Luxe WANT
WINE & WAGYU
Innovative subscription service offers specialty cuts of meat and California wines
BY ALISON BAILIN BATZ
For the wine and food lover in your life, a subscription-based gift that keeps on giving – in the form of wine and wagyu – might just be your best holiday bet. This joint offering from a family-owned and -operated California ranch and vineyard has an unlikely beginning. In 1985, Julio Palmaz – then a doctor of vascular radiology – revolutionized medicine when he invented and patented the balloon-expandable heart stent, an implantable device meant to save the lives of those with heart disease. In 2006, the Argentinian-born Palmaz was inducted into the National Inventor's Hall of Fame for his efforts. His wife, Amalia, also a native of Argentina, served as president of her family’s mining business, Cristamine S.A. And though they moved to the U.S. in the 1970s, the couple never forgot their South American roots. Both grew up in ranching families where grassfed, pasture-raised animals are the norm, not the exception. To honor this tradition, the Palmaz family now owns and operates Genesee Valley Ranch in Las Plumas, California, where cattle are raised
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under meticulous conditions, fed a superb diet, and monitored daily to create some of the finest wagyu beef available. Under the family’s guidance, the ranch – formerly a stagecoach stop and restaurant – is now a popular destination and community resource. An old general store now serves as a used bookstore, and the restaurant menu showcases local products including wagyu beef from the ranch. The Palmaz family also owns and operates Palmaz Vineyards in Napa, California. The vineyard boasts 610 acres of planted grapes and an 18-story wine cave where a team of farmers and winemakers work together to create award-winning cabernet sauvignons, chardonnays, rieslings, muscats, and an Argentinian-style blend called brasas. In an effort to give their fans around the globe the chance to experience both their wagyu and wine firsthand, Palmaz now offers a package through its Brasas Food & Wine Society wherein clients who chose to be members of one of their wine clubs can also become subscribers to their farmto-fork ranch club for a nominal added fee. Members are sent wines two weeks before their public release and can create a custom wine selection based on preferences. There are three tiered options ranging from the Chacra Club ($3,671 per year), which includes 14 bottles of wine and semimonthly deliveries of premium cuts of meat, to the Estancia Club ($7,688 per year), which includes 54 bottles of wine and semimonthly deliveries. Cuts include smoked wagyu beef sausage, wagyu bratwurst, tomahawk steak, osso bucco, New York strip, beef bacon, and more. Memberships with beef or wine only are also available starting at $350. Additionally, membership also includes invitations to exclusive events such as a Northern European wine cruise and a traditional Argentine barbecue. Registration for 2020 subscriptions is now open. To learn more about membership, visit www.palmazvineyards.com.