Majuscule is the counterpart to minuscule. In Latin it means rather large but not enormous. In French the literal definition is a capital letter. This juxtaposition of big and small embodies our winemaking style of crafting elegant, fruit-forward and extremely balanced wines.
Working with our good friend Lisa Chu, a longtime grower on Mount Veeder, we made two barrels of the first Majuscule wines in 2009 as a side project when Greg was working for other wineries in Napa. Lisa encouraged him to make his own wine and gifted him a ton each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc for the inaugural vintage of Majuscule Wine.
With 25 cases of Cab Franc and 25 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon, we called the wine Majuscule, one of Greg’s favorite words from his time living in France. We designed and printed our own very basic labels and business cards. They looked nothing like our labels today, thanks to our amazing designer Carrie Nelle Burgin.
We enjoyed sharing the wines with friends, and at the time, we thought it was just a fun endeavor. But the seed was planted for what was to come a few years later.
In 2018 Majuscule became an official winery. We’re rooted to Lisa’s Wildcat Vineyard, located on steep slopes 2,000 feet up Mount Veeder on the western side of the Napa Valley. Lisa planted the vineyard in the 1990s. It zig-zags up the mountain and has several microclimates. It’s challenging to farm, but the extra effort yields incredible results in the bottle.
Greg’s path to winemaking began while living in France when he was 20 on a church mission. He was fascinated by the wineries and vineyards that he would ride his bike through. One day he visited Taittinger to learn about méthode Champenoise for himself. Staying true to his religious beliefs at the time, he declined to taste the famous bubbles at the end of the tour, which shocked his French hosts. That day marked the beginning of Greg’s wine education and journey to Napa and creating Majuscule Wine.
His interest in wine followed him home to America where he honed his palate while embarking on a career in structural engineering and design.
Greg studied winemaking at UC Davis. He then worked for several wineries where he made wine for two labels and himself and was a viticulturist which introduced him to growers and vineyards across the Napa Valley. These relationships have proved to be pivotal in Greg’s quest to produce outstanding wines from stellar vineyards for Majuscule.
From wine enthusiasts to wine store owners and now wine makers, our wine journey as a couple began on Christmas Day 2004 when we stopped in Sonoma and Napa during a holiday road trip. We became hooked on the wines and region. This kicked off a routine of visiting Napa and Sonoma every other month to explore, learn and join way too many wine clubs.
When me made the first Majuscule wines in 2009, Jeff thought it was just something fun to do, and drink. But Greg had other ideas.
Year after year, he asked Jeff to make Majuscule a legal winery. And year after year, Jeff said no. In 2018 Jeff caved, and here we are.
The wine business was far removed from our careers: Jeff has a long career in public relations working for well-known brands, and Greg owns a structural engineering firm. In 2006 we bought our neighborhood wine store in Scottsdale, Arizona as our first entry into selling wine, while Greg completed the winemaking program at UC Davis. Our wine shop was the perfect launchpad to winemaking and the catalyst for our move to the Napa Valley, where we also got married.