Steltzner Vineyards began as a vineyard management company with land initially purchased in 1964 and 1965. Dick Steltzner developed some well-known vineyards in the Diamond Mountain, Spring Mountain and Stags Leap districts. After selling off high quality fruit to other wineries Steltzner decided to make his own wine, releasing his first commercial vintage in 1977. The winery is located on the East side of Silverado Trail just across from Pine Ridge Winery. Steltzner has a fairly sizeable cave system with 18,000 square feet of tunnels bored through the hillside. 80 acres are on the property, 64 of which are producing grapes and all fruit for the Steltzner label comes from the estate.
Steltzner focuses on producing high quality red wines with the majority of their production being Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. More recently the owners daughter started her own label which is poured on site and is called Allison. It features two delightful easy-to-drink wines, a Sauvignon Blanc and a very nice dry Rose of Syrah. Both wines use a screw cap closure instead of corks as there are a lot of benefits to this type of closure and hopefully more and more wineries will start using these as peoples "perceptions" of screw caps on wine change.
The total annual production at Steltzner varies between 20,000 and 25,000 cases. Their reserve wines are typically only produced in quantities of 500 cases or less. Steltzner makes several wines which are not as commonly produced in the valley as some varietals. Their Malbec which is slightly blended with Merlot is a very well balanced lighter style California Malbec with a lot of fruit in the nose and blackberries all over the palate as it swirls in your mouth. We tried their Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and also their Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Both are very representative of Stag's Leap fruit. They are bold Cabernets; the Reserve has a nice fruity nose that fills up the glass and there is a pleasant slightly smoky flavor with just the barest hint of oak on the finish. For Stag's Leap grown fruit, Steltzner has kept their prices very reasonable. Their wine typically is priced in the high $20 to high $30 range.
Sometimes they are pouring their Pinotage - out of 500+ commercial Napa wine producers visited and tasted with to date, Steltzner is the only winery where we have tasted this varietal. This wine is very common in South Africa but is hardly ever heard of in California much less Napa Valley. It is great with Spicy food. They also produce excellent Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Appointments can be made in advance or often the same day. As of press time, a nicely decorated tasting room in their caves is under development and private tastings will take place there. Visit: www.steltzner.com
NOTE: This physical winery and vineyard location has SOLD and is no longer located on the Silverado Trail. Their office only is in Yountville and are no longer open to the public. The Steltzner label remains under family ownership. This review has been identified as needing a major update.
Wine with Tony
Quick Info
Open to Public: Yes
Appointments: Yes
Regular Tours: No
Hours: 10-5pm
Phone: 944-2486
Address: 6795 Washington Street Ste 202, Yountville
