The Napa Wine Project

Napa Valley Wineries (click on letters below to view descriptions & photos)

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Amici Cellars was started after winemaker, Jeff Hansen (still the same winemaker today) and friends crushed a few tons of grapes in 1991 for their own personal use. "This was good wine", they unanimously agreed and soon thereafter released their first commercial vintage. The name Amici means "friends" in Italian and is a tribute to the friends who started this winery as well as to their Italian heritage. Today the winery is run by the husband wife team of John and Sharon Harris. Their home vineyard is perched on the hillsides of the little known Jericho Canyon at the base of Mt. St. Helena in the northern part of the valley, just north of Calistoga. They planted the hillside acreage to three different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in 2000 and have farmed these vineyards organically since day 1.

Their winemaker and long time Napa vintner Jeff Hansen, gained invaluable winemaking knowledge at local wineries including Flora Springs and Spring Mountain. We had the pleasure of recently tasting with their assistant winemaker and we started with the 2006 Sauvignon Blanc sourced from the Mello Vineyard in Yountville (only two wineries source from this particular vineyard). Half of the grapes for this wine are the Musque Clone which is known for its very floral qualities on the nose. This wine is made in a crisp style, almost flinty both in the bouquet and on the palate with great citrus and guava flavors.

As of press time, their 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon was current release making this among the older of the current releases we have tried. Their philosophy is to give this Cabernet some additional bottle aging as well as providing a slightly aged wine for the consumer, as most consumers of everyday drinking wine will consume the wine within hours of purchase! This wine has 10% Merlot blended in mainly to enhance the mouth feel and aromatics. There is a touch of vanilla and spice on the nose with a very soft rounded mouth feel. This is a perfect everyday affordable Cabernet Sauvignon.

Want an even more affordable Cabernet Sauvignon? Try their second label called Olema; the first release was 2005. Of note are their prices; they are extremely reasonable for Napa standards and as of press time you can buy the Olema Napa Cabernet for under $20 a bottle. Hmm, maybe 5 to 10 wineries we've visited have a Napa Cabernet at this pocket pleasing price point! How many Napa wineries source Pinot noir grapes from Mendocino County - not many! With great flavor and structure to this wine, as well as a production of merely several hundred cases, Amici tends to sell out rather quickly.

The owners of Amici also spend significant time in Bordeaux France, and often rent out their villa there and in Napa. In Napa the "villa" is a Tuscan styled luxury home located in the north part of the valley near Calistoga. It is called Domaine Beau Soleil (site of one of their vineyards) and you can view details here: www.winevillas.com Visit: www.amicicellars.com

Quick Info

Open to Public: Private
Appointments: No
Regular Tours: No
Hours: N/A
Phone: 967-9560
Address: P.O. Box 399, Rutherford

Winery Photos

Winery Website

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Š 2006-2010 | Note: A number of the commercial wine producers reviewed on this site are private and absolutely do not see visitors.



simply a few of the pioneers behind this great valley and its wine industry