Rutherford: no other name in the Napa Valley conjures such strong identity. Gustave Niebaum, Georges de Latour, André Tchelistcheff, and John Daniel all built their dreams and hopes around capturing the haunting essence of this remarkable place. Cabernet sauvignon, the vessel used to express their passion, has long been recognized as the perfect muse for the Rutherford soils. "Rutherford Dust" is the term that André attributed to those incredible aromatics, seemingly the most delicate of balances between the rich black fruit of the north valley and the taut essence of green olives and bay more typical of the south. The "Rutherford Bench" is the area defined by the western slopes of Rutherford and home to the most legendary of all Rutherford's cabernets.

Frog's Leap Rutherford: our most honest attempt to capture all of the above in a single bottle - history, tradition and the ultimate expression of winemaking passion.

• 2009 Zinfandel (search item no. 112862)
• 2010 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (search item no. 121128)
• 2011 Napa Valley Chardonnay (search item no. 120701)
• 2011 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc (search item no. 116503)

John Williams grew up in Western New York and originally attended Cornell University to extend his studies as a dairyman. A fortuitous work-study program at Taylor Wine Company and a few bottles of wine later, John entered the Enology and Viticulture Masters Program at UC Davis. Following Davis, he returned to the Finger Lakes as the start-up winemaker at Glenora Wine Cellars. Taking inspiration from his first Napa Valley winemaking post in the cellars of Stag's Leap, John began making wine commercially in 1981 and named the new operation "Frog's Leap."

Frog's Leap presents a relaxed approach to enjoying wine. An easy hospitality and warm sense of humor is juxtaposed with a more serious sensibility when making wine. Frog's Leap produces some of Napa Valley's finest wines and, undoubtedly, has one of the wine world's best mottos: "Time's Fun When You're Having Flies."

The wines produced range from Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay to Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc. We have quite the line up to offer so we hope you’ll try one of these delicious wines that harmoniously combine quality, sustainability and value.

First certified by California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) in 1988 Frog's Leap has been a leader in the industry for over two decades. The winery relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm. Organic farming excludes the use of manufactured fertilizers and pesticides, plant growth regulators and genetically modified organisms. Organic farming involves mechanical weed control (via cultivating or hoeing) rather than herbicidal weed control.

• 2009 Far Coast Pinot Noir (search item no. 114864)
• 2009 Lands Edge Pinot Noir (search item no. 109105)
• 2010 Four Hearts Chardonnay (search item no. 120618)
• 2011 Russian River Chardonnay (search item no. 122747)

Making delicious wines of high personality is directly related to the difficult locations of the Hartford family's vineyard sources, the limited production of their bottlings and the varietals they use. "Character through adversity" is an expression that the Hartford family believes to apply to both people and grapevines, and they feel that surviving adversity builds character, and personality, in both.

The Hartford Family makes wines under two marks, one of which is Hartford Court. Hartford Court bottlings are small lots of high-personality single vineyard Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays that express the distinctive qualities inherent in each vineyard's terroir - the interplay of soil, slope, exposure and climate. The fruit is sourced from the Russian River Valley, Green Valley and Sonoma Coast appellations.

Steven Tanzer in his International Wine Cellar called the 2008 vintage in Napa Valley for Cabernet a "very pleasant surprise. The low yields and vine stress made for small, deeply colored, highly concentrated grapes. Many cabernet producers in Napa Valley told me that the skins were rich in phenolic material and easy to extract... I particularly enjoy the immediate aromatic appeal of many of these wines—especially the floral and mineral tones that are not yet as widely evident in the generally denser and more serious 2007s. In retrospect, it may turn out that winemakers who got their fruit sufficiently ripe, yet made wines with a somewhat wider range of ripeness than usual, will have produced wines with atypical complexity."

Wine Spectator rated the 2008 vintage for Napa Cabernet 90-92 points, saying it "could be unique for its depth and concentration."

Caymus Vineyards has made Cabernet Sauvignon from the Napa Valley since the winery was founded in 1972. Charles F. (Charlie) Wagner, his wife Lorna Belle Glos Wagner and their son Charles J. (Chuck) Wagner built their winery among vines planted on the family's ranch in Rutherford, a district long recognized for producing high-quality Cabernet Sauvignons.

Charlie Wagner planted most of the Cabernet vines in the mid 1960s, before this variety was universally considered the "king" of Napa Valley wines. He acquired the loose-clustered, intensely flavored clone he planted from Nathan Fay, a well-known grower in the Stags Leap area. "I liked the character of Nate's wine, and he told me to help myself if I wanted some budwood," Charlie explained. "He was a generous man, and he knew I wouldn't injure his vineyard."

For both the Napa Valley and Special Selection bottlings, the goal is a balanced wine that tastes delicious when bottled but can improve with age. Chuck Wagner attributes the quality of the wines to farming and winemaking techniques developed over the decades.

• 2008 Rubicon (search item no. 115838)

A decade later, Francis Ford Coppola purchased 1,500 acres of this historic property and revived Captain Niebaum's fine winemaking tradition. In 1995, Niebaum-Coppola acquired the remainder of the property and restored the Inglenook Estate to its original dimensions.

• 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon (search item no. 114200)
• 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon (search item no. 118325)

Franciscan was founded in 1972 by a group of lawyers and doctors from San Francisco who decided to try turning their passion for wine into a business. In 1985, Agustin Huneeus, a Chilean exile who had built Concha y Toro in his native country, took over the helm at Franciscan. Huneeus refocused the winery on using the superlative grapes growing in its own vineyards, rather than sourcing from outside.

Today, Franciscan's wines are crafted under the exacting eye of Janet Myers, who came to Franciscan in August 2003 as associate winemaker after working in the Margaret River region and Beaulieu Vineyard, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars and Louis Martini. The winery remains committed to its tradition of small-lot winemaking, with small batches averaging just 150 to 1,500 cases. The image of a hand-operated wine press on Franciscan's logo and wine labels reflects this small lot approach to winemaking.

• 2009 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (search item no. 111449)

Drawing on his long experience in the production of fine wines in both Europe and California, Walter set up his own winery with his wife Gertrud in the cool, marine climate of the Carneros Appellation. Here he could focus on the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay varietals that had always been close to his heart.

Schug Carneros Estate Winery combines old world understanding and tradition with modern winemaking techniques. By using only the finest grapes available, and maintaining the best winemaking values, these wines have gained acceptance worldwide as true contemporary classics.