Several ski seasons at an upscale establishment in Switzerland can be blamed for introducing a young Claus Janzen to fine wines, an encounter from which he will likely never recover. After transplanting his family from Winnipeg to Napa, he spent 12 years at Caymus, developing for Caymus the most enviable international marketing operation in the Valley.
It was 1993 and wine had a twinkle in its eye. On the sun and vine-dappled slopes of the Napa Valley, overlooking the town of St. Helena, Diane and Claus Janzen took a chance. Possessed with an unshakable desire to create something of their ‘own’, and to make an impression both immediate and lasting, they embarked to produce a signature wine they could be proud to put their name on. A chance acquisition of some discarded Sangiovese grapes led to the first vintage of Bacio Divino and the realization of a family estate and as they say, the rest is history!