The vineyard has an interesting history that includes Clark Gable spending his honeymoon there. The Marston family purchased the vineyard in 1969 and use to sell their grapes to other wineries but began offering their own first commercial release in 1998. But an interesting history, warm hospitality and lovely setting are only part of the attraction. Marston Family Vineyard makes very limited releases of some outstanding, handcrafted wines.
David and Katharine DeSante are truly a wonderful winemaking team. Nothing was ever left to chance with David. He carefully planned and executed every detail of the winemaking process. It was immediately evident when talking with David that he not only had the knowledge and experience to make great wine, but also listened and respected the needs and realities of the vineyard. Katharine works with David in the winery, but also manages the business end of wine.
With the 2001 harvest Paul launched his Sequum brand and released his first vintage of Napa Valley Zinfandel from his 2 acre Kidd Ranch vineyard in St. Helena. In 2002, he added a Cabernet Sauvignon from four specially selected Napa vineyard soils and named it Four Soil Melange. In 2003, the first release of the most recent addition to the Sequum portfolio, a Sonoma Dry Creek Zinfandel called Riverwash, was announced. He plans to add a vineyard designated Kidd Ranch Syrah and Kidd Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon with the 2006 vintage. Paul continues to consult for vineyards up and down the west coast and enjoys fine tuning the production of his Sequum wines.
“Good” isn’t a word Jayson Woodbridge, owner, vintner and visionary of Hundred Acre would use when it comes to his wines. His motto is clear and concise, “stand amongst the very best or not at all”; he’s spared no expense assembling one of Napa Valley’s most exciting wines. Accompanied by a team of Napa Valley’s brightest stars, Philippe Melka consultant (to the winemaking team) and Jim Barbour vineyard manager, Woodbridge has managed to create what Robert Parker has called, “a terrific example of great Napa Cabernet Sauvignon”
Website being updated as of August 2024
Peacock Family Vineyard is a 6.2 acre hillside Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in the Spring Mountain District of Napa Valley just west of the town of St. Helena. This is a dramatically sited mountain vineyard at an elevation of 1,000 feet. The terraced vineyard rows are configured south by southeast at slopes of up to 10%. The vineyard was planted in 1989 on Freedom rootstalk with Clone 7 Cabernet Sauvignon at a density of 950 vines per acre. The vines are cane pruned and trellised with three wires in the vertical shoot. The crop is limited to less than 5.5 pounds per plant, with the vineyard averaging 15 tons per year.
Storybook Mountain was originally founded by Jacob Grim, as a reference to the Grimm fairy tales. Finding the black wrought iron gate and stepping into this winery on a misty, gray day was very akin to what I can only imagine as stepping into a fairy tale. But a fairy tale finishing with the aroma of a 97 point Zin type of ending, not a Grimm ending. Storybook Mountain's sought-after estate wines are carefully hand-crafted from choice grapes grown in certified organic estate vineyards surrounding the winery. A winery out in the thick of a California redwood forest, and also the makers of the world's first 97pt Zin. If you suspect that this means they are serious wine makers, you're absolutely right. Storybook has a rich history and blue collar vibe. It's totally worth going!
Krug is an incredible piece of Napa history but the wines don't take second seat to this fact. Their tasting room is relaxed, low-key and not overdone. They don't need to distract you from their great wines and great staff.
The history of Boyd Family Vineyards began in 1998 with the purchase of a property on Big Ranch Road in Napa, driven by a vision to create exceptional wines and memorable experiences. Since then, over 20,000 vines of Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, and Cabernet Sauvignon have been planted, tended, nurtured, harvested, crushed, and transformed into fine wine.
Situated in the Oak Knoll District of the Napa Valley, the vineyard benefits from the area's slightly cooler climate and heavy clay soils, which are ideal for producing ultra-premium Merlot and Syrah. These conditions contribute to the creation of some of Napa Valley’s most sought-after wines.
Today, while Boyd Family Vineyards continues to sell over 50% of its grapes to other premium wineries, it also produces limited quantities of ultra-premium wine. These wines are crafted with meticulous attention to the best materials and practices, aiming to reflect a full-bodied style that showcases the finest attributes of the land.
It's too bad they aren't open to the public or have a tasting room. This is about as good as Napa Cabernet gets. Big and Bold as the way Norcal Wine Country should be. It's definitely on the pricey side, but as a person that doesn't usually drink Cabernet by default and usually only if I have food, this was still tremendous standalone. Kudos to our sommelier who was not only highly entertaining, he definitely hit it out of the park as a recommendation. The "Blank Vineyard" cabernet is truly a great wine. I hear that they also make olive oil. Grace Family Vineyards can be reached by fax at: 707-963-5271. Or via email to Marna Farver: beoptimystic2 [at] aol.com Grace Family Vineyards regrets that the winery is not open to the public, nor do they have a tasting room.
Scarecrow Caberent Sauvignon does not have a long, fabled history like many of the most expensive California wines. In fact, they are one of the few recent cult wine phenomena to have taken off over the past few years. That says a lot about Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon and its popularity with wine lovers as the Cult wine craze has largely fallen by the way side. Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon made their debut California wine in 2003. While the winery is new, the vineyard has a long history dating all the way back to the end of World War 2. That was the year that John Daniel, Jr, (the original owner of the vineyards now used by Dominus,) convinced his friend J. Cohn, to plant 80 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon. Those vines became the backbone of all the legendary vintages for Inglenook that Cohn helped produce. Scarecrow wine, Caberent Sauvignon is the brain child of Cohn’s grandson, Bret Lopez and Celia Masyczek. The best fruit comes from their oldest vines in the Rutherford vineyards. This small production wine is difficult to find and expensive. But it is a unique, tactile style of California Cabernet Sauvignon that is worth the effort to seek out. The entire production of Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon is sold through a mailing list.
