Arger-Martucci Vineyards

Kosta Arger was born in Tacoma, Washington and was raised in a traditional Greek family, where his father and grandfather made home wine. He attended medical school at the University of Washington at Seattle and completed his postgraduate training in cardiology at the University of California at Davis. His interest in wine began while he was still in college in the Pacific Northwest. He began tasting with a professional tasting group in Seattle that was affiliated with the wine trade in the early 1970's. From there, he began judging in various competitions throughout the west coast on a regular basis. Since his background was in chemistry, his fascination with wine making grew and in 1975, Dr. Arger and his new bride, Julie Arger, met Alice & Joe Heitz while on their honeymoon in the Napa Valley. Their respect and friendship grew and Kosta asked Joe if he could help work the 1975 Crush. Finally, after working the long crush, Joe said to Kosta, "You really like this! Why don't you try making some wine on your own?" Kosta told him he didn't think he could make wine but Joe insisted by arranging for Kosta to get a half-ton of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Nathan Fay. Kosta thinks it was more to "get him out of his hair than anything." The Vintage was 1976 and Kosta still has a few bottles of the '76 in his cellar. However, it reminds him that he is still not sure how he did it [except that he was on the phone a lot with Joe]! Following his first taste of winemaking, Dr. Arger began making wine each year with the exception of his internship year in 1979. After meeting Joanne & Tony Truchard in 1981, Kosta began making Cabernet Sauvignon blended with Merlot & Cabernet Franc and has produced his Cabernet Sauvignon in that style ever since. In 1985, Kosta asked his sister to pick up a barrel from a broker in the Bay Area. She inadvertently brought him a Burgundy-style barrel so he said, "I guess we will have to try some Pinot Noir." He thinks it was "beginner's luck" as the 1985 turned out to be a phenomenal wine from the Truchard Vineyard in Carneros. Kosta has been making a small amount of Pinot Noir ever since. The Pinot Noir grape is always a challenge, and having tasted great Burgundy wines over the years, we all know what the standard is for great Pinot Noir. In 1998, the partnership of Arger-Martucci Vineyards was formed and Carol & Rich Martucci joined Julie & Kosta Arger in the wine business. Rich Martucci is a transplanted New Yorker who moved to Reno in 1978. A banker, Martucci started a mortgage firm there and then acquired a struggling bank which he turned into a successful, multi-branch community bank. He sold that business in 1998 but continues to serve on its Board of Directors. Also a wine enthusiast, Martucci purchased Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vineyards in the Carneros Region in 1999 and proposed, "Let's make some Chardonnay!" Once again, it must have been "beginner's luck" as the 1999 Chardonnay turned out to be wonderfully bold, lush and silky. Today, Rich and Kosta's philosophy is to continue to remain "tiny." They produce approximately 1,000 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon with a few hundred cases each of Pinot Noir, Syrah, Chardonnay and Viognier. "We did not intend to make a Viognier," Kosta says, "However, when the winery was purchased in 2000, it had Viognier planted around it so we decided to continue to produce a small amount. Viognier is a fascinating grape and difficult to handle with its phenolics." The Viognier was subsequently torn out due to phylloxera but has since been replanted. We have secured an excellent source of Viognier from the Russian River area and the 2003 is outstanding. We hope you will try our wines. They are truly "hand-made" with the expertise of Dr. Kosta Arger and his renown winemaking skills. Come visit us in St. Helena for a tasting of our wines.

Napa Valley, United States

1455 Inglewood Avenue,

(707) 963-4334