story by Jonathan Cristaldi / photos by Alexander Rubin
This story isn’t about Paul Hobbs, and he’s OK with that.
Hobbs has, after all, been in the spotlight for decades as the internationally acclaimed winemaker and vintner whose projects include Paul Hobbs Winery and Crossbarn Winery in California and Hillick & Hobbs in New York; Viña Cobos in Mendoza, Argentina; Yacoubian-Hobbs in Vayots Dzor, Armenia; Crocus in Cahors, France; and Alvaredos-Hobbs in Galicia, Spain. This story just so happens to be about Hobbs’ daughter, Agustina, who has launched a brand-new label all her own called ALH (short for Agustina Lindsay Hobbs).
“This is a wine for my generation,” Agustina explains as she watches me swirl and sniff the newly released inaugural ALH 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon from across a picnic table. “There aren’t a lot of wines that focus on trying to get young millennials into drinking wine.”
She believes that two factors will give her an edge in attracting that demographic as well as Gen Z. One is that the wine comes from the iconic 68-acre Nathan Coombs Estate, which sits at the foot of the Vaca Mountains in Napa’s Coombsville AVA, where I met her and her dad to learn about this project. The second is the suggested retail price of $75—significantly lower than that of most Paul Hobbs wines, which run well into the triple digits.
I think she’s right on both counts. The Hobbs name carries weight in the wine world, and Agustina, as the second-generation family winemaker, is poised to carry that legacy forward. She’s starting in the right place—appealing to young, would-be wine drinkers who, one day, may trade up to those $300-plus bottles in the Hobbs portfolio.
For his part, Paul is content to let Agustina do most of the talking when it comes to ALH. What he did explain during our hour-long interview was that the naming of ALH was wholly intentional. To be clear, this is not “ALH by Paul Hobbs” or any other iteration of his famous name. It is, as simply stated on a striking label by Michael McDermott, ALH.
“The idea is to make it hers and to overdeliver at this price point. It speaks to her personality and interests, her vivaciousness and energy, and we selected plots from the vineyard that carry the weight of that. And Lord knows I didn’t need another brand,” he says with a hearty laugh.
Winemaking the Agustina Way
Born in the Sonoma County town of Healdsburg and raised in Argentina, Agustina spent summers traveling to California and frequently accompanied her father on business trips to new markets such as Japan and the U.K. (Her mother, Mariela, who herself loved to travel, moved with Agustina to Spain for a year when Agustina was 8.) As a teen, Agustina also worked in the cellar at Paul Hobbs Winery during the summer with longtime cellar master Roberto Ruiz.
As she grew older, Agustina attended boarding school in Massachusetts. That was when she began to explore other career options and resisted following her father into the wine business; she wanted to forge her own path—psychology, law, medicine? Yet she kept being drawn back to wine and ultimately enrolled at Cornell University, where she studied viticulture and enology with a minor in hospitality and business.
After graduating in 2017, she traveled widely, completing harvests at Crocus (a joint venture between Paul and Bertrand Vigouroux) and Viña Cobos as well as Paul Hobbs Winery, where she also did an internship. Later, she gained sales experience in the Asian market before moving to New York in 2019 to “carry a bag” and learn distribution from the ground up. There, she joined Empire Merchants as a business analyst. When the pandemic hit, she returned to California to help with the 2020 harvest before moving back to New York, where she eventually left Empire to work in sales for Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, focusing on on-premise accounts in Brooklyn.
In creating the ALH brand, Agustina was well prepared by her time working alongside Ruiz in the cellars; now she is immersing herself in the vineyard with her father as well as spending more time in the cellar, building her understanding of best practices. “I’m asking questions,” she says. “I’m not a winemaker yet. I’m learning from my dad.”
A Pedigree All Its Own
The inaugural release—a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc—comes from two blocks south of Kreuse Creek, which runs through the 68 planted acres of vines on the Nathan Coombs Estate. The grapes were handpicked, fermented with native yeast in stainless steel, and aged for 18 months in (one-third new) French barriques.
In the glass, the 2022 ALH Cabernet is gorgeously red-fruited, with loads of mulberry and crunchy raspberry as well as an elegant baking-spice character framed by fine tannins and lively acidity. Medium- to full-bodied, it opens in the glass with air, revealing the savory intensity typical of Coombsville, hints of garrigue, and violet flourishes. Its fresh acidity makes it just about as food-friendly as Cabernet from Napa Valley can come.
“Korean food is having a moment,” says Agustina. “Cabernet Sauvignon with it—anything with umami—is great. Tomato sauce and eggplant? Go for Cab!” Her message is simple: This Cabernet is cool in every sense of the word, thanks to its firm spine of racy acidity. “You can have it with vegetarian dishes and even fish. It’s a wine for many categories and many cuisines.” With a production of roughly 3,500 cases, ALH is providing plenty of opportunity for wholesale buyers in markets such as Illinois, New York, California, Texas, New Jersey, and Florida—where Agustina has personally helped launched the brand this year—as well as several other states to snap up bottles for their clientele.
The Somms Speak Out
I spoke to two on-premise buyers who shared their first impressions of ALH and discussed its place in their wine programs.
Jhonel Faelnar
Beverage director, NA:EUN
Hospitality, New York, NY
At NA:EUN Hospitality and our restaurants Atoboy, Atomix, and Naro, our focus is on Korean concepts and flavors, and I’m always on the hunt for new producers to try to showcase thoughtful food and wine pairings through our distinct programs. I was introduced to ALH wines by Agustina Hobbs herself. I was intrigued by the story of Agustina’s new project and curious about the influence of growing up with her famous dad. At the end of the day, the ALH wine speaks for itself—the fruit quality is full and deep, showing the quality of the specific parcels chosen for this wine from the Nathan Coombs Estate. The balance and acidity in the wine make it a great pairing for medium- to full-bodied dishes, especially those with rich or focused sauces that aim to highlight complementary bold flavors in the wine.
Macarena Carrillo
Head sommelier, Cote Miami, and partner, GrapeCrush!, Miami, FL
Miami is a city that, contrary to what one might expect, loves Cabernet Sauvignon. One would think that whites and rosé are the most sought-after wines, but as a city, Miami loves a rich red! I was raised in Miami and have seen all of the phases and changes the city has gone through, which is why I’m so excited for ALH wines to be in our market. I have been with COTE Miami for four amazing years, and through a tasting I met Agustina; we bonded over our Argentinian heritage. Upon tasting the wines in Coombsville, in the vineyard, I felt a sense of place and belonging—being right where you were meant to be the whole time. This feeling also translated into a mouthfeel: velvet, lush, and balanced. This is what Cabernet Sauvignon should be like! And the price point—finally, something for the everyday consumer and wine lover. Why should quality be so hard to afford? In terms of placement on a list, ALH has everything we look for: quality, price, and a story. I am so happy to be able to share ALH with Miami.