Duhig Wine

Duhig Wine. This 13.5-acre family-owned and managed farm, purchased by Harvest and John Duhig in 2008, is located in Coombsville, a short drive from downtown Napa. The site is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon divided into several separate blocks including of clone 341 and clone 15, both planted on 110R rootstock. Additional Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache were planted in 2022. The Grenache is entirely head trained (no trellissing); the first small harvest from these vines was in 2025. And 14 short rows of Sauvignon Blanc are also planted on a lower section of one of the blocks for friends and family. The rootstock was planted in 2012 and grafted in 2013. Presently approximately 6.5 acres of grapevines are planted on the 13.5 acre property. Other vineyard neighbors include Ackerman Vineyards, which borders their property and the nearby Farella Vineyard.

The first vintage of Duhig was in 2016. The property has seen a variety of uses over the years including for growing hay, raising cattle and orchards. It was even used as a base for a well drilling company. Records shows that several wine grape varieties were growing on site around the turn of the century including Burger. An old wooden barn which the Duhigs carefully renovated dates from around 1900.

The Duhig family is deeply rooted into the fabric of Napa Valley’s early farming community. Both her husband John’s maternal and paternal sides of the family were among early immigrants to Napa Valley having first arrived in the late 1840s. His great, great grandfather fled Ireland during the ‘potato famine’ (a period of time that lasted from 1845 to 1852). The family initially settled near Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts before making the long trek out to California via the Isthmus of Panama, crossing both by boat and foot, long before the Panama Canal was built.

They made their way up to San Francisco and records show John’s great, great grandfather James Duhig opened some sort of shop for a short time in the still very young city. He was introduced to Napa Valley by taking a ‘Hay Boat” day trip ride from San Francisco up the Napa River. He saw the rolling hills of Carneros and inquired as to its ownership and was told by the ships’ crew it was part of General Vallejo’s land grant. Eventually he and his wife Isabelle contacted and purchased 400 acres of land from General Vallejo and his wife Francisca Benicia Carrillo and settled in Carneros where records show he raised Zinfandel grapes and apricots. According to an article from the Napa County Reporter dating March 9, 1883, Duhig’s property was home to the first ever meeting of the Napa Valley Coursing Club featuring a hunt by local dogs of provided rabbits. In 1888 records show they produced 1,000 tons of Zinfandel.

The family ultimately owned some 450 acres in Carneros before selling this land in 1915. The family farm and home were near the corner of Las Amigas Road and Duhig Road (still carries the family name). For those interested in reading more about this family, their early history in Carneros including plenty of information about farming the region, reference Huichica, a book by John’s grandfather Stewart Duhig (also known as the Duke).

Harvest was born and raised in Napa Valley (her mother was of Choctaw heritage). Being outdoors and growing things was part of her heritage; her mother encouraged her to explore her natural environment; her grandmothers were active gardeners. But as often happens in one’s youth, one leaves the valley for a period of time for some perspective; for Harvest it was to Maui for three months in 1997. After walking out of the ocean onto the beach one day, she had an epiphany, “my name is Harvest, I grew up in the Napa Valley, I love growing things”. She soon returned to Napa and began taking wine related classes at Napa Valley College.

Then she began studying at UC Davis and ultimately earned her degree in both viticulture and enology. After graduating, she worked at a small local winery learning both about operations in the cellar and in the vineyard. She recalls it was addicting and wanted more of this type of work. In 2002, looking to find a home for some Cabernet Sauvignon from the Oak Knoll District, she picked up a phone book and began calling wineries, starting with the letter A. There were no takers until she reached C and Caymus. After calling the winery she spoke directly to proprietor Chuck Wagner who invited her out for a visit. After spending about 40 minutes with Chuck and answering his viticulture questions, Chuck decided not to take the grapes but instead offered her a job. She accepted and is currently the Grower Relations and Mountain Cabernet Winemaker for Caymus Vineyards.

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Harvest often asks a very important question, “what does it mean to be from somewhere.” For her it is a spiritual tie to the land, a connection to the historical farming families in Napa Valley, a community centered approach and the importance of continuing their agricultural heritage and instilling these values in her own family. It is clear that her ‘happy place’ is in the vineyard.

In addition to wine grapes, the Duhigs raise a variety of crops on their small family farm ranging from fruit trees including peaches, apples, pomegranates and figs among others. And a variety of vegetables planted in their ‘donation garden’ with hundreds of pounds donated to the Napa Food Bank every year (founded 1965). Harvest has a personal connection to the Napa Food Bank; at times her family had limited resources when she was as child. Food was scare and her mother would visit this food bank for assistance.

John started Duhig Construction in 2004 and continues to oversee the company as its president.

She carefully laid out the vineyard choosing a row angle 30% off of true north so the vines are angled across the slope rather than running parallel to the slope. She practices a no-till policy with a permanent cover crop growing among the rows. During our visit, Harvest pointed out shadows on the ground, cast by the vines. It is important to note that 6 feet between rows eliminates shadows falling on the vines. The greater distance between rows allows her to plant the vines only three feet from each other within the rows. A dappled shadow profile is desirable with just the right amount of canopy cover versus exposure to the sun. Sunburnt grapes are not an issue and other than the end row vines, very little second crop is produced. All wings are cut off, usually right around veraison. These are tightly spaced, yet balanced vines with just the right amount of vigor based on the site.

The soils are diatomaceous (decomposed diatoms from previous marine influence), are low in nutrients and volcanic in origin with only a few inches of what Harvest calls the ‘Coombsville gravel’ on the surface. The white and very light diatomaceous earth lies immediately underneath. It looks like bedrock but is very soft and chalk-like and is filled with cracks that roots can grow into. And sometimes it contains fossils – during our visit to the vineyard she pointed out a fossilized leaf imprint.

She speaks about the tannin acid complex and the moment maturity is ideally reached in the vineyard, comparing ripening grapes to a leather baseball mitt. When new, the mitt is stiff and rigid, similar to wine grapes as they begin to ripen post veraison. But over time, just like a well-worn mitt becomes, the grapes become softer, more relaxed with a dimpled look from slight dehydration. She has the luxury to only pick blocks when fully mature and some years she will harvest several times looking for flavor maturity, seed lignification, acid balance and tannin ripeness.

Select Wines
Albariño
The 2022 Duhig Albariño, from Suisun Valley (neighboring Solano County); this wine is medium to deep gold in color; highly aromatic, the bouquet is a web of fruit meets floral meets herbal. These scents include citrus blossom, jasmine, lemon zest, not fully ripe pineapple, honeydew melon, golden apples, thyme, lemon verbena, tarragon and a saline character. Let this wine evolve, its fruit will become more expressive. On the palate there are flavors of pineapple, Golden delicious apples, mandarin orange, pineapple guava, honeydew melon and lime. The mouth feel is as silky and supple as sliding ones fingers gently across the fur of a miniature schnauzer puppy; we once had such a cute little dog. This wine finishes with a light note of fennel and tarragon. Rich, highly flavorful, balanced, textural and bright, more people would seek out this variety if they have the opportunity to try this bottling. This wine would pair well with a number of dishes we enjoy including sushi/sashimi, ceviche, fish tacos with lime and cilantro, and Thai food including spicy Papaya salad. While driving time takes at least 30 minutes to Suisun Valley from Duhig Vineyard, as the crow flies it is only several miles away.

Grenache
The 2022 Duhig Grenache, Suisun Valley is pale to medium ruby in color; bright and red fruited, this wine smells like raspberry, strawberry, Santa Rosa plums and boysenberry, accompanied by non-fruited layers of dried rose petals, darker baking spices including clove, dried thyme, dried bay leaf, a kiss of pink peppercorn and a garrigue character which reminded us of the smells of vegetation while walking the hills above the small village of Maury in southwest France in late spring. The fruit becomes more dominant as the bouquet opens. The palate mimics the bouquet to some extent with flavors of raspberry, strawberry, red plums, blood orange, red licorice, sage and a lingering sweetness and flavor of dill. This wine features a balanced but softer acid profile; the finish lingers with rounded and approachable tannins in their youth. Their gentle texture runs in tandem with the fruit on the finish with neither one really pulling away. For reference, we needled and nosed this bottling three years post vintage. We want this with one of the Gott’s burgers from their St. Helena location, perhaps with our go to, the Kimchi Burger.

Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2021 Duhig Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby and nearly opaque in color; dark and sweetly fruited this wine smells like blackberry pie, boysenberry jam, dark plums and cassis with a generous helping of sweeter non-fruited influences presumably from its oak aging, including of mocha, dark cocoa powder, sweet tobacco spice, dark chocolate, coffee grinds and Biskoff cookies. Fully ripe like the bouquet, but not heavy or flabby, rather its overall cadence is lifted nicely by its vibrant acidity. On the palate there are flavors of blackberry jam, boysenberry, dark mulberry, dark cherry and dark plums. There is a perceived sweetness of fruit. While the fruit dominates, there are accompanying layers of dark cocoa powder, baker’s chocolate, assorted baking spices and a finishing note of dried tobacco leaf. The tannins are present with a light to moderate texture, lingering with a gravelly and lightly drying character. This wine is drinking exceptionally well by itself at this age, 4 years post vintage.

The 2019 Duhig Cabernet Sauvignon (from barrel) offers slightly darker notes than some of the previous vintages including aromas of black olive, plum and ripe cherry. A sweetness of fruit aromatics clearly shows. Very well layered, this wine features a density of tannins (albeit it was quite young at the time of our tasting and was from the barrel) showing more structure than previous vintages. Presents flavors of plum and blackberry on the palate and lingers with a bright mouthwatering finish.

The 2018 Duhig Cabernet Sauvignon was not quite yet released at the time of our tasting. This wine is dark ruby in color with distinctive aromatics different from the other two vintages we tried. Offers a sweetness of both fruit and desert spices including sweet cherry, plum, molasses, caramel and brown sugar. The desert spice aromatics continue to persist as the wine opens in the glass. It is nicely layered across the palate, with ripe gentle tannins which linger softly along with a hint of dessert spice on the finish, including clove. Also shows a very slight toasted cedar note. 240 cases produced.

The 2017 Duhig Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested two days before the Napa and Sonoma fires began in early October. The wine is medium to dark ruby in color; there is a noticeable brightness of fruit that is immediately evident on the bouquet. Offers aromas of ripe cherry, boysenberry and Santa Rosa plum along with notes of dark licorice, cassis, mocha and brown chocolate. The wine is seamless from start to finish with a supple and somewhat creamy texture of finely integrated slightly chalk-like tannins which is complemented nicely with an intensity of fruit. Plush texture. A hallmark of Duhig wines are their superb balance, including this vintage. Only 125 cases were produced.

These are extremely limited production wines, typically ranging from about 125 to 250 cases per year. Each bottling is 100% varietal and Harvest treats every vintage differently – consistently tasting the wines over time until she feels they are ready to release. As a result, the wines often spend up to a year in bottle before they are released.

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Locally, select vintages can sometimes be found at Press Restaurant in St. Helena with some tiny distribution through Binny’s Beverage Depot in Illinois, Gary’s Wine in New Jersey and online retailers including Wine Access and Benchmark Wine Group. For more information about this special producer, to purchase wine, or to join one of their three membership ‘VineClub’s’, please visit: www.duhigwine.com