Black Cat Vineyard produces their wine at the beautiful Star Hill Winery in the hills just east of the town of Napa. Driving up a narrow windy road with the great views in distance, planted flowers and bougainvillea draping parts of the winery property, and you could be in almost any Mediterranean country in the world. This is a private winery and is not setup for visits except for serious wine enthusiasts (typically those who have tried this wine before). The location is stunning as the winery overlooks all of the land where the southern part of Napa Valley actually starts and then down to the south into the Carneros district as well as the San Pablo Bay in the far distance. The winery was started by an Orthodontist in the 1980's who more recently devotes much of his time to his dental practice. The actual winery looks like it could date from the turn of the century, especially the stone cellar room.
The owner of the Black Cat Vineyard, Tracey Reichow, makes her wines here - it is a very small, very hands on process and her total production of the two main wines is merely 500 cases. The wines are made in an artisan style and each block from her vineyard is hand selected and all fermentation takes place in open-top fermentors. Tracey decided to become a winemaker after a previous career which afforded her tastings during specific events of high quality wine on her companies' dime. After leaving this company she had a desire to make high quality Rhone Valley style Syrah wines that tasted like the wines she was used to tasting and to make them available at a fraction of the European prices. In addition living in the heart of the Napa Valley doesn't hurt either! Her attention to detail and work in her own vineyards has really paid off in the final product. The Black Cat Syrah is a very rich concentrated wine with lots of fruit aromas on the nose with some spicy pepper flavors typical of Syrah; the finish is very smooth. Her other wine is a blend, typically 1/2 Syrah and 1/2 Cabernet Sauvignon. Oh, and wondering about the name of the winery? It does involve a cat and is the only Napa winery we know named after a feline. When Tracey and her family lived in Pittsburg they took in a feral black cat who stayed with them when they moved west to Napa. You can purchase wine & also join the mailing list online. Visit: www.blackcatvineyard.com
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