A History of All Hallows’ Eve at Flora Springs

“Oh, how the candles will be lit and the wood of worm burn in a fiery dust. For on All Hallows’ Eve will the spirits come to play.” — Solange Nicole

Flora Springs has the distinction of being home to one of Napa Valley’s original “ghost wineries” – wineries built between 1860 and 1900 but abandoned in the early 20th century due to vine disease, the Great Depression, and Prohibition. Today, some ghost wineries still exist as ruins, but others, such as Flora Springs, have been renovated and restored to their former glory. Each year we bottle small amounts of estate-grown wines in honor of this illustrious history. Spooky Season at Flora Springs is always cause for celebration – it is, after all, our favorite holiday! Every year we release a selection of limited-edition Halloween wines, and this year is no different.

New Release – 2019 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Sauvignon

For 2024, General Manager Nat Komes sought out Hiroyuki Hirotton, a Japanese artist who exhibits globally and is heavily influenced by punk, skate, and street culture. Do you dare wander through his nightmarish depiction of a haunted field? Bats fill the All Hallows’ Eve sky and glaring pumpkins cover the ground. All watched over by a three-eyed cat – the mythical creature that appears in many ancient spiritual texts. Tread carefully!!

Grapes for the 2019 vintage were grown in the Komes Vineyard in Rutherford and the Windfall Vineyard in Rutherford. Flavors of black cherry, red plum and kirsch form the core of this plush, concentrated Cabernet, accompanied by notes of licorice, sweet basil, and a hint of menthol. Aging in small French oak barrels introduces notes of toasted marshmallow and vanilla to the palate, along with attractive hints of cedar and brown spice. This is a full-bodied wine with a soft, glycerin-like mouthfeel and smooth tannins that lengthen the warm and satisfying finish. Acquire 2019 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Sauvignon.

Let’s take a look at All Hallows’ Eve designs of the past…

2021 All Hallows Eve Cabernet Franc

Comic book illustrator, graphic novelist and digital comics pioneer, Steve Ellis, to develop a label that just might be our scariest ever. Steve has created All Hallows’ Eve labels for us before, and he and Nat continue to outdo themselves. With a full harvest moon in the background, a black crow scolds a pumpkin-headed figure who seems to have fallen asleep beneath a grapevine. Is it the winemaker, worn out from the long days and nights of harvest? A fallen scarecrow? Or is it a disheveled stranger who wandered into the vineyard to take a nap? We’ll leave it to you to decide! This limited-production Cabernet Franc is powerful and full bodied, with ripe currant, wild blackberry and black cherry fruit that will have you shivering with delight. Ancillary notes of fresh herbs, black tea and brown sugar lend complexity to the wine, and there’s a lovely integration of seductive vanilla oak. Lush and giving on the palate, this is a finely balanced Cabernet Franc with polished tannins and a hauntingly long finish. This wine is sold out, but you can take a look at it here.

2020 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc

For the 2020 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc Nat worked with comic book illustrator, graphic novelist and digital comics pioneer, Steve Ellis, to develop a label that just might be our scariest ever. Steve is no stranger to Flora Spring’s Halloween shenanigans, as he created the label for our 2017 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc. Against the backdrop of a full harvest moon, a menacing bat hovers above the Flora Springs vineyard where the crew brings in the Cabernet Franc for this wine. Harvesting at night, a practice the Komes Garvey family pioneered in the 1980s, keeps the grapes and pickers cool, but it may also attract the attention of these fierce creatures of the night. Harvest crew beware!

This limited-production Cabernet Franc has lovely aromas of sweet hay, black cherry, boysenberry and cassis that might just send shivers down your spine! With a warm entry and flavors of plum, cherry tobacco and worn leather, the wine is swathed in soft tannins and lengthened by notes of caramel, vanilla and mocha. Lavishly flavored and lush on the palate, the wine is finely balanced with a lingering finish of brown sugar, marshmallow and sassafras. This wine is sold out, but you can take a look at it here.

2019 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc

For the 2019 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc Nat worked with Marc Sasso, a New York-based artist known for his illustrations for album covers, comic books (he’s worked with Marvel and Topps Comics), skateboards and even World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Nat was missing Halloween parties and especially visitors to the tasting room, so he asked Marc to create an image of witches dancing in the moonlight, brewing up a special potion with a not-so-secret ingredient. Working digitally, Marc, who said he enjoyed having the opportunity to create something whimsical, came up with quite a party. It’s hard to tell whether these are “good” or “evil” witches, but they sure are having a good time!

The 2019 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc wine comes from a small block near John Komes’ home on the Rutherford side of the Komes Ranch. This is a rich, expressive red, delivering black cherry, blackberry, espresso and dark chocolate flavors that are intense and concentrated. The texture is almost syrupy, but fine, well-integrated tannins keep it balanced and focused. Definitely a treat and not a trick, this Cabernet Franc is just the wine to get your Halloween celebrations going this year! This wine is sold out, but you can take a look at it here.

2018 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc

The 2018 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc was created when Nat tapped Anthony Yankovic, a graphic artist who has created illustrations for skateboards, snow boards, album covers and even a special edition Dentyne gum package. For this collaboration Nat asked for an image of a winemaker at harvest. “I wanted the label to illustrate how crazy winemakers look by the time Halloween arrives at the end of harvest, after weeks of nonstop work and very few hours of sleep.”

Yankovic took inspiration from vintage Halloween candy wrappers, costume boxes and trick or treat bags, as reflected in the color palette. His winemaker is a devilish looking pumpkin immersed in a wine barrel and surrounded by flying bat-grape clusters, a black cat seated in a glass of wine and a rat with a corkscrew. No wonder he’s going crazy! Maybe this winemaker needs to get out of the cellar!

The 2018 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc wine comes from a small block near John Komes’ home on the Rutherford side of the Komes Ranch. This is a dense and concentrated wine with wonderful notes of blackberry, fig and plum set against a background of spicy sassafras, cardamom, vanilla and toast. Deep, dark and black as a Hallows’ Eve night, the wine possesses velvety, polished tannins which carry it through to a smooth, harmonious finish. This Napa Valley Cabernet Franc would be a treat with a mushroom-parmesan tart, vegetarian chili, or a rich pozole rojo (Mexican pork and hominy stew). This wine is sold out, but you can take a look at it here.

2017 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc

The 2017 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc Nat Komes collaborated with artist, comic book illustrator and graphic novelist Steve Ellis, who is considered a digital comics pioneer. Nat wished to evoke the mystery of a spooky moonlit winery on Hallows’ Eve (the day before All Saints Day, aka Halloween), with grapes in bins waiting for crush, curiously-lit windows, and to top it off, a menacing rat possessed by the grapes in its grasp. Ellis masterfully combined these elements to create one of the eeriest All Hallows’ Eve labels yet, one that will make you think twice about hanging around a winery on this night of all nights. This wine is sold out, but you can take a look at it here.

2016 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc

The 2016 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc became affectionately known as “Scaredy Cat”. Nat Komes collaborated with an award-winning artist to develop a completely unique label for our 2016 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc. Emmeline Forrestal is a children’s book illustrator who enjoyed a successful career as a theatrical wig maker before turning her attention to illustrating full time. Talk about eclectic! For this label Forrestal wove together traditional Halloween imagery for a tableau that is unsettlingly eerie and beautiful. This wine is sold out, but you can take a look at it here.

2015 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc

The 2015 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc eerie art label was created by local San Francisco illustrator Jeremy Fish whose works intentionally boil down to their most elemental forms: he makes pictures and a lot of them, he makes them for himself, he makes them for the people, and he makes them from the heart. This wine is sold out, but you can take a look at it here.

2014 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc

The 2014 All Hallows’ Eve Cabernet Franc custom artwork was created by award-winning children’s book illustrator John Manders. Third generation family member and General Manager Nat Komes discovered John’s art while reading to his kids at the St. Helena library. Inspiration comes from many places! The custom artwork on this year’s All Hallows’ Eve, which we affectionately refer to as “Square Jack.” This wine is sold out but has been reimagined as an etched design for 2024, acquire here.

Where it all Started…

The first All Hallows’ Eve wine was a library release of a 2013 Cabernet Franc. We love the creepy label art; it was created by NY-based artist Arik Roper, whose work can be seen on album covers, concert posters and in music journals. A Wikipedia write-up about Arik says: “The imagery springs from the depths of a fertile imagination, invoking psychedelic visions, ancient dreams, and idyllic natural environments.” Sounds like our kind of guy! Oh, and check out the Omega sign on the label; it’s a nod to one of the original stones from our Ghost Winery. This wine is sold out, but you can take a look at it here.