Can a Pinot Noir producer reinvent himself as a maker of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon? That's the challenge Donald Patz has set himself with his Secret Door project, a venture inspired by his wife, Jung Min Lee, who he promised he would make Cabernet Sauvignon if she moved to Napa to be with him. Patz isn't trying to make jammy, valley-floor versions of Napa Cabernet, preferring wines with some herbal nuance. "Spicy, dried-herb bouquet garni is what I'm looking for," he said. Patz now sources grapes from Sage Ridge Vineyard (the former Pat Kuleto property) and Hirondelle Vineyard (part of Clos du Val's estate holdings). That will change going forward, as Clos du Val is reclaiming their Hirondelle fruit this year (2022). Like many Napa Valley producers, Patz didn't make any Cabernet Sauvignon in 2020.