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J. Davies Winery is located at the historical Schramsberg Winery in the Diamond Mountain appellation just south of Calistoga. Schramsberg is their sister winery and J Davies is named after Jack Davies, who along with his wife Jamie, founded and restored the modern day Schramsberg. This is one of the oldest wineries in Napa Valley as it was originally founded in 1862 right during the Civil War. As a result, the earliest hillside vineyards on the property date from 1862, making this one of the first hillside vineyard locations in Napa County. For many years Schramsberg has been noted for their Internationally famous sparkling wines. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay had been planted on their estate for many years but parts of their estate are in fact best for growing red Bordeaux varietals. As a result their grapes for Schramsberg's sparkling wines are sourced from cool weather generally coastal California locations.
In 1994 the first red wine grapes were planted on the estate. Most wineries after planting vineyards will jump at the chance to take advantage of the first harvest 3 or 4 years after planting. Not so with J. Davies. They waited 7 years before releasing their first commercial vintage in 2001! They were producing wine during this time, just not commercially as it was for their own experimentation and knowledge. In addition, they kept tweaking blocks in the vineyard and layout, types of rootstock, clones and varietals. They especially were interested in finding ways to manage the large tannins and tight structure sometimes characteristic of Diamond Mountain grown fruit. The vineyard is 15 acres with yields fairly low by Napa standards at about 2 tons per acre. Schramsberg's property is 217 acres of which two historical vineyards are located on site, the original Schram vineyard and the McEachran vineyard first planted in 1878. Today J Davies produces one wine each year, always a Bordeaux style blend. It is bottled lightly fined and unfiltered for maximum color and flavor. We tried their 2005 vintage which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec & Petite Verdot. It is a very dark inky wine that is unfined and only lightly filtered for maximum color and flavor. This is a medium bodied wine, with a smooth mouth feel, rich in blackberry and cloves with just a touch of toasted oak towards the finish. The tannins are soft and do not overpower. Bordeaux style is what they are shooting for here, not the huge flashy fruit forward wines that you often find in the Napa area. This wine is produced in extremely small quantities and their 2004 vintage sold out very quickly. Depending on quantities, it sometimes is available for tasting at Schramsberg winery (ask during your tour). Based on the release date, J. Davies told us that the best chance of tasting this at the winery is in late fall. Visit: www.jdavies.us |
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J. Moss is a small winery specializing in high end hand crafted single vineyard Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. This winery was started by James Moss. His wife Janet has her winemaking degree and also worked at an area winery for a number of years. James is the winemaker for J. Moss, but it is always nice to have a spouse to bounce winemaking ideas off of. He has worked as a wholesaler in the wine industry for many years, getting his start in Dallas Texas. Considering the industry, James would often take business and educational trips to the Napa Valley and it didn't take long before the Napa Allure kicked in. He pulled up roots from Texas and moved out to the Napa Valley. He soon found himself volunteering to help his friend at a local winery and initially was put to work doing what would be fairly mundane winery tasks for industry veterans. However, when you are new to winemaking you need to start at the bottom, everything is new, hence interesting - and even mundane functions such as manual punch downs, moving hoses, and rackings can pique ones interest for a while. Over time he began to pick up more and more of the winemaking side of the operations and for several years made "garagiste" home wine for friends and family.
Coming from an industry where James often tasted wine and had many years to build up his palate's repertoire, he knew what types of wine he enjoyed. His wines are vineyard specific and he tends to use the same vineyards for a number of years which builds terroir consistency in the wines. They are high in fruit flavor, not over the top with alcohol but rather balanced from start to finish. All wines are fermented in small open top fermentors and the free run juice is kept separate from the pressed juice throughout their aging, until the final blending decisions are made. This is where James' trained palate really helps. He is looking for smooth mouth feels, delicate tannins, rich flavors with fairly long finishes. The wines are bottled unfiltered for maximum color and flavor. James has even planted the hillside part of his backyard with 400 vines of Merlot. This is one of the first true residential subdivision Napa vineyards we have come across on this project - but with the backyard space and terroir not far from the cooling influence of the San Pablo Bay, this is a perfect location for a small vineyard. Just ask any of the successful Napa wineries who have vineyards planted in this area (well south of the town of Napa). With a vineyard this tiny you can really micro manage each and every vine. James plans to create a very limited production single vineyard estate Merlot in the future. Stay posted for this wine to be released in the upcoming years. We tried a 2004 and also a 2005 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon from the Spicer Vineyard located in the heart of Stag's Leap district. This is prime terroir for Cabernet Sauvignon, nearby vineyards include Shafer and Pine Ridge. James has sourced grapes from this vineyard since his first commercial release in 2001. Both wines have amazing fruit and continue to change and evolve over time in the glass both in aroma and flavor. The 2004 has a sweet fruit driven elegant nose with aromas of blackberry, earthiness, baking spices and just a faint hint of vanilla. The mouth feel is super soft, yet rich in flavor. It is an explosion of blackberry, black cherry, dark chocolate, cloves and other spices with nuances of toasted oak - the oak is subtle but adds a nice complexity to this rather lengthy finish. The tannins are firm yet delicate. Both wines have excellent acidity and bright fruit. The 2005 which we tried just after its initial release, saw a bit more French Oak during its aging than the 2004 - it has lively fruit (all natural acidity), and with an alcohol level at a rather reasonable 14%, it makes for a very enjoyable food wine. These wine are certainly well structured to drink young, but have the backbone and acidity to also age for a number of years. As of press time J. Moss makes three different 100% Cabernet Sauvignons - all produced in quantities under 200 cases, and all come from some of Napa's best known Cabernet Sauvignon producing appellations. Most of his distribution is direct - visit their website to join the mailing list. They also make large format bottles and can put together specially packaged wine boxes (which make great presents by the way). J. Moss has good distribution in California and Texas. You can also find their wines locally in Napa at Backroom Wines in downtown. Visit: www.jmosswines.com |
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Jaffe Estate was founded by Gary and Pam Jaffe. Their small vineyard is located just south of the town of St. Helena and provides all the fruit for their wines. The vineyard is located in the St. Helena Appellation almost on the border of the Rutherford Appellation. They purchased the estate in 1999 with vineyards that were already planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot; their total production each year is about 700 cases. For several years they sold the grapes to a nearby winery; Gary always wanted to make wine and after noticing the good press and awards this winery was earning they decided to take the plunge. They hired the very talented winemaker David DeSante and he has produced all vintages since their inaugural release in 2005. Gary having been born and raised in the Los Angeles area was first introduced to Napa in 1980 through a friend who had business in the area. This initial trip soon turned into a few days, then a month, then a week and then a long distance commute from Los Angeles. At the end of one year Gary realized that for the cost of his hotel each month, he would be better off moving to Napa! Like many he was drawn by the beauty of this small valley and surrounding hills, and even more so by the collaborative rather than competitive efforts that area vintners show one another.
Special mention must be made about the small but impressive Jaffe observatory and rotating telescope built among their vineyards. An observatory in the Los Angeles basin may not be the best idea because of all the lights and smog, but at night in the dark Napa vineyards it is a rather ideal location. To the best of our knowledge this is the only privately owned observatory in Napa County and as expected has been a popular resource for local school kids. Gary remembers the first time he became interested in astronomy; he was 9 years old and had just visited the famed Griffith Park observatory above Los Angeles for a planetarium show. He was hooked from that point on and has become a life long passion. As he told us, "astronomy is the one branch of science where amateurs can actually be involved in research" and researchers have called him for his help. With a visit during the day, observatories have a definite limit to their usefulness. In any case Gary showed us how the auto tracking works; at night he can and has tracked the International space station flying 250 miles overhead and has the ability to download images directly to a computer. Note their unique label - knowing their passion for astronomy, on first glance you might think the colorful circles are planets, but taking into account the two names of their wines and upon further glance you will notice the circles are grapes. The color pattern is a representation of the grapes as they change from green through the purple veraison to ripeness. Jaffe Estate produces two wines each year, Transformation - a Bordeaux style blend with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and Metamorphosis, primarily Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines are representative of their vineyard of course, but are styled after what the Jaffe's enjoy drinking. Their wines are elegant and not generally high in alcohol with the integral focus of their winemaking concentrating on balance. In this regard, their winemaker David quotes the famed soils and winemaking expert Andre Tchelistcheff "once balanced, forever balanced". We have tried wines from several of David's clients and have been impressed every time. He almost did not become a winemaker. He was halfway through medical school on the east coast when he made a dramatic change. He moved across the country to become a winemaker - where he completed his Master's in Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis. The 2006 Transformation is a beautiful elegant wine and while we sampled it merely 2 weeks after its release, it is already drinking nicely at such a young age. The bouquet initially opens with an earthy dusty component which is well integrated with ripe fruit aromas, namely blackberry - as the nose opens it picks up nuances of mocha. The mouth feel is plush and very well rounded with layers of fruit from the entry all the way to the finish. The rather delicate tannins are broadly distributed and like the body of this wine, are completely in balance. We would love to see where this wine is in say 5 years. The 2005 Metamorphosis has some nice earthy tones to the nose which over time reveal more fruit aromas. The palate is driven by a rich core of fruit, plum, cherry and raspberry. The tannins are firmer than the 06' Transformation and with good acidity and lively fruit, this wine will prove itself to also be quite age worthy. Jaffe does not submit their wines for ratings, but when you have something this good, word is bound to get out and it already has. The wine enthusiast tasted one of their wines at a tasting and rated their 2005 Transformation a 94...not bad at all for an inaugural release! Jaffe Estate is also very involved with a number of charitable organizations, tastings for charity and auction events. Their wine is made to be consumed with food and can be found at a number of high end local restaurants including Auberge du Soleil, Bouchon and Ad Hoc. They are also selectively distributed in parts of Asia (Japan, Hong Kong, China and South Korea). For high end, small vineyard, hand crafted wines in the heart of Napa, they have kept their prices rather reasonable. Their mailing list is appropriately titled "The Celestial Set". Visit: www.jaffeestate.com NOTE: Jaffe Estate is consolidating their winemaking & marketing efforts with Veedercrest Estates. Veedercrest is known for their 1972 Chardonnay which was one of the wines chosen to represent California in the famed 1976 "Paris Tasting". They focus on Napa hillside vineyards. Because of this joint effort, two new wines will be introduced - an Estate Merlot and an Estate Chardonnay. Also look for a new Jaffe Estate tasting room to open in St. Helena, slated for March 2010. Location: 649 Main St. (Hwy 29 just south of town and across the highway from Tra Vigne and The Farmstead). We will continue to update details here as they unfold and will be sure to be among the first to visit their new tasting room! |
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The tasting experience is relaxing with very knowledgeable and friendly staff and is held indoors at the tasting counter or at tables outside, weather permitting. As of press time all their wines are 100% varietal. We started with their 2006 Chardonnay which sees minimal Malolactic Fermentation and oak aging; it is crisp and full of fruit flavors including some apple and pear. Its extremely hard to find a 100% varietal Malbec in Napa (think Mendoza, Argentina), but James Cole does a very nice job with this wine. It is a winner! We tried their 2005 made with fruit from the Oakville district. It is a concentrated wine with great color - very dark and inky in the glass. We tasted some licorice and cherry on the palate - this is a good wine for aging. Their 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon is a medium bodied wine but not overly huge as with some area cabernet's made in this style. The nose is very earthy with dominating notes of black cherries and the mouth feel is full bodied and smooth. Lastly for a wine you will *not* find anywhere in Napa Valley much less the rest of the world, try their Jaden Pinot Noir Icewine from the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. This is a rare wine that is made in extremely small quantities, James Cole only received 75 cases of the 2004 vintage. Jaden is run by James and his brother. This is a wine that is quite difficult to make for many reasons. The grapes hang on the vine well after the normal harvest often until the end of December and they have to be netted to keep out all the hungry birds and other animals. By regulation, the temperature for 3 consecutive nights must be -8C or lower and then what little juice you can get from these desiccated grapes comes from pressing them right in the vineyards. The Brix (sugar level) is usually in the upper 30's low 40's. This wine is then aged in small Acacia wood barrels which help to impart a honey spiciness into the wine. Their 2004 vintage has a great nose with some hints of flowers including apple and roses and the feel on the palate is crisp and not overly sweet. This is definitely one of the highlights of the desert wines that we have tasted on our Napa winery odyssey. More info about Jaden here. Their barrel room contains a large sit down table and they have been known to show movies from the projector on site. They like Rolling Stones music so this is most often what you will hear playing at the winery! This is a neat boutique winery that as of press time has not yet been discovered. Furthermore their wines are only available at the winery - future plans include some local distribution. They are developing a mailing list. Website in progress. Visit: www.jamescolewinery.com |
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This part of Napa County has a unique growing climate compared to most of the valley floor in that they are above the fog line and during the summer they may have extreme temperature fluctuations up to 40 degrees between the day and night. Zinfandel thrives in these type of conditions and Scott manages his own 6 acre vineyard in part planted to Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon as well as nearly 100 acres for other nearby vineyards. Throughout the years he has sold grapes to other Napa wineries including the Hess Collection. James Creek's total production is merely 750 to 800 cases with each bottle receiving its own number on the Western styled label. The production is divided between a 100% varietal Cabernet Sauvignon and a Zinfandel. All wines are made at a nearby winery and most everything is done by hand during the winemaking process. The grapes are hand sorted so only the highest quality fruit is used. Hand punch downs are done 3x a day during fermentation and the skins are left with the juice (maceration) for extended periods to help soften the tannins. After tasting with over 500 commercial Napa wine producers we can say that while their selection is limited, these two wines are among the top ten quality to price values in the Napa Valley. There are not many wineries in Napa where you can find such hand crafted Napa red wines for under $30/bottle. We tried 2005 vintages. As soon as the Zinfandel was opened we smelled it from across the table; it has incredible exotic aromatics full of fruit and spices. The palate is very smooth with flavors of black berries, it is not at all jammy, has no residual sugar and the finish is full of fruit with a touch of vanilla. The Cabernet Sauvignon is a soft smooth wine with a very pleasant nose. The longer you let this wine open up the greater the flavors. It is full of black cherries, spices including cloves, some vanilla and has a super velvety finish. This is a great everyday Cabernet and pairs well with steak and incidentally this wine is very popular in Oklahoma and Texas. You can also find it locally at the Wine Garage in Calistoga. Visit: www.jamescreekvineyards.com (website coming soon) |
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Jana Winery has been producing wines since 2003. For such a new winery they have come a long way in just a few years. The owner Scott Harvey has been making wines since the mid 1970's and he brings a lot of knowledge and wine experience to Jana wines. He owns and operates two other labels; Scott Harvey which is Amador County based and has a tasting room in the small town of Sutter Creek - and InZINerator which are Zinfandel wines geared towards a younger generation. Scott was instrumental in building Foliex a Deux Winery before they were sold to the Trinchero Family. Jana wines are named after Scott's wife. There are only three vineyards in Napa county at press time that we know of producing Riesling and Jana Wines has access to one of those. Today only a handful of wineries make Rieslings in the Napa area. The Jana version is made in the European style as Scott was influenced by this style at a winemaking school he attended in Germany. It is a very dry wine - the unique label even shows a scale ranging from dry to sweet so you know right away what type of wine this will be. The grapes are picked at a low brix (18.5), there is great acidity and low alcohol in this wine. Their 2006 vintage has a pleasing honeysuckle nose which fills the glass and a flavors of pears and other tropical fruits coat the palate.
The 2005 Zinfandel also has a scale on the label between "judging wine" and "European" more food friendly styled wine - with the bar on this wine being close to the "judging wine" side. The grapes are from a 100+ year old vineyard. This is a rich full bodied Zinfandel with a very aromatic nose and hints of mint and black cherries. Their Cathedral wine was named for Cathedral Rock in Sedona Arizona and is primarily Cabernet Sauvignon with Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc, although the overall blend changes every year. Their 2004 version is a very elegant European style Bordeaux blend; the fruit is not picked so ripe that the final wine is overly fruit driven. This wine has a slight hint of pyrazines which is one of the components in bell peppers and other vegetables (some people enjoy this aspect - some people may not), but in any case, it does not overpower as this wine is very well balanced. Jana also produces the "One Last Kiss" Label, which are two wines, a Red & White. This label is a tribute to a group of wild women from Arizona who during a visit to the Napa Valley were convinced to leave their kiss marks all over a poster board. Their kiss marks were memorialized on the labels of this wine! If you find yourself in the foothills of the Sierras in the town of Sutter Creek stop by the Scott Harvey Tasting room or if you are in the Napa area look for their wines at Silenus Vintners, south of Yountville. www.janawinery.com View video from Cellar Angels: |
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JAQK Cellars is a partnership between long time and well regarded Napa Vintner Craig MacLean, his wife Cynthia and the team at Hatch Design in San Francisco (Katie Jain & Joel Templin). You have a real recipe for success when you partner excellent vineyard sources and the winemaking skills of Craig with the top design firm of Hatch. Additional success comes from creating clever niche branding that is "different" from many labels on the market as well as appealling to large casino loving audiences. Craig has known the owners of Hatch Design for a number of years and Hatch has designed several labels for him in the past. Hatch specializes in creative marketing and branding concepts. Several years ago Joel (Hatch Design) was leaving Las Vegas and was driving home when he thought about creating an ingenious wine label that appealed to those who like to gamble. Card players will immediately recognize the acronym JAQK, as Jack, Ace, Queen and King.
Craig was interested as soon as he heard this idea and then after an intial meeting decided to start forming the company the next day. He is originally from San Diego, and earned his undergraduate degree at UC Davis in Plant Science. Armed with this degree he returned to San Diego where he ran a landscape company and it was during this time that one of his clients introduced him to fine wine. As Craig says, "I went from drinking Budweiser to Bordeaux overnight". Normally this is not the route one takes when getting into high end wine but his client had a premium wine cellar. Back to UC Davis Craig went and completed his master's degree in Enology. Since graduating from UC Davis, Craig has been in the Napa Valley for 25+ years. He started at Chappellet and Markham and then moved over to the Spring Mountain appellation hand crafting wines for Cain and Spring Mountain Vineyard. Today he consults for a number of very small Napa producers and also runs his mostly mailing list only winery, MacLean. MacLean typically produces only several hundred cases of a very Bordeaux styled Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Visit: www.macleanwines.com All JAQK's wines are uniquely and creatively named. JAQK brought on Vinnie Chieco a freelance copy editor (who happens to be a nomenclature genius) to determine the names of each of the wines. Vinnie isn't necessarily a household name but the famous product he named a few years back certainly is - the iPod. We've known about MacLean crafted wines for some time based on our tastings with a number of the boutique producers he makes wine for. However we initially discovered the JAQK wine at one of the best tastings of the year in the valley, the Atelier Tasting at ACME Wine Shop in St. Helena. After seeing the very unique packaging and tasting the quality behind the wines, including a taste of their flagship wine, the High Roller we followed up with Craig & Cynthia. We met them both not long after they had returned from Las Vegas. JAQK is the official wine of the World Series of Poker held annually in the summer in Las Vegas. Their wine was a big hit at the recent 40 year anniversary series in the summer of 2009. With a brand like JAQK needless to say this wine is becoming very popular in Las Vegas and other casinos. At the time of this review JAQK Cellars is merely less than a year into their first release. We recently had a chance to walk the new cave where JAQK will be made in the future; this cave will also be home to a select few other winemakers and their projects. The winery is all about the cave as all winemaking operations including the crush will occur underground. This is located in the eastern hills in the southern part of the valley with stunning views looking up valley from the property site. During all his years in the valley Craig has always made wine at other wineries and this will be the perfect opportunity to finally centralize a number of his projects. Craig describes his winemaking style as "having one foot in Bordeaux and one foot in California". As a result, his wines typically are lower in alcohol, have higher acidity as well as good structure yet display that wonderful California fruit. His wines will age and he already has the history in the valley to prove this. The JAQK project is something unique and certainly different than any other winemaking projects he has been involved in. It combines very high quality wines with unique branding and packaging stressing a fun and a playful theme. We should also mention that several of these wines are extremely reasonably priced and borrowing the name from their high end wine, you don't have to be a "high roller" to get your hands on them. JAQK currently offers two tiers of wines, their California series and their Napa / Sonoma wines. Despite the name "California" on those particular wines a number of the fruit sources are in fact from Napa but they source as far south as Paso Robles and Lake County to the north. The 2007 "Charmed" Sauvignon Blanc is made from wine sourced from Lake County and Napa. In fact the grapes sourced from Napa are from one of the older if not the oldest Sauvignon Blanc vineyard in the valley. They were planted in 1963 and then 10 years later were budded over to Sauvignon Blanc. Pleasant aromas include notes of ripe grapefruit and melon. The palate is crisp and clean upon entry and develops a bit of creaminess or weight about mid palate (part of the winemaking included barrel fermentation and aging on the lees). Notes of ripe apple and pear also complement the finish which ends just as this wine starts - clean and balanced. With a name like this and the refreshing quality about the wine, this is a good wine to warm up with before jumping into a game of poker! Each of JAQK's wines has a unique story on the back label as well as luck related gaming quotes on the cork. The Bone Dance is a tribute to dice including to the Romans who used to roll dice on their shields betting against each other for various items. The 2006 Bone Dance is 75% Merlot with the remainder being Cabernet Sauvignon. The bouquet reveals fruit aromas, think cherry pie along with a nice earthiness and just a touch of cedar. This is a fairly soft (as well as inexpensive wine) that once you start drinking its hard to stop! It shows blue and black fruit (blueberry flavors) which lead to a pleasing finish showing fine grained tannins. The 2006 Soldiers of Fortune Shiraz is 100% varietal - all Napa fruit. Shiraz can easily be over oaked with its effects showing in the bouquet and palate. This wine is not over oaked. This is not your in the face peppery smoky bouquet often found from this varietal but rather is more elegant showing much more fruit. Aromas of ripe blackberry and blueberry are intermingled in with notes of graphite and mineralities. The nose evolves more complexities even after just a short time in the glass. The palate is supple upon entry displaying red and black berry flavors as well as plum. This leads to a finish that is smooth and clean which also reveals a subtle dusty characteristic. Craig says, if he were to pick one thing in wine quality it would be "balance" and this wine is certainly already in balance at its young age. JAKQ Cellars also has a variety of gaming related apparel as well as their popular branded playing cards for sale on their website. At the time of this review their production is about 5000 cases and they do have room to grow. They are currently distributed in a wide number of states (mostly found at restaurants as the wine pairs so well with food) - are a hit with casinos and will continue to be offered at select restaurants. Locally you can find their wines at Meadowood Resort in St. Helena. For more information about this unique and quickly growing in popularity wine, visit: www.jaqkcellars.com |
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One of a the highlights of a visit here is their 45,000 square foot cave system. All winemaking facilities are located within the cave itself including the offices. Because of this, it is not an intrusive winery on the surrounding landscape. Coupled with a huge solar array installed in 2008 Jarvis is a fairly "green", electrically self sustaining winery. This winery feels like a complete underground city. We propose one office be on hydraulics in which it would raise above ground for the beautiful views and then lower back into the cave at closing time! The entire tour and tasting takes place within the caves. Their caves are definitely in our top 3 or 4 cave systems within the Napa area. No photos are allowed within the caves. There are natural springs within the cave system and the winery has utilized the water for some beautiful waterfalls and small creeks running throughout parts of the caverns. To enter the tasting cave grotto you have to walk on large stones over a small creek! One room contains huge beautiful geodes of Amethyst and other crystals - all imported from Brazil and other countries. Another cavern can comfortably hold up to 500 people, and yes they hold some of the most amazing Hi-So events in the valley. There is also the photo grotto - large color photos of the Jarvis Family & other wine making operations are displayed in small cavern grottos. A thick piece of cork bark makes an interesting display with the corks cut into the actual wood. The tasting is held on a large stone covered table which seats no more than 10 people in a very well lighted tasting cavern. Tastings and tours are limited to under 10 people. Their focus is reds but they do produce several high end chardonnays. Our favorite red is their Lake William Blend - its great with steak, lots of fruit up front in the nose; its a very soft wine with a velvety mouth feel. We also tried a good Merlot with a very long finish and notes of plum on the nose. Our guide actually uses this wine as an after dinner wine; its the first we've heard of a Merlot used in this fashion (its not sweet), but has lots of chocolate overtones. Of note as well, is their Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve which is only made from the best juice (which isn't available every year for various climatic reasons). The Jarvis's also founded the Jarvis Conservatory, based in Napa. Its an excellent resource for in the city of Napa for the arts, music and opera. Their well-known consulting winemaker has been with Jarvis for many years which helps build continuity and consistency in their wine making style. He is Dimitri Tchelistcheff, son of Andre, the famous Napa winemaker and terroir expert. Dimitri has been involved in the wine industry since 1944 making him one of the older Napa winemakers still providing advice during the annual harvest in Napa. Visit: www.jarviswines.com |
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JAX Winery , formerly known as Jackson Ridge has been producing wine since 1996. Our visit with this winery incidentally was a milestone for us, as it was the 400th winery we visited during our Napa Wine odyssey. Yes, we do keep track of these rare milestones that end in 00! JAX owns a small 14-acre vineyard in the far northern reaches of the Napa Valley at the base of Mt. St. Helena. This vineyard was purchased by the Jackson's in 1995 as place to retire and farm the vineyards. Initially some fruit was sold to nearby Chateau Montelena for use in their own wine. The grapes on this vineyard are quite old as they date back to 1968. This vineyard is entirely dry farmed and the tonnage per acre for valley floor fruit is extremely low at around 1.9 tons. The flavors are more concentrated with the thicker skins as these vines have to survive without water through the long dry hot northern valley summers. Today this winery is entirely run by a brother sister team, Kimberly & Trent. Both are extremely energetic and passionate about the business. They run two labels - one is JAX which is solely a single vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon each year and the Y3 which is a dedication to their grandparents whose cattle brand was a Y3 on their old cattle ranch as well as signifying three farming generations within their family.
Unlike almost all other small Napa wineries we have visited, they employ two winemakers! Kirk Venge, who along with select other Napa winemakers could be known as the "King of Cab" (son of famed Napa winemaker, Nils Venge) runs their JAX winemaking program and Robert Hunter makes the wines under the Y3 label. Wines under the Y3 label are all sourced from area vineyards and their JAX Cabernet Sauvignon is from their own small estate vineyard. We tried their 2006 Russian River Sauvignon Blanc; this is a vibrant styled wine from the aromas to the palate and is very crisp and lean. No malolactic fermentation occurs and it is aged in stainless steel. This wine is a good representation of the varietal characteristics. Some of the fruit for their Chardonnay comes from Atlas Peak which is definitely not the varietal you think of when you hear about Atlas Peak. However, parts of Atlas Peak are just as cool if not cooler than the Carneros region. Proximity to the San Pablo Bay coupled with elevation makes this an ideal Chardonnay growing region. The 2006 vintage is a good holiday wine with its tropical fruit flavors and notes of brown sugar. Their 2005 Syrah is sourced from vineyards that also produce fruit for a select few well-known Napa winemakers. This is a full bodied wine that is smooth with great berry flavors including a bit of oak and vanilla. All in all, this is a very delightful taste. Their 2005 JAX Cabernet Sauvignon is a medium bodied wine with lots of black cherries mid palate with some spicy notes on the finish including hints of cinnamon. JAX has received some great publicity recently - their wine appears in a Will Ferrell produced movie called "The Goods" as well as in a popular HBO show. Top restaurants in select markets also feature their wine. Visit: www.jaxvineyards.com NOTE:This review has been identified as needing a major update. Stay posted. |
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This is in a rugged part of the Northern Napa Valley (not on the valley floor) and as a result flat land on the property is at a premium. In fact their winery sits on about the flattest part of the property as all the vineyards are hillside located. The steep hillsides dictate an incredible amount of manual labor - no tractors on these slopes! They farm as sustainably as possible using permanent cover crops and refraining from using pesticides. For many years Jericho Canyon sold all their fruit to other high end Napa wineries including Chateau Montelena, Sterling Vineyards & Rudd. The winery is quite new having been initially used during the 2006 harvest. It is a beautiful wooden very functional building. Jericho has a very small production and at press time concentrate on a single high end Bordeaux blend Cabernet Sauvignon with fruit sourced for a Sauvignon Blanc. They however have planted Sauvignon Blanc and as soon as these vines come into production will use this fruit. This is a winery that places a lot of attention to detail both in the vineyards and in their winemaking. When much of one of their hillsides were infected by a leaf virus they pulled out all the vines and replanted. This virus is actually quite common in the wine country - characterized by leaves turning red prematurely. They noticed this was affecting the aromas and flavor of the final product and quickly took action. Once these new vines come into production they will offer a higher end Cabernet Sauvignon as well as the general released Cabernet. They have planted a large number of varietals and in the future may even offer additional wines. Certain blocks in the vineyards are hand picked based on specific parts of the property. We tried several barrel samples in their caves of these blocks, each of which potentially could have been used in their final 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon blend (the first commercial release). It is interesting to note the differences in the taste and structure of these potential blends. As a common thread, rich ripe fruit with good tannin structure were a part of these blends. Parts of their cave were drilled through solid rock - the end of the main cavern was left unsealed so you can see just how thick this rock is. Also note the olives that grow on the property - these are not just for decoration! They make olive oil each year commercially. Visit: www.jerichocanyon.com View video from Cellar Angels: |
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This winery was founded in 1996 by Napa native, Mark Jessup and specializes in premium high quality wines. Mark started his Napa career at the mere age of 17 at the old Inglenook winery and in later years worked at Opus One. Their wines are *only* sold at the tasting room, online and through their wine club. They do not distribute to wholesalers, wine shops and restaurants. Jessup has excellent Zinfandels, Cabernets and Merlots and often several vintages are available for tasting (depending on the varietal and year). They do not filter their wines allowing them to move the wine from tank to barrel to bottle directly. This helps retain as much flavor as possible. Their only white is a Chardonnay and its not a buttery creamy style wine; Malolactic fermentation wine is not allowed to complete its course and as a result, it is a crisp clean Chardonnay. Their Cabernet Sauvignons are excellent, typically quite smooth with structured tannins on the back end. Their "Table for Four" is a very popular wine and is their only blended wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Verdot). It is not made every year, as Jessup will only release this wine if they feel the blend is of the highest quality. The 2005 version we tried definitely has some butterscotch flavors. Lastly be sure to try their Zinfandel Port. Zinfandel is probably the most common varietal in the Napa area used for making ports and most wineries fortify their ports with a generic spirits. Remy Martin used to have a distillery in the Napa area and when they moved Jessup purchased the rest of their high quality alchohal which they use for fortifying their Zinfandel Port - its delicious! Their earlier ports really come together and are drinking quite nice as they age very gracefully. Besides their main walk-in room, they also have a VIP room for private up to 6 people tastings as well as the Premier room for up to 14 people. Visit: www.jessupcellars.com |
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This is an up and coming winery, until the wine press really gets hold of their wines (which they will) Jocelyn is still a mostly undiscovered winery. Brandi Jocelyn is the daughter of the owners and she has jumped into the business full throttle (with considerable passion) over the past few years. This is a family owned winery and your tasting will typically be with her or other family. They focus on three wines, Chardonnay, several excellent Cabernet Sauvignons and a Founder's Blend which is their highest quality wine and is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvigon and Malbec and is made in memory of Brandi's father who founded the winery. The 2004 vintage is very dark in color with intense concentrated fruit and spice flavors ending with a very long finish. This wine is big, but very well balanced. A late Harvest Zinfandel was produced in 2006 - all their wines are produced in very small quantities. Visit: www.jocelynwines.com and also: www.golfandgrapes.org Tastings are by prior appointment only. NOTE: This review needs to be updated and we will schedule an appointment at a later date. Wine with Tony |
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If you are lucky you will be able to meet with the owner, John but he is in charge of two decently sized vineyard management companies and spends much of his time in the vineyards. He and his wife Michele have been producing wine commercially since their 2003 vintage. John is the son of Tony and JoAnn Truchard; they are pioneer's in the Carneros district and first planted grapes in the area in 1974 (when John was two years of age). John originally went to UC Davis as often is the case with sons and daughters of Napa winemaking families. His intent was to major in Enology but he soon changed to Economics - as he says, "you have to know how to sell wine". True, that part can be the most difficult part of the wine equation for small producers. In any case his passion is with the vineyards - while in college he started "knocking on doors" as he puts it and soon started managing small pieces of vineyard acreage. He then began leasing land and planting various grape varietals. He recalls doing this very cheaply with minimum costs. Today his wine is made from vineyards he manages. Most of the vineyards that are sourced for their wine are located in the southern part of the Valley including Carneros and the Oak Knoll AVA's. John likes long hang times in this cooler climate - the fruit ripens slowly and retains its acidity letting the "greenness" drop out (although with the wonderful 2010 growing season, all bets are off). The first non commercial release was nicknamed "Blues Booz" and featured their dog on the label. Making a smart business decision he gave away a number of cases to spread the word however upon realizing that he could only give so much away to friends and family he was still left with most of his production. The next vintage turned out even better and at this point he decided to sell commercially. The first commercial vintage was 2003. John hired well-known winemaker Alison Doran who crafted their wine until recently. She was hired in part because of her expertise with creating both old and new world wines. She trained under one of "the masters" who later became her mentor - Andre Tchelistcheff. She started working with him as a harvest intern at Simi Winery in the late 1960's. Today John Anthony's winemaker is Rob Lloyd who is also a partner with John in a vineyard management company. John Anthony's Sauvignon Blanc has already received excellent press and scores from notable publications and has a flavor profile that will appeal to those who can appreciate drinking this varietal by itself, say as a summer sipping wine or pre dinner wine. The palate is balanced, clean and rounded and packs a bunch of fruit flavor from the start to the finish. The 2009 shows lots of tropical notes including white pineapple and honeysuckle on the bouquet. There is no bitterness or citrusy notes that you sometimes find on the finish - like the palate, the finish is very clean. While working with the vintage variances each year, John Anthony strives for consistency, a wine that their customers will come back to again and again because they know the quality and flavor profile. Their Cabernet Sauvignon has already been well-recognized, one year it was ranked in a top 25 Cabernet Sauvignon list released by the Wine Spectator. Their 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon (primarily Coombsville fruit) is a winner. The bouquet is quick to reveal aromas of black fruit including fig with a palate that shows cherry and black licorice. Their 2007 Syrah features 3 clones and is a soft velvety wine with a rounded mouth feel. Notes of dusty chocolate are found on the supple finish. Ripe fruit, ripe tannins. John Anthony even offers a late harvest Sauvignon Blanc dessert wine. Art from local well known artist Gordon Heuther is on display. Gordon has his own gallery just north of town and his artwork is also in Artesa winery. Look for another label available to taste on site called JAM Cellars. This is a cleverly assigned name for two reasons, first it is the initials of John Anthony combined with the initial of his wife's first name, Michele and second these wines are a bit like desert and or slightly jammy. They typically have some residual sugar left, are all from Napa sources and are very reasonably priced. See www.jamcellars.com for more details. For every bottle of wine purchased in the tasting room John Anthony donates $1 to the V Foundation for Cancer research. www.jimmyv.org Visit: http://www.javwine.com |
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was founded by Sally and Rick Jones, avid wine enthusiasts who developed a passion for drinking wine in the 1970's while they were living in France. This certainly is not a bad place to immerse oneself into the culture of old world wines. Sally & Rick moved to the Napa area in 1991 and were able to purchase a premium vineyard that was being sold by Calistoga's Araujo Estate. For several years Jones Family sold their fruit to a winery in the Stag's Leap district and at the same time, made non commercial wine. The knew their vineyard was quite capable of producing stellar Cabernet - both from tasting their own wine as well the wine from the wineries who were purchasing their fruit. Jones Family released their first commercial vintage in 1996 and currently focus on estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon. They employ two superstars in the local Napa wine scene, vineyard manager David Abreu and winemaker Thomas Brown. Both have sterling reputations in the valley in their respective fields. As any winemaker will tell you, a large percentage of winemaking is done in the vineyards and it is up to the individuals managing the vineyards and the winemaker to bring forward the uniqueness of each vineyard location. The vineyard is 10 acres and ranges in elevation from 600 to 900 feet. The original 7 vineyard acres was planted in the early 1990's. Later David Abreu planted an additional 3 acres and the fruit from this vineyard is used in blending as well as in their second label, The Sisters. Their vineyard is among the southern most vineyards in the Calistoga appellation (located on the Eastern side of the valley). Today Rick is still involved, however his two daughters Stephanie and Heather now run their sales, marketing and general operations. Even their husbands are wine enthusiasts and have been known to help out from time to time on marketing related activities. It is truly a family run affair and hopefully the 3rd generation when of age, will be consumed by the "Napa allure" that is hard to resist when you grow up in a winemaking family in the Napa Valley. The 2007 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal; it is dark ruby in the glass with a complex bouquet that reveals a nice depth of aromas as it opens. It is an elegant nose - that shows some earth notes, chocolate, hint of baking spice and subtle fruit aromas including pleasant blackberry. The bouquet is elegant and refined. The mouth feel is rounded especially on the fore and mid palate but one can quickly tell this wine has power, especially towards the finish. Rich flavors and a big structure lingers for some time. This is a wine that certainly can be enjoyed now but will develop additional nuances and smoothness over time. Jones Family produces a true second wine, appropriately named with the family in mind, called The Sisters. While from the exact same vineyard as their Estate Cabernet the wine style is decidedly different. This is more California in style using the same fruit as used in their Cabernet Sauvignon but depending on the year, is blended from specific blocks within the vineyard as well as with additional amounts of Cabernet Franc. The 2008 Three Sisters is 100% varietal Cabernet Sauvignon; it shows explosive fruit on the bouquet - aromas of blackberry and black currant dominate - as the wine opens a pleasing earth component creeps into the bouquet. This is a very aromatic bouquet. The entry is surprisingly soft on the palate - the core of fruit is red rather than dark and the finish leaves well integrated dusty tannins as well as hints of mocha. Jones Family does not produce a lot of wine - each of the wines released is typically only around several hundred cases. As a result, the majority of their wine is distributed through their mailing list and on site at Salon St. Helena, an appointment only tasting salon shared with another producer with a similar pedigree - Harris Estate. You can also find their wine locally at several premium restaurants including the French Laundry in Yountville , and select restaurants in New York and London. Visit: www.joneswine.com The start of this video is in Japanese but proprietor Rick Jones provides a good synopsis of their history and production: |
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is owned by the Bartholomew Family. Joe Bartholomew is originally from Florida but has been coming to the Napa Valley since the 1970's to try and satisfy his passion for fine wine. However, these numerous visits did not quench his interest in fine wine and he decided to seriously take his passion to the next level; he started looking for vineyard property. Upon visiting real estate offices to scan through various vineyard sites for sale, agents quickly told him they receive many requests from visitors each month - many of whom fall in love with the notion of making wine on a passing whim. They told him that most of those requests never materialize. That did not discourage Joe; he continued to pursue his interest in owning a vineyard. Vineyard land is at a premium in Napa; Joe soon realized this and expanded his search into Sonoma. However, he wasn't shopping to settle for just any property - eventually he realized he wanted to be in the shadow of the Mayacamus Mountains preferring its cooling exposure especially in the late afternoons in the summer. With a vision of building a winery and a hospitality center, he also knew he wanted to be located next to one of the main roads in the valley. Joe shopped for vineyard real estate for more than three years. A number of years ago he was introduced to long time Napa vineyard pioneer Laurie Wood (a mentor to many in the valley, now deceased) and Laurie sold him what is now Joseph Cellar's estate vineyard as well as plenty of natural forested hillside land. The 7 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon from this vineyard form their flagship 100% varietal estate wine. Today Joe is personally supervising major work on nearly 20,000 square feet of caves as well as a wine center of which the majority will be devoted to hospitality and events. Their production is under 5000 cases and certainly won't come close to filling the space - they are seeking custom crush clients and will also open up part of the cave to barrel storage. Hospitality will be a big part of of a visit here - two full service kitchens are being built on site, one devoted to events in the cave and one for the hospitality center. Food and wine pairings will play a prominent role during visits. Views are more than nice from this part of the valley - from the second floor of the winery/hospitality building one looks out over vineyards and onto towering Mt. St. Helena in the distance (sometimes boasting a dusting of snow in the winter) and the rocky steep palisades that form this part of the Vaca Mountains to the east. Their estate vineyard was planted in the mid 1980's; the valley floor part of their 27 acre property lies at the foot of the Mayacamas Mountain range in the Calistoga appellation while the uppermost forested hillsides are in Diamond Mountain. A small piece of the upper property is suitable for grapes and in the future they can have both an estate Calistoga and Diamond Mountain wine. The Bartholomew Family currently focuses on three wines, their estate Cabernet Sauvignon, a Chardonnay from Rutherford and a Zinfandel from 100+ year old vines growing in Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County. However considering their close proximity to Duneawal Lane (arguably the heart of Old Vine Zinfandel in the Napa Valley), Joe recently acquired 5 acres of 100 year old Zinfandel vines and will have an estate Zinfandel in the future. We don't come across to much Chardonnay grown in Rutherford, an appellation known more for its Cabernet Sauvignon and its Sauvignon Blanc. Joseph Cellars sources their Chardonnay from a small vineyard near Rutherford Cross Road. Stylistically they strive to create a wine that is a balance between a lean Chardonnay and a wine that is heavily oaked with too much influence from the secondary fermentation. The 2010 vintage shows an aromatically diverse bouquet - mineralities, graphite, citrus blossom (more in the background), oak as well as some tropical characteristics including pineapple and banana. The mouth feel is rich and rounded. Caramel, hints of vanilla and wood tannins anchor the long finish. Their first vintage, the estate Cabernet Sauvignon dates from 2008 - this wine is 100% varietal. Their vineyard is carefully managed and only two tons or slightly less per acre is harvested each year. This 2008 release has a pleasing palate profile and is very approachable in its youth. Aromatically the bouquet is lively showing ripe opulent notes of red and black fruit, initially white pepper and notes of leather. As the wine evolves in the glass pleasing holiday type spices appear - brown sugar, as well as hints of coffee. The mouth feel is rounded - with a wide expression of flavor, focusing on the fruit. Black cherry and blackberry linger through a delicate finish. Part of the packaging is quite unique on this wine - it comes with a hanging pewter neck tag with the winery name engraved on the outside. Distribution is extremely limited to a select number of restaurants - the majority of their wines are sold only at the winery. Visits are by appointment - they are currently seeing visitors; the entire project is scheduled to be completed by Spring 2013. For more information visit: www.josephcellars.com Note: Because the winery and caves are still under construction we will update this review again towards their completion. |
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is one of the very few Napa producers that focuses their entire commercial production on Sauvignon blanc. They produce one wine each year from their 2.5 acre vineyard near the Napa River in the Yountville appellation. Proprietor, Bert George has been involved in the wine business since age 16. His grandfather, for whom the wine is named after, Joseph George - started a wholesale business in downtown San Jose, California in 1940 focusing on candy, tobacco and coca-cola syrup. After the war was finished he entered into a contract with Seagram's and sold liquor and beer and then ultimately wine. Joseph's son, Glenn took over the business and grew the company into the largest distributor in Northern California for about 20 years. His son, Bert, started working in the business at a young age and then as soon as he had his drivers license, started delivering wine and beer to various outlets in the Santa Clara Valley. Today Bert is President of Joseph George Fine Wines, a premier wine shop in San Jose. Their focus is on quality wines - carrying many wines from small producers with limited availability. He also carries a number of Napa's hard-to-get cult wines such as Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate and Colgin among others. It is a store where he knows his customers and his customers often know the winemakers he represents. This happens through a number of events and tastings he holds which are always attended by either the winemaker or the owner. With several generations in the wine distribution business and a passion for wine it was only some time before Bert started getting the "itch" to have his own wine label. He was initially interested in a piece of land about 1/2 mile south of his current vineyard (south of Yountville). He had already made an offer to purchase and was moving towards a sale when another buyer purchased at the last minute. As it were, this was one of the best things that could have happened. The George's purchased their current property in 2000 with the intent to plant a vineyard. This is truly a unique piece of the Napa Valley floor for a number of reasons. While Bert's small property is near the Napa River and a seasonal slough, the property is slightly raised above the valley floor. This proved extremely valuable during the terrible floods that covered the lower part of the valley and parts of downtown Napa in 2005. A nearby neighbor opened his window to look out in the morning and saw two ducks floating by. During this time, Bert's property remained completely above the flooding. This is a part of Napa that has extremely fertile soils - it is towards the southern part of the valley where the valley begins to widen. The soils are influenced from drainage from the neighboring mountain ranges and over the years the soil has become extremely fine and claylike. It is not a part of the valley where you find a lot of rocks in the soil. Whereas we have visited with some vintners located on the hillsides who have to drill down 800 to 1000 feet to find a decent water supply, the water table here is merely 9 feet below the surface. As Bert puts it, they asked one question of their soils, "what are you going to give me" - after extensive soil analysis it was determined only select varietals could grow here including Merlot and Sauvignon blanc. Bert and his wife love drinking this varietal and the decision was made to plant these vines. Their vineyard was soon given a name; the "West Block" as in the location in relation to their garage. Large trees surround much of the perimeter - the most prominent are giant valley oak that Bert estimates to be between 120 to 150 years old. He couldn't see himself removing these stately oaks so the vines were planted around them. We have visited hundreds of vineyards over the span of this project and it is very rare when we are surprised by something "unique" on the valley floor. What is either the largest or among the largest non planted parcels of land on the valley floor is located directly across from their property. This hidden gem runs north and south for some distance along the Napa River. It hasn't been planted to vines since the early 1980's and has been left to revert back to its natural state. Sauvignon blancs can be made in a number of styles - they can be either a bit grassy or green and show citrus characteristics both on the nose and palate. This wine has none of that. It is about the vineyard and the varietal - or as Bert says, "an unadulterated Sauvignon blanc". Their vineyard manager is meticulous in his crew's efforts to open up the vine canopy and allow ample sunlight to the grapes. They pick when they want - when the fruit is ripe. Being an early ripening varietal, weather has not been a factor in their past harvest decisions. The grapes are picked very early in the morning an taken immediately to a local winery and put into stainless steel. No oak is used during the aging of this wine. They strive for long fermentation times to try and bring out additional complexities - they use a commercial yeast that will continue to feed even at very low temperatures. As a result their fermentation often lasts a month before it is complete. A typical vintage from their vineyard is between 700 to 750 cases. The George's planted their vineyard in 2001 and their first vintage is from 2003.The 2010 vintage was above normal production followed by a very small 2011 vintage that produced less than 400 cases. The 2010 Sauvignon blanc vintage reveals bright and lively aromas on the bouquet - passion fruit, pear and melon. The palate is balanced and lingers delicately with notes of melon. This is an ideal wine to enjoy on a warm spring or summer day. Bert is also the only official and exclusive producer of wines for the National Hockey League. He has been working with the NHL since the 1993/1994 season. As expected his San Jose Shark's wines are quite popular. He produces wines for the Draft, All Star Game, anniversary wines and commemorative wines among others. Hockey and wine - quite an interesting combination - but Bert has certainly made this work and has proved the hockey fans are not necessarily only beer drinkers! The wine can be purchased directly but as expected is a best seller at their retail outlet in San Jose. For more information visit: www.josephgeorge.com |
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Joseph Phelps is also known for having excellent wine education seminars in which the topics vary from time to time. Your small group will sit at a large table in their posh wine room and you will listen to the wine guide discuss wines and how to properly taste, identify color, aromas and flavor. This seminar will also provide insights into how wines are made and is a great venue to ask lots of questions. One of the most popular seminar topics is the Insignia blending in which you are given the components of what makes the final Insignia blend. You get to create your own blend and then compare how your blend tastes against the current vintage of Insignia. Their "normal" Terrace tasting experience is by reservation only and is available every half an hour. It is not private as usually several pourers will be on site next to each other serving different groups simultaneously. However, if you need a moment to yourself to enjoy the wine, weather permitting, walk out onto their terrace overlooking the vineyards and nearby hills. Great views! The tasting takes place in their "Terrace" room which is surrounded by empty bottles from Joseph Phelps' private collection. From the size of the collection and quality of the labels it appears he has enjoyed some remarkable wine in his lifetime! Large wooden casks which used to be used in the making of Riesling now sit empty and serve as decoration and conversation pieces only. This room was actually added on as where you taste and where the casks are located, used to be out doors. Your tasting will typically include 5 or 6 wines including several whites and some of the Fog Dog wines from their new Sonoma County based winery called Freestone. Their Cabernet Sauvignons are typically big wines with large tannins; we tried the 2004 Insignia which contains the "good juice" from several of Napa's most well known Cabernet Sauvignon producing districts including Stag's Leap, Oakville, and Rutherford. This is a big wine for serious Cabernet Sauvignon drinkers with nice spices and fruit flavors; the finish is more rounded than found in their other Cabernet Sauvignons. When you are finished with the Terrace tasting deposit your wine glasses outside in the large copper pot. Phelps donated land for the nearby River Ranch Farm Worker Center which provides housing to seasonal workers. Advance reservations are a must for their wine seminar. Visit: www.jpvwines.com |
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What sets this winery apart from other wineries is their MicroCrush Facility. It gives those who want to make wine in very small quantities (minimum quantity is 1 barrel - about 24 cases - 288 bottles) a place to actually have their wine made, as the larger custom crush facilities in the valley typically have much higher quantity limits - i.e., Napa Wine Co, Laird Family Estate. You tell them what type of wine you want to make and Judd's Hill will secure the grapes, do all of the winemaking, aging, blending, bottling and can also provide labels. Client's can actually be quite involved in the wine and decision making process down to processing fruit, de-stemming, barrel selection, blending and more. This is probably the most affordable hands off or hands on way (depending on how much involvement you want to have) to produce your own small label using Napa sourced fruit. Well over 100 individuals are signed up for their micro custom crush and the huge lineup of empty bottles along the shelf in their tasting room testifies to the popularity of this service. The sit down tasting room is small and elegantly furnished with windows overlooking parts of the vineyard. Their total production is about 3000 cases and for a winery of this size they make a large variety of different types of wines. Some of the wines can only be purchased directly from the winery including several whites, a Rose and a Muscat. A typical tasting will include 5 or 6 wines. All of their fruit is currently sourced with the exception being the Pinot noir from their estate although they still have Cabernet Sauvignon vintages from a former estate property they owned on Howell Mountain in the north part of the valley. Their Pinot is fairly light in color but rich in flavor. A couple of other wines we really enjoyed are their 2005 Old Vine Zin made from fruit from 75 year old grapevines. There is a lot of alcohol in this wine but the alcohol does not dominate. What dominates is the fruit; it is a well-balanced wine with good acidity. Our favorite is their 2003 Petite Sirah. This is a big wine nearly as big as some of the Cabernets we have been drinking. It has a fantastic nose full of earthy aromas with even few mossy type characteristics. Despite being a big wine it is drinkable now with structured tannins and a long finish. Sometimes its best not to take wine too seriously! Check out Judd’s eclectic Enormous Wine Show by visiting: www.juddsenormouswineshow.com. This series was created by Judd and Rudy McClain (the director/writer/producer of the new feature film Merlove). This show has new installments each week, and includes a wide range of wine-related content---from humorous scenarios and on-air interviews to updates on wines and winery activities. As Judd says, "We wanted to share our lively, frenetic lives at the winery with the world out there. We also wanted to get creative and make people laugh and have a good time, so we’re pushing the boundaries of blogging and video content online." More serious wine drinkers should consider asking for a taste of the wine they keep hidden in the "tiki" statue next to the tasting table! Also ask to see their Library Wine list, unlike many wineries in the area you can actually purchase wines up to 10 or 11 years old. Judd is a man of many talents, not only is he a magician, but he plays the ukulele for old-time Hawaiian music in his Maikai Gents band (www.mkgents.com) | www.juddshill.com Judd's Hill Introduction: |
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