Happy Harry’s Direct Offer No. 51

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Julio Palmaz invented the Palmaz Coronary Stent, a device that revolutionized medicine. (Artifacts related to his research now sit in the Smithsonian Institution’s medical collection.)

Having moved to the United States from Argentina in the late 1970s to pursue medical research at a notable institution, Julio completed his residency at the University of California, Davis, where his passion for wine first emerged. To unwind on weekends, Julio and his wife, Amalia, would drive through Napa in a white Triumph Spitfire, visiting wineries and restaurants. “I had wanted to make my own wines since my days at U.C. Davis,” he would later say. “And where better to make the best wine in the world than Napa Valley?”

Winemaking informed by cutting-edge research, Julio believes, can give any winery an advantage in producing excellent wines. Taking inspiration from famous French wineries and the latest in wine science, Julio played an integral role in designing Palmaz Vineyards’ elaborate gravity-flow winery. In the years since the winery’s completion, he has focused on ways to further refine its operations to ensure that the wine can reach its fullest expression.

Palmaz Vineyards’ winemaking takes place in a series of four caves oriented vertically to enable winemaking in the most gentle method possible. The height of the wine cave is equivalent to a 22-story building, providing the vertical range needed for true gravity-finished winemaking. This unique vertical setup allows the grapes, must, and wine to be gently moved without the violent agitation of pumping, which can change the wine’s expression and texture. This gentle treatment allows the finest nuances of flavor and mouthfeel to develop naturally — the result is a powerful and concentrated yet elegant wine with a cashmere-like texture.

Their vineyards are nestled at three different elevations, from the hills around the estate to the crest of Mount George, and feature 46 distinct vineyard blocks. The complexity of the terrain results in a variety of micro-climates, all of which influence grapes in unique ways. Each parcel features a distinct rootstock and clonal combination that contributes a special characteristic to the resulting wines. The lowest set of vineyards is 300 feet above sea level, in the hills around the estate; the second set is found midway up Mount George, at 1,200 feet; the third resides at the top of the mountain, at 1,400 feet.

These three very unique wines will complement any Thanksgiving table along with the story of how Julio got his start. Be one of the first in the state of North Dakota to enjoy these very exclusive and allocated wines!