2017 Dakota Shy Cabernet Sauvignon T-E-N Napa Valley 750 ml

Of all the Napa Valley winery origin stories we know, Dakota Shy is one of our favorites. That’s because of the path of our friend Todd Newman, who in a decade has gone from “solid Applebee’s waiter” (as he puts it) to proprietor of a Napa Valley winery that not only landed in Wine Spectator’s Top 100—in just its third vintage—but that Antonio Galloni of Vinous called “one of the most exciting projects (he’d) tasted in some time.” And Todd’s done it all on hard work, curiosity, a great attitude, and a little luck. 

The 2017 Dakota Shy TEN Cabernet Sauvignon deliciously represents the fruit of Todd’s labor. It’s a super-classic Napa Valley Cabernet—showing an opaque dark purple hue, with blackberries, cassis, violets, and cedar notes on the nose—and a beautiful example of what they refer to as “humble luxury” at Dakota Shy: A $95 Cabernet that belongs alongside wines at two and three times the price. 

Part of Dakota Shy’s ambition involves offering their wine at a reasonable price, and they manage to do that by only selling direct-to-consumer from the winery. That’s why we feel so lucky to offer this exclusive Cabernet—one that embodies not only the quality that makes Napa Valley wine spectacular, but the kind of attitude that made it this country’s top wine region in the first place. 

Todd first made it to Napa in 2004, when he tagged along with his friend Dennis Kelly (who is now a Master Sommelier). Dennis pulled a few strings and scored Todd a job at the Michelin-starred Martini House in St. Helena—quite a coup, since at the time the restaurants on Todd’s resumé leaned heavily toward the shopping mall variety.  

“I was making great tips, I was focused, but I didn’t really know anybody,” Todd said of his early days at Martini House. “And I waited on people who’d come in on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, eat this fantastic meal, and drink amazing wine.” Every so often, Todd would ask his tables what they did, and they’d often produce the same answer: We’re farmers.  

Todd was baffled. He grew up a farm boy, stringing barbed wire at his family’s farm in North Dakota—where farmers certainly weren’t sipping $200 Napa Cabernets at world-class restaurants on weeknights. His wheels started turning, and his curiosity and confidence came out. “I thought ‘I can do what you do,’” Todd said, about the grape-growers he served at the restaurant. “I just had to figure out what it was.”

Todd needed a crack in the door of the wine business, and eventually he met winemaker Tom Garrett, who was working under Heidi Barrett at Revana Family Vineyard. He gave Todd a shot as a cellar intern, Todd worked his way up to cellar master, and for two years, pulled double-duty: On weekdays, he pursued his “PhD. in the wine business” at Revana. On nights and weekends, he waited tables at Martini House, stockpiling all the cash and industry contacts he could.

Todd and Tom eventually conceived of a winery and drew up a plan. The Martini House network, plus the tips that Todd had saved got them one block of quality Cabernet, and Dakota Shy was born. Their first real-deal vintage was in 2012, and in 2014, Todd and Tom planted Dakota Shy’s flag by purchasing a property at the base of Pritchard Hill.

Winemaker Tom Garrett’s family goes back to the 1950s in Napa Valley, and he and Todd believe that what made Napa Valley such a special place from the start—the farming relationships, the reverence for the vineyard, what they call Napa’s “old soul”—is where the Valley is headed once again. Dakota Shy wines express the ground-up ethos that Todd and Tom have had from the start, when the former was squirreling away his tips to fund the dream. That’s the essence of “humble luxury.” 

Fruit for Dakota Shy’s TEN Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from elite growers in the Napa Valley, and comes from fifteen vineyards across twelve vineyard sites. That diversity guarantees that Dakota Shy displays the supple fruit associated with the valley floor, as well as hillside power and structure, and the result is a true classic. The 2017 TEN shows tons of black fruit on the palate, and secondary notes of cocoa powder, fig paste, and crushed stones. Silky woven tannins will enable this wine to be enjoyed out of the gate with an hour decant, and keep it thriving in the cellar through 2027. 

We're hrilled to be able to share Dakota Shy—the wine and the spectacular story—with you, and can’t wait for you to be a part of what they’re doing. Enjoy!