Matthiasson Winery is now making their wine at the multi-winery and tasting room facility of Silenus Vintners, located just south of Yountville. Some of you familiar with their wine will remember their old warehouse type location in the town of Napa where they made their wine for a number of years. As of press time they are currently one of the smaller wineries within the Napa area as they produce merely several hundred cases although they plan on ramping up to 2-3x their current production in the near future. This is one of those Napa wineries totally under the radar and you actually visit with the owners, Steve Matthiasson or Jill Klein (Steve is the winemaker).
Steve is firmly rooted in the vineyards and is actively involved in all vineyard decisions- he runs his own Vineyard Management Consulting company in the Valley. They specialize exclusively in three wines, a Napa Red, a Napa White and a 100% Merlot. Their red wine is a Cabernet Sauvignon/ Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend. The 2005 blend is sourced from two hillside vineyards in Napa's Oak Knoll district. It is an elegant wine with great aromatics. It is dark purple in color with juicy fruit and nuances of chocolate on the palate all anchored by smooth tannins.
Their white is a wine you will not find at any other winery in Napa. It is a unique blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon with two Italian varietals - Ribolla gialla and Tocai Friulano. Merely two acres of Ribolla gialla is planted in all of California; more is planted in the North Western part of Italy where the winemaker has visited and gained additional insights into how this varietal is used. Ribollo has been made into wine since the 13th century. The reason this esoteric fact is known is that it was mentioned on a wedding menu that dates back all these hundreds of years! Matthiasson's blend is delicious; it is very floral on the nose and crisp to the taste. White wine does have a tannic structure, even though tannins are usually not mentioned in the same breath as with whites because they are not as overpowering as you may find in some of the big reds. The tannins in this blend are light and well structured.
The Matthiasson's are truly farmers with strong backgrounds in Agriculture. They have leased several acres of land in the Napa area and have planted two small fruit orchards. They run the Napa Valley Fruit Company which provides local grown fruits at the Napa Farmer's Market. You can find their wines at ACME Wine Shop in St. Helena and also at several local restaurants in the valley including Mustard's, Coles in Napa and Press. Visit: www.matthiasson.com and their blog: http://matthiassonvineyard.blogspot.com/
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Open to Public: No
Appointments: No, Call if you want to make a visit - depends on owner's schedules
Regular Tours: No
Hours: N/A
Phone: 265-9349
Address: P.O. Box 10880, Napa
 Winery Photos Winery Website
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