Look Closely...
There's a Quiet Evolution Happening in the Napa Valley

by Alan Goldfarb
May 27, 2008

If there was any concept that could be concluded from our tasting of Napa Valley wines it was this: There’s a quiet evolution taking place in the Napa Valley. Some producers have taken up the cudgel of terroir-driven wines.The wines are beginning to be ratcheted back through various means both in the cellar and in the vineyard; and equilibrium is returning, especially to the Cabernet Sauvignons that made the appellation so famous in the first place.

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“Cabernets need a touch of that Rutherford dust.” (Andre Tchelistcheff, legendary winemaker of Beaulieu Vineyards).

The celebrated vignerons of this appellation deeply respect and pay homage to the unique terroir here, which they refer to as "the "dust". Rutherford’s soils are primarily gravel, sand and loam, and are dominated by volcanic deposits and Franciscan marine sediment. They provide excellent water drainage and ideal conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon. However, to these vignerons the "dust" means much more than dirt. It is the combination of earth, special climate, meticulous fruit-focused winemaking and unrelenting patience that produces world-class wines. The historic wineries of Inglenook and Beaulieu, as well as dozens of new houses, have proven that this six-square-mile plot of vines, halfway up the Napa Valley, rivals the best appellations of the Old World.

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JAQK Cellars Plays Its AVA Cards Right
By Eleanor & Ray Heald
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A distinctive wine growing area, or AVA, brings wine its diversity. Yet, one might ask, what is the potential for distinctive wines stemming from blending a panoply of specific AVA characteristics? [>] continue