Method, Cabernet Sauvignon, "White Label"

The world of wine is bigger than most people realize.

More than sixty countries produce wine today, and hundreds of thousands of different labels exist around the globe. In the United States alone, nearly 100,000 wines circulate through shops, restaurants, and cellars.

You travel the world tasting incredible bottles, sitting at great tables, meeting brilliant growers — and then you come home and walk into a shop where half the bottles on the shelf feel like they’re priced for the label instead of what’s actually inside the bottle. Then you taste one, look at the price tag, and wonder how the price-to-quality could possibly make sense to anyone.

Trevor Sheehan and I started Method in 2015 because we thought there had to be a better way—running lean margins, cutting out unnecessary middlemen and expensive corporate structures, and putting the money where it belongs: into the wine.

We started with a Napa Valley “Black Label,” which some of you may already know (it’s in the store now if you want to read about it). A few years later we introduced the White Label California Cabernet—something built for people who want a great everyday Cabernet that captures the qualities we all love in top Napa wines and Bordeaux, but for under $20.

The difference is simply where we source it.

This wine comes from an organically farmed vineyard near Clear Lake, about an hour north of Calistoga, planted on deep red volcanic soils. Because of the current state of the market, we’re able to offer it at an insane value. This is the kind of wine to buy by the case and drink all year. If you love Cabernets from the Napa Valley floor, this wine plays a very similar song at a fraction of the price. I dare you to blind your Napa friends who collect high-scoring wines and have them guess the price. Let me know what they say.

For this White Label Cabernet, the fruit comes from Thurston Vineyard in the Red Hills AVA of Lake County, one of the most exciting places for Cabernet in California right now. If you jumped in your car in Yountville and drove north, you’d pass St. Helena, then Calistoga, and continue winding up the steep and windy Highway 29 until the road climbs into the hills above Clear Lake.

The Red Hills AVA sits on the south and southeastern slopes above Clear Lake, roughly between 1,400 and 2,500 feet in elevation, making it one of the highest vineyard zones in northern California outside the mountains of Napa. The region is shaped by volcanic forces—particularly the ancient eruptions associated with nearby Mount St. Helena and Mount Konocti—which left behind iron-rich red soils composed of volcanic rock, obsidian fragments, and weathered basalt.

If you know the famous red dirt of eastern Oakville in Napa Valley, the resemblance is striking. The soils look similar, and they behave similarly with Cabernet: excellent drainage, low fertility, and just enough stress on the vine to concentrate flavor.

The climate here is also ideal for Cabernet. Days are warm and sunny during the growing season, often reaching 85–95°F in the afternoon, allowing the grapes to develop full ripeness and deep color. But the elevation and proximity to Clear Lake create dramatic diurnal shifts, with nighttime temperatures often dropping 30–40 degrees, sometimes into the 50s even after hot days.

That swing between warm days and cool nights slows ripening just enough to preserve acidity, aromatics, and structure. The result is Cabernet with both power and lift—ripe fruit, but also freshness and balance.

The 2023 vintage is built primarily from Cabernet Sauvignon with small amounts of Malbec and Petit Verdot for added complexity. The wine spent about fifteen months aging in a mix of new French oak and older French oak barrels, giving it structure and polish while allowing the fruit to remain front and center.

In the glass, the wine shows a deep, saturated purple with a dark ruby rim, signaling both concentration and youthful energy. The aromatics open immediately with classic Cabernet character—blackberry, cassis, and black plum layered with notes of violet, graphite, cedar, cocoa powder, and baking spice. With a little air, darker tones of espresso, crushed rock, and warm volcanic earth begin to emerge, reflecting the iron-rich soils of the Red Hills.

On the palate, the wine is generous and mouth-filling, with flavors that mirror the nose: ripe blackberry, dark currant, and plum supported by hints of mocha and toasted spice. The structure is what really makes the wine compelling. Fine-grained tannins provide backbone while balanced acidity keeps the fruit lifted and energetic. The finish is long, smooth, and mineral-tinged, leaving a lingering impression of dark fruit and volcanic earth.

This is exactly the kind of Cabernet we hoped to create when we started Method: serious California Cabernet character, rooted in great terroir, but priced so you can actually drink it often.

Perfect with grilled ribeye, burgers off the grill, braised short ribs, or a classic steak night at home.