Winemaker Notes
Perched high on a scenic hilltop, Rutherford Hill Winery overlooks the famed Rutherford Bench, drawing from Napa Valley's finest vineyards to craft exceptional wines. Established in 1972, the winery's founders recognized the valley's unique similarity to Pomerol, pioneering Merlot as Napa's signature variety. Since acquiring the winery in 1996, the Terlato family has carried forward a legacy of vision, high quality, and excellence. Under talented new winemaking leadership, they’ve gained exciting critical acclaim for elevating the offerings by adopting cutting-edge techniques, including selecting meticulously curated parcels of fruit and employing a refined French oak barrel regimen to elevate the quality of every bottle.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.