of their father's winemaking at Caymus, but distributed by Caymus Vineyards.  'Conundrum' is another separate brand that has no Charles connection, though this white blend is often thought of as a Caymus wine.  It is made by Jon Bolta, mostly from grapes selected from the Wagner's Mer Soleil Vineyard in Monterey County. 

From the beginning, Charlie Wagner proved to be an astute grape grower and winemaker with an admirable reputation for red wine.  Recognizing that following in the steps of a successful father can be a benefit or a bane to a young winemaker struggling to make his own mark, Charlie's two sons struck out on their own, more or less.  Charlie II became winemaker for Mer Soleil Chardonnays and 'Silver' Chardonnay, from the family's Mer Soeil Vineyard in Monterey County, while his younger brother Joseph set out to make single-vineyard Belle Glos Pinot Noirs from select vineyards along California's coast. 

Charlie II spends a couple of days a week at the Mer Soleil Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands.  'We started planting Mer Soleil in 1988 with Chardonnay, Viognier and a little Marsanne and Roussanne, adding a small barrel room in 1995.  The first vintage of Mer Soleil was made at Caymus in 1992, and we added Silver in 2005.'  He says that plans are now underway for a new winery building at Mer Soleil that will also house 'Conundrum.' 

You might say that winemaking is in the blood of Charlie II, since he started making wine with his father at 16 years old while still in high school.  Now 27, he maintains the Wagner family motto of one wine, one label:  'Caymus is known for Cabernet Sauvignon and I believe that Mer Soleil is equivalent to that,' says Charlie II, adding that the Mer Soleil style is more traditional California but with moderate French oak, while 'Silver' is similar to 'a $40 no-oak Chablis.'

Joseph, 25, makes Belle Glos Pinots in the former white wine side of Caymus Vineyards, but prefers, as does his brother Charlie II, for the wines to be known as Wagner Family rather that 'by Caymus.'  The limited line of Belle Glos Pinot Noirs includes a Pinot Noir Blanc, a Sonoma Coast blend, and three single-vineyard Pinots: Taylor Lane Vineyard (Sonoma Coast), Clark & Telephone Vineyard (Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara County) and Las Alturas Vineyard (Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey County).  Taylor Lane and Clark & Telephone were released first in 2002, followed in 2004 by Las Alturas.  The name Belle Glos honors Joseph's grandmother Lorna Belle Glos Wagner, co-founder of Caymus Vineyards.