Napa Valley Winemaking
Innovation and a curious spirit guide many different approaches to winemaking, but, as any Napa winemaker will tell you, "quality starts in the vineyard." The goal is always quality over quantity. From grape growing through winemaking, Napa Valley's vintners are always focused on getting the very best possible grapes into the bottle.
Napa Valley Rocks: Winemaking
Napa Valley has become synonymous with Cabernet Sauvignon and the majority of winemakers in the region produce it, but thanks to the area's diverse soils and growing conditions, all kinds of grape varieties flourish in this one small place. In this short video, renowned vintners share their views on the terroir of the Napa Valley and why they choose to make wine from this appellation.
For a winemaker, blending grapes from different vineyards means being able to make a wine of greater complexity. Another way to create a unique, distinctive wine is to focus on a single place or single vineyard. Winemakers in Napa Valley have become famous for doing both — creating beautifully blended wines from many sources, creating distinctive wines from a single grape source: think Martha's Vineyard or To- Kalon.
The latest research can help supplement winemaker intuition and practical experience. For example, technological advancements, like the optical grape sorter, allow winemaking teams to select the best berries to go into the wine. This continual emphasis on quality, constant improvement and innovation has helped keep Napa Valley wines among the most desired in the world.
