Spring Mountain

Heading north and west on Highway 29 out of Rutherford, through the quaint town of Saint Helena with its little boutiques selling mostly grossly overpriced wares, we reach the unofficial entrance to the Spring Mountain American Viticultural Area (AVA) on the eastern side of the Mayacamas. Almost all of the wineries in the Spring Mountain AVA are accessible via Spring Mountain Road and not a whole lot else.

Spring Mountain is unique within Napa Valley. It's cooler and wetter and almost all of the vineyards face to the east. Let's consider what that means. The grapes get morning sunlight, but are more shaded in the afternoon.

Spring Mountain is cooler because of both its proximity to the Pacific Ocean (only about 30 miles away) and its accessibility to the mountain gap between two bays as the cooling air runs through the Santa Rosa Plain. Interestingly, however, and curiously to me, the same terroir results in warmer evenings than in much of the rest of Napa Valley, so unlike almost all of the other AVAs within the broader Napa Valley, this results in very small diurnal temperature shifts. In other words, compared to the rest of the valley, daytime highs are low and nighttime lows are high.

While this cuts down on the natural acidity of the grapes, it allows for a faster developing brix than in some other parts of the valley. This increased sugar potential has the effect of creating bold, yet structured red Bordeaux varietals, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon. But, at the same time, the lack of brutal summer heat that often afflicts almost every other AVA in the county allows for the production of Chardonnay. In fact, the Chardonnay, typically grown near the top of the mountain, is of a very different character and flavor profile than found elsewhere in Napa Valley often featuring stone fruit, particularly peach, rather than the very buttery flavors that we often get from Los Carneros, for example.

Ultimately, though, as in much of the rest of Napa Valley, on Spring Mountain, Cabernet is king. These largely estate grown grapes in soil that is a mixture of volcanic and sedimentary rock worn down over millions of years, produce wines that are long-lived and known for their dark chocolate and coffee notes, intermingled with black pepper. 


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