Perched high above Lake Hennessey in the Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon dominates this mountainous site. Aerial views of this vineyard give an insider’s look to the intricate patchwork of blocks on steep hillsides and terraces. Some vines are so close to the edge, you wonder, how will this survive? And yet, they thrive. A good part of that success is the soil, the dynamic climate, and the meticulous farming at this high-elevation mountain vineyard.

Our soil story endures with the uplifting of ancient shallow seabeds, plate tectonics, and glaciation that continues over millennia with the erosion and transportation of old metamorphic rock created under intense heat and pressure. The present day chapter is set in a unique mixture of well- to excessively-drained sedimentary and metamorphic soils underlain by a bedrock of Franciscan complex. Silty clay loams with varying depths, mixtures of gravels, and fractured rock undulate among the steep slopes. The primary soil classifications are Bresse-Dibble complex, Maymen-Millshom-Lodo association, Shale & Sandstone rock outcrop, and Sobrante loam.

The site’s warmth is tempered by the interior range location with air flow from a variety of directions – Lake Hennessey, Alexander Valley, and the Mayacamas. This translates to lingering days of sun exposure that can quickly turn to blustery afternoons as well as earlier budbreak, an arid environment, and consistent growth. Everything that is a hallmark of quality mountain fruit.

This vineyard is by-hand bespoke farmed and went through veraison August 4th 2017 The grapes were tiny and super concentrated with a mountain terroir. Sarah hand harvested and destemmed these grapes on September 27th 2017. The “Sage Ridge” wine as are all our wines are hand-spun, barrel fermented, and aged in new French oak to perfection. At the half way point of fermentation gorgeous powerful aromatics presented violets, bramble blackberry and dark raspberry.