Winemaker Notes
Hearing the energetic “pop” of the cork while opening this bottle of wine sets the tone for enjoying this fruit forward Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc made in our signa-ture Heitz style. Our Sauvignon Blanc is grown on our Ink Grade Vineyard from a combination of hillside and valley fruit. The hillside aspect of this vineyard produces fruit with notes of sweet mango, papaya, pineapple and lychee, while the valley floor sections provide a balance with subtle notes reminiscent of plantain, fresh banana peel and zest of lemon and lime. Well-balanced acidity gives life and lift to this wine, making it the perfect addition to your spring and summertime “go-to” line up. Drink this wine chilled and you be thrilled with its ability to provide some respite on warm weather days.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Brittany Sherwood makes this wine from hillside and valley-floor blocks at Heitz’s Ink Grade Vineyard. Her 2018 is packed with tropical richness, with intriguing notes of ripe papaya and tart pomelo. It’s balanced for drinking on its own.
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Wine Spectator
Impressively focused and intense, this white opens with a mouthwatering core of pure lemon juice, set on a light and crunchy texture. Details of white pepper and hops linger in the background. Drink now.
Renowned for crafting Napa Valley's first cult wines, Heitz Cellar is globally recognized as the crown jewel of American wine. The timeless post-Prohibition style of winemaking endures with esteemed winemaker, Brittany Sherwood, producing elegant and balanced wines sourced from 100% organic and biodynamic Napa Valley fruit. Pioneering pure varietal, single-vineyard wines that can age for decades, including the iconic Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Heitz Cellar wines hail from the region’s most premier vineyard sites including Oakville, Rutherford, Howell Mountain, St. Helena, and Oak Knoll. Family-owned since its founding in 1961, Heitz Cellar continues to embody the artistry and legacy of classic winemaking with single-vineyard wines that position it as one of the world’s leading wine estates.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
One of the world's most highly regarded regions for wine production as well as tourism, the Napa Valley was responsible for bringing worldwide recognition to California winemaking. In the 1960s, a few key wine families settled the area and hedged their bets on the valley's world-class winemaking potential—and they were right.
The Napa wine industry really took off in the 1980s, when producers scooped up vineyard lands and planted vines throughout the county. A number of wineries emerged, and today Napa is home to hundreds of producers ranging from boutique to corporate. Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely the grape of choice here, with many winemakers also focusing on Bordeaux blends. White wines from Napa Valley are usually Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that claim specific wine characteristics based on situation, slope and soil. Farthest south and coolest from the influence of the San Pablo Bay is Carneros, followed by Coombsville to its northeast and then Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford. Above those are the warm St. Helena and the valley's newest and hottest AVA, Calistoga. These areas follow the valley floor and are known generally for creating rich, dense, complex and smooth red wines with good aging potential. The mountain sub appellations, nestled on the slopes overlooking the valley AVAs, include Stags Leap District, Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley (farther east), Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain District and Diamond Mountain District. Napa Valley wines from the mountain regions are often more structured and firm, benefiting from a lot of time in the bottle to evolve and soften.