The Prisoner launches ‘most ambitious project’ to date

The Prisoner Company, maker of the top-selling red blend in the US, has released a limited-edition wine at three times the price of its flagship expression, the elevated RRP reflecting a level of  “fearless creativity”. Sarah Neish gets the lowdown from winemaking director Todd Ricard.

Best-selling wine The Prisoner, known for its provocative bottle labels, has earned something of a cult status since it launched in the year 2000, and now shifts around 2 million bottles per year. The Californian blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Malbec retails for US$40 to US$50 in the US. Now its owner, The Prisoner Company, has released a new red blend at three times the price.

The limited-production Napa Valley red “represents the estate’s most ambitious winemaking project to date”, according to The Prisoner Company.

Named Grail, the new wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (72%), Syrah (20%) and Cabernet Franc (8%), harvested from three blocks within Wappo Hill Vineyard in Napa Valley’s prestigious Stags Leap District. Debuting with the 2023 vintage, a year that ended up being “exceptional” despite presenting what The Prisoner Company calls “several agricultural challenges”, the wine has “a beautiful colour, remarkable flavour and an elegant structure”, according to the brand, due to the extended amount of time the grapes spent on the vine.

Power and finesse

But how does the new blend differ from the original? And is it worth the elevated price point? Speaking exclusively to the drinks business, Todd Ricard, director of winemaking for The Prisoner Wine Company, explained that for flagship wine The Prisoner the business typically sources from “several high-quality vineyards to create bold, plush, fruit-forward wines that define our house style.”

Grail on the other hand, “takes a more nuanced approach by highlighting Syrah and Cabernet and specifically sourcing and blending grapes from select blocks,” he said. “These blocks retain spring moisture while providing efficient drainage, which allows us to carefully manage canopy growth and vine stress and ultimately craft a wine with both power and finesse.”

He said that Grail is “about a specific time and place” as opposed to the original wine’s “holistic” approach to blending.

Holy Grail

Ricard told db that “there is no direct correlation” between the name Grail and the mythical search for the Holy Grail. Instead, he said, the name reflects “The Prisoner’s ongoing pursuit of excellence in winemaking.”

He added: “Inspired by the idea of pursuing something rare and hard-won, Grail represents the culmination of 25 years of experience, creativity, and refinement, bringing together exceptional fruit and The Prisoner’s signature approach to blending in our most elevated expression to date.”

Fermentations for Grail lasted 14 to 17 days before the individual varieties were “barrelled down into 60% new French oak,” explained Ricard. “After several blending sessions, the wine was then racked to blend and returned to barrels to create the final blend. After 18 months in a barrel, Grail was bottled.”

Price wars

The decision to leap up several price brackets for Grail is an interesting one. Dave Phinney, who founded The Prisoner Company in 2000 with just 365 cases, later selling the business to Huneeus Vintners in 2009 for more than US$40 million, told db that his philosophy had always been first, and foremost, to keep prices down.

“To me, ‘winning’ looks like a bunch of douchey hedge-fund guys drinking the wine and hearing them say: ‘These guys are such idiots – they could have charged us twice the price!’” said Phinney, who is currently the winemaker for Californian wine label Orin Swift.

“I’m always pushing for the lowest price possible”. Check out the rest of our exclusive interview with Phinney here.

However, he arguably never grasped the full value of what he was sitting on as just six years after Phinney sold The Prisoner Company to Huneeus, the latter flipped the business to current owner Constellation Brands for an eyewatering US$250m.

Phinney’s highly sought-after Orin Swift wines retail for relatively modest bottle prices considering their high quality, with the winery’s latest release Advice From John carrying a cellar door price tag of US$45. It’s hard to imagine Phinney signing off on a US$200 red blend.

Constellation, on the other hand, which offloaded its lower-tier brands including Meiomi, Simi, and Robert Mondavi Private Selection to The Wine Group in June 2025 in order to focus on its “Icon Portfolio”, is keener to embrace with the ultra-premium and luxury category. Along with The Prisoner, Constellation owns Robert Mondavi Winery, Schrader Cellars, and To Kalon.

Next chapter

After 25 years of making and selling The Prisoner wine, Grail is “our next chapter – a US$200 wine that represents the relentless pursuit of progress and mastery in winemaking,” concluded Ricard.

“It’s not just a wine – it’s the pinnacle of The Prisoner’s philosophy: artful blending, fearless creativity, and a commitment to redefining what a luxury red blend can be.”

 

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