Producers Flashcards
Where is Ridge Vineyards located? When was it established? What are its most important bottles?
Ridge has two estates. Monte Bello is in Santa Cruz Mountains AVA and was established in 1962, while Lytton Springs is in Dry Creek Valley AVA in Sonoma and was purchased in 1991. Their two most important bottlings are “Monte Bello,” and Lytton Springs Zinfandel.
“Monte Bello” was 100% Cabernet Sauvignon through the 1974 but is now a Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend. It won 5th place in the 1976 Judgement of Paris for its 1971 vintage. Lytton Springs Zinfandel is a classic example of the Dry Creek style, with the vineyard containing 100+ year old vines.
Where is Corison located? When was it established? What are its most important bottles?
Corison is in Napa Valley AVA. The winery is built on the valley floor Kronos Vineyard, near St. Helena. Cathy Corison, one of Napa’s first female winemakers, made wines for Chappellet and Staglin before starting her own label in 1987. She purchased the Kronos Vineyard in 1995 and completed the winery in 1999.
Corison produces three 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines. The Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is made using grapes purchased from Rutherford and St. Helena, while the Kronos Vineyard and Sunbasket Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon are both estate wines.
Where is Dunn Vineyards? When was it established? What are its important bottles?
Randy Dunn was Caymus’s first enologist, before buying his estate on Howell Mountain with his wife, Lori. They released their first vintage in 1979. The vineyards reach up to 2,100 feet above sea level, making them some of the highest on the mountain.
Dunn produces two 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines. The Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is entirely estate fruit, while the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is estate fruit blended with a small quantity of valley floor fruit.
Dunn’s wines are austere and tannic, meant to be aged for years. They are made using whole-cluster fermentation and spend 32 months in barrel before release. Dunn has established lower-abv as a core component of their style.
Where is Heitz Cellars? When was it established? What are its important bottles?
Heitz Cellars was founded by Joe Heitz after a long stint of working with Andre Tchelistceff at Beaulieu. The original winery was purchased in 1961 in St. Helena, and originally produced an estate Grignolino alongside a Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from fruit purchased from Sonoma. In 1964, Heitz moved to its current location and turned its focus to Cabernet Sauvignon.
The winery owns the Trailside Vineyard in Rutherford AVA, the Linda Falls Vineyard in Howell Mountain AVA, and the Ink Grade Vineyard in Howell Mountain.
Heitz produces lots of wine, but its most important bottles include Martha’s Vineyard and Trailside Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Heitz does not own Martha’s Vineyard but instead buys grapes from it for the wine. Martha’s Vineyard was the first single-vineyard wine in California and remains important.
Where is Mayacamas Vineyards? When was it established? What are its important bottles?
Mayacamas is in the Mt.Veeder AVA of Napa Valley. It was established in 1889 as Fischer & Sons by John Fischer, and became Mayacamas Vineyards in 1941. The winery rose to prominence when Bob Tavers purchased the winery in 1968 and made every vintage through 2012, when the vineyard was sold.
Mayacamas’ vineyards sit between 1,800 and 2,400 feet in elevation, with Chardonnay planted at the higher altitudes.
The estate practices dry farming and is known for tannic, acid-driven, herbal red Cabernet Sauvignon, typically blended with 10-15% Merlot + Cabernet Franc. Their Merlot is blended with approximately 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and their Chardonnay does not undergo malolactic fermentation.
The Cabernet Sauvignon is fermented in a cement tank and spends two years in old American oak before being moved to 15% new wood French barriques. After this, the wine spends two years in bottle prior to release. The winery has never released a Cabernet Sauvignon before its fifth year after harvest.
Where is Chappellet? When was it established? What are its important bottles?
Chappellet was established in 1967 by Donn an Molly Chappellet. The Pritchard Hill estate has vineyards from 1,000 - 1,800 feet in elevation in the Vaca Mountains and released its first vintage in 1969. As of 2012, all of the estate vineyards are certified organic.
The winery produces “Pritchard Hill” and “Signature” estate lines as well as the “Grower Collection” which features Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from several single-vineyard sites. Both the Pritchard Hill & Signature Cabernet Sauvignon are generally 75-85% Cabernet Sauvignon with the remainder being made up of other Bordeaux varietals, and spend up to 2 years in new French oak.
The Signature line also includes varietally-bottled Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and the “Las Piedras” red wine.
Where is Dominus Estate? When was it established? What are its important bottles?
Dominus Estate is in Napa Valley AVA, with the winery located in Yountville. Christian Mouiex (now the sole owner), Robin Lail, and Marcia Smith bought the Napanook Vineyard in 1982 and began releasing Bordeaux-style wines in 1983 under the Dominus label. Its second wine, Napanook, was first released in 1996.
The estate is dry farmed, and largely devoted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot.
Dominus is generally 80-95% Cabernet Sauvignon, and spends 18 months in 40% new oak before being released two years after harvest. Napanook is 70-95% Cabernet Sauvignon, and spends 18 months in 20$ new oak before release.
