Before we even had a name, we had bottled our first wine and were anxious to see how it would stack up. So we gathered some friends from the wine biz and held two blind tastings. Facing wines in the $125-$250 range, we knew our wine was up against some serious competition. So when we finished first in one tasting and second in the other, we were surprised and anxious. We knew we had something special. Now we needed a name.
Fast forward a couple months. We had tossed around a boatload of names, but nothing stuck. Then, while at a dinner party in St. Helena, our host and friend, James Leahy, said something spectacular…something that stuck: “Give the Governor a HARUMPH!”
It was like home…a line from Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles. We took one quick look at each other, and we knew we had our name. Born out of our shared appreciation for the comedy of Mel Brooks and some random movie quote at a dinner party, our wine got its name. HARUMPH. While we’ve got great taste in wine, our taste in movies is undeniably awesome.
Since that night at the dinner party, we’ve had the good fortune to speak with Mel Brooks on several occasions and have even tasted him on our wine. He is quite the oenophile, and he loved our wine. Harumph…it’s perfect.
Give the Governor a Harumph!
– Mel Brooks, Blazing Saddles