It’s quite common, especially in California, for a sparkling wine house to expand its purview by producing still wines from some of the same Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes which they grow for their primary wines. But when one producer – arguably North America’s leading sparkling wine maker – decides to rip out the Chardonnay and Pinot from its estate vineyard, and add a wine that’s anathema to sparkling wine, that’s worthy of notice.

And that’s precisely what the folks at Schramsberg Vineyards on Diamond Mountain above Napa Valley did. In 1994, then winemaker Alan Tenscher determined that the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – used for Schramsberg’s sparkling wines for the previous 27 vintages from the estate’s 45 acres -- were not suited to the site. The vineyard, originally planted in 1862, and said to be the first hillside vineyard in the Napa Valley -- is located on the southern tip of Diamond Mountain, at elevations of from 500 to 1,000 feet.

The district, which has become known as one of the region’s best for Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends, is far too warm for cool-climate grapes such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Additionally, the soils on the Schramsberg property are composed of red volcanic material, which is not the best ground for white varieties; and the hot summer months are far too damaging to Pinot and Chardonnay.

So, the vineyard was turned over entirely to red varietals, as Schramsberg began to seek its sparkling grapes from cooler regions such as the Carneros and the Anderson Valley. After trials – and lots of errors, and some consternation – Schramsberg’s red wine project was born. It is called J. Davies after founder Jack Davies, who died in 1998.

The J. Davies brand is a Cabernet-based wine that sells for $70. Thus far, three vintages from 2001, ’02, and ’03, have been released. Currently there are 1,200 cases being produced, but in time, that number could be ratcheted up to 8,000.

The 41.5 acre vineyard, which is actually closer to the Spring Mountain District than to Diamond Mountain, has 37.5 acres of Cabernet, planted to seven different clones. There are 2.5 acres of Malbec (which is one of the largest plantings in the Napa Valley) that is becoming integral to the blend; and only one acre of Merlot and a half-acre of Petite Verdot.

I spoke separately with Tenscher and Hugh Davies, the son of Jack. Tenscher, who became winemaker in 1986, left Schramsberg shortly after the vineyard was replanted, but now consults on the J. Davies project. Hugh Davies now heads up his parents’ company.