Winemaker Notes
Bressler Vineyards began in January 1999, when Bob and Stacey Bressler purchased their home with an acre of premium vineyard property on the Napa Valley floor on the west side of St. Helena. Working with David Abreu, Vineyard Manager/Magician and Winemaker-extraordinaire Mia Klein, the Bresslers embarked upon their adventure. In early 2000, they acquired the mature Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard (planted in 1986) adjacent to their property. This vineyard is a classic Napa Valley combination of St George rootstock and Clone 7 Cabernet. This combination attains flavor ripeness around 24 brix, which yields very reasonable alcohol levels.
In the young vineyard, the rootstock (420A) was planted in July 1999. In June 2001 came the field-grafting of 1922 vines of Cabernet Franc, 1313 vines of Merlot, and 204 vines of Petit Verdot. These wines are being used as blending wines with our Cabernet Sauvignon beginning with the 2004 vintage. The Bressler Vineyards Cabernet in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 is 100% from the mature vineyard.
Bressler Vineyards' mission is to produce wine that they like to drink and are proud to serve to others, to remember that producing wine is serious business and serious business can be fun, to work with the best people and learn from them, to respect nature, even when her pace seems excruciatingly slow, to continue to perfect their craft, their palates, and their friendships.
St. Helena is in the heart of the Napa Valley, nestled between Calistoga to the north and Rutherford on its southern border. On its western side, the Mayacamas Mountains guard it from the cooling effects of the Pacific Ocean; to its east stand the Vaca Mountains. In conjunction, these mountain ranges serve to lock in summer daytime heat. But in the evening, cool air from the San Pablo Bay funnels up through the valley, creating very chilly nights. It isn’t uncommon for temperatures to drop 50 degrees, a shift that promotes a balance of sugar ripeness and acidity in wine grapes.
St. Helena contains a plethora of different soil types in a small area, which have been enhanced over centuries by rain runoff from both mountain ranges. Its vineyards cover a variety of terrain, spreading across the bucolic valley floor and its benchlands.
These ideal topographic and climatic growing conditions easily caught the attention of early winemaking pioneers. In fact, St. Helena is the birthplace of Napa Valley’s commercial wine industry. Dr. Crane founded his cellar in 1859, David Fulton in 1860 and Charles Krug in 1861.
Today there are no less than 400 separate vineyards planted within the 12,000 acres that make up the St. Helena appellation.
Revered most for its red wines based on Bordeaux varieties, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, the St. Helena appellation is also a source of superior Syrah, Zinfandel and Sauvignon blanc.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.