Read More Dispatches from Paul Franson.
The overlooked favorite
Trefethen Vineyards has been here so long that many people don’t even notice
it anymore as they rush up the valley. It’s also on the portion of Highway
29 that’s almost a freeway, and just north of Napa -- plus its entrance
is off Oak Knoll Drive, all making many people bypass its tasting room.
That’s a mistake. The historic winery is fascinating in itself, and its
vineyards’ unique location helps the winery and its talented winemakers
David Whitehouse and Peter Luthi produce exceptional wines. Exceptional, but not
necessarily typical of the Napa Valley wines most people know.
Trefethen’s vineyards are relatively cool, a sweet spot for cooler-climate
grapes like Riesling and Chardonnay, but warm enough for elegant reds like Merlot
and Cabernet Sauvignon that don’t get overripe and over the top.
The Chardonnay is one of the Valley’s best, comparable to some of the best
from Carneros or cool Sonoma regions, and it thankfully has just the right amount
of oak – not too much to overpower the fruit flavors but subtly adding delightful
nuances.
Trefethen’s Estate Dry Riesling may be Napa Valley’s most under-appreciated
wine. There’s very little Riesling left in Napa Valley, both because much
of the area is too hot for it to shine, but also because it’s out of fashion.
Try this $15 wine, however, and you’re find a wine that works with a wide
variety of food – and makes an excellent aperitif as well.
A century celebration
Not many families have been in the wine business Almost 125 years, but Andy Simpson’s
has. Andy and his wife Pam own S.E. Chase Family Cellars and their Hayne Vineyard
was first planted by owner Andy’s great-great-grandmother Sarah Esther Chase-Bourn,
who purchased the property in 1872.
The winery is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the planting of Hayne Vineyard
Zinfandel vines this November.
Sarah Esther Chase-Bourn and her husband William acquired the 60-acre property
in 1872. It was planted to a variety of old-world varietals, and after her husband
died in 1874, her oldest son, William Bourn II took charge and began selling grapes
to Charles Krug, Napa Valley’s oldest constinuously operating winery.
In 1888, William Bourn II built Greystone, the historic stone building north of
St, Helena, but he sold it to the Christian Brothers in 1894 when phylloxera wiped
out much of Napa Valley’s vineyards. Today it is home to the Culinary Institute
of America.
Less than ten-years later after the old vineyard expired, William’s sister
Maude and her husband William Alston Hayne planted the vineyard with Zinfandel
vines. Today the same head-pruned vines are dry-farmed in the sandy-gravelly soil.
Contact Paul: paul@ilovenapa.com
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