Such was the learning curve at a recent tasting in Napa Valley and how we came to discover Strata, a striking, supple Merlot.

The tasting was held by a group of Cabernet Sauvignon-only winemakers and wine growers of some repute (who will remain anonymous, or their reputations - and wine sales - might sink!); all the wines in the blind-tasting were the wine producers' own Cabs, or Cabs known to them, save for a ringer that was slipped unknown into the event by one of the participants - the 1999 Strata Merlot from the Oak Knoll district of Napa Valley.

The winemakers sipped and spit, swirled and slurped and when the final scores were ascribed and recorded, the group had chosen the ringer as Best Wine of the Tasting. When the wines were revealed, the Cab winemakers discovered that the "Cab" they rated tops was a 100 per cent Merlot costing $30 - less than half the price of any of their Cabs!

For the attending winemakers, that's the bad news.

For the wine-consuming public, here's the really good news: the 2000 Strata is even more supple, more delicious, more rewarding than the 1999 and it's just been released. Cab lovers - the rush to pleasure is this way…. please do not block the exit…

Strata came to our attention by one of the Cab winemakers who participated; he felt it was his duty to share the spoils, if not the spills, of the tasting. We are forever grateful.

Strata is the brainchild - and fieldwork - of two Napa families; Dave Cofran is a 34-year veteran of the wine world and general manager of a small winery you likely know (and love): Silver Oak Cellars. John Johnson is a fourth generation Napan whose great grandfather was a German barrel cooper who immigrated to Napa Valley 120 years ago.

Dave already had a large parcel of vines in the Oak Knoll area and didn't need more, so when an adjacent 10 acres came up for sale in 1979, he told his pal, John, about the opportunity. John bit, he bid, he bought. And the two families created a wine partnership now in its 24th year.

Until recently, the partners sold their Chardonnay and Merlot to Grgich Hills Cellar, Round Hill, Storybook Mountain Vineyards and, for the last ten consecutive years, to Merryvale. That'll give you some idea off the quality of the fruit.

Three years ago, the pair, along with John's daughter, Amy Downs, who functions as CDO (Chief Detail Officer) and is also responsible for sales and marketing, decided to make and bottle their own wine.

"We chose the name Strata because the soil across our two parcels is richly layered," says wine man Dave. "Our land has deep clay overlaid with seams of cobblestone, topped with a thin blanket of loam. The soil and the cooler climate of our southern location are ideal for Merlot."

While Strata might signify the layers and complexity of the soil, the term might also apply to the layers, or complexity, of the resultant wine. This 100 per cent, estate-grown Merlot exhibits layers of fruit, spice and earth and has a lingering, pleasing finish.

Dave has spent his life in the wine business, starting out with Justin Meyer as a schoolmate, joining him years later when Justin had taken over the reigns at Silver Oak Cellars. "I've been there ever since," says the successful GM, who's applied much of what he's learned at Silver Oak to his own operation in Oak Knoll.

And based on what we've tasted at Strata - two existing, released vintages, and two, in-the-barrel vintages to come - we'd have to say the guy's a pretty good learner!