June 1, 2020 | Ralph Sands
I first met Randy and Debbie Lewis at Oakville Ranch in the foothills of the Vaca Mountains in 1989; this was their first investment and partnership in the wine business. Debbie had been in the wine trade and Randy had just retired from the race car world where he competed for 23 years, including 5 Indianapolis 500’s.
After spending just a few minutes with them, I remember thinking, wow; these people are excited, focused, professional and exude energy! There love of wine was obvious. Soon Randy had me in their small cellar, he wanted me to taste two wines, the same vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon but made differently, one wine filtered and fined the other was not. I told him I clearly enjoyed the unfiltered and unfined wine; Randy’s big smile told me he also very much preferred this style. I had the feeling this partnership was going sideways and in 1992 Lewis Cellars was born.
From their first release, there Cabernets Sauvignons have been big, rich, full throttle wines with opulent ripe fruit and have never wavered from this incredibly popular style. I still have many customer across America that started buying Lewis Cellars from me in the mid 1990’s and allocations still sell out quickly.
We sadly lost Debbie to cancer in 2017. Randy and their son Dennis along with winemaker Josh Widaman keep Lewis on top of their game. Great people making great wines!
2007 is a great, classic California vintage, full of ripe fruit, perfect for the Lewis style. I hope you enjoy!
Ralph Sands
PrimeCellar Consultant
