Images Courtesy of Suzanne Becker Bronk
The Oakville AVA is a Napa Valley sub-appellation known for its warm climate on the valley floor, which is well suited to wine production. The Oakville AVA is the location of many famous and historic vineyards, including the historic To Kalon vineyard.
Oakville is located in the heart of Napa Valley. This means it experiences both the heat of the northern reaches and the cooling influence of the Bay’s fog and breezes. Because of this, of the Cabernet-centric valley floor appellations (St. Helena, Rutherford, Oakville), its wines, while ripe and powerful, tend to exhibit remarkable finesse and energy. Furthermore, in the western hillsides where the vines are sheltered from the afternoon sun, the wines tend to be more brooding and mineral rich, while those on the volcanic eastern hills that bask in the afternoon sun are dusty, sanguine, with dried fruit tones.
Oakville’s soils vary considerably. In the east they are rust-red and iron-rich with abundant volcanic material mixed into the gravel and loam. In the center of the valley, the soils are deeper, darker in hue and primarily loam-based. The western edge features the famous gravelly fans that include Martha’s Vineyard and To Kalon. Just above this bench, estates such as Harlan are perched on a mix of sedimentary and volcanic rocks and soils.
The Oakville AVA is located in the north of what was the original Rancho Caymus land grant, awarded to early Napa Valley pioneer George C. Yount in 1836. The land grant consisted of two leagues of land bestowed by Governor Nicolas Gutierrez, with influence from Yount's friend General Mariano Vallejo. As the first major landowner in the area, George Yount had a large influence on how the region would develop and was the first person to plant Mission grapes in the region.
Oakville, the town at the center of the Oakville AVA, started out as a water stop in the 1860's for the Napa Valley Railroad Company. The small village that grew around it supposedly took its name from the numerous dark green valley oaks that existed in the area at the time. In 1868, H.W. Crabb, an early Napa Winemaker, purchased 240 acres of land close to the Napa River and established a winery there, calling it "To Kalon", or "The Highest Beauty" in Greek. By the late 1870's, Crabb was producing over 50,000 gallons of wine per year produced from his 130 acres of planted vines.
Today the Oakville AVA has over 5000 acres of land planted to grapevines, with over 50 wineries sourcing their grapes from this appellation. The University of California, Davis currently maintains a 40 acre research vineyard and laboratory facility called Oakville Station. The Oakville AVA was officially designated an American Viticultural Area in 1993.
"It’s all about the place. The Oakville AVA is the epitome of viticultural variations on a diverse theme of bedrock, soils, climate, weather, water, exposure and elevation. The people drawn to farm and make wines from Oakville grapes play a large part in its greatness as they seek to make wines that are pure and transparent, sculpting the essence and adding subtle nuances to express their unique sites."
- Michael Silacci, Opus One
The sun drenched, iron rich, volcanic soils of the eastern hillside of Oakville make up the Harter Family Vineyards. the resultant Cabernet is ripe and well-built, with cassis, red current, blue and blackberry compote notes infused liberally with bay leaf, worn cedar and a hint of orange blossom. Of course, the smooth, soft elegant tannins are the show case for this voluptuous wine.
This elegant and refined Cabernet Sauvignon from Oakville is hand-crafted from family-owned Lawer Estates. It exhibits dark berry fruit on the nose and whisps of vanilla from aging in French oak. The coating finish lingers with grace.
This Cabernet Franc offers intense black fruit, roasted espresso bean flavors, vanilla and fine Oakville herbs framed by fresh tannins that cover the palate. The wine is painstakingly made in open top barrel fermenters and aged in 100% new French Oak for 26 months to provide an elegant, silky texture. Few know that Andy Beckstoffer also planted Cabernet Franc at the To Kalon Vineyard, a site generally regarded for legendary Cabernet Sauvignon wines. Some of the finest expressions of both varietals are planted there and our unique relationship, farm-to-farmer, allows us to make a wine from each. Cellared correctly, this wine could age for 20 years or more. Just 50 cases produced.
During the summer months it is not uncommon to wake up and find a heavy veil of fog blanketing the Napa Valley. Our Holy Smoke vineyard in the heart of the Oakville appellation lies between the Mayacamas Mountains to the west and the Vaca range to the east. On those cool mornings, before the heat of the summer sun has had time to strengthen, the layers of fog dance above the vines recalling images of smoke. The gravely, well drained soil of the vineyard site is ideal for growing Cabernet Sauvignon. In keeping with our commitment to the proper stewardship of the earth the vineyard is farmed organically. The excellence of each element: clone, vineyard site, farming techniques, and winemaking, allows us to craft a cabernet with distinguished character and of a quality to find itself among our Single Vineyard Cabernet Selection.
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