Winemaker Notes
Smith Devereux (formerly J.W. Thomas Wines) utilizes over 60 years of family winemaking experience to produce sustainably farmed, limited production wines.
With a strong belief in every bottle of wine telling a story, Smith Devereux farms only the highest quality grapes to create their award winning portfolio of wines. Their first wine, Verse & Chorus was selected by Whole Foods as a Top 10 Holiday Pick and Wine Club Selection, and won Best in Class and a Gold Medal at the West Coast Wine Competition.
On the heels of this success, Smith Devereux launched critically acclaimed brands: Weather (2x Gold Medal Winner), Hanaiali'i (2x Double Gold, Best in Class, West Coast Wine Competition and 90pts Wine Spectator) and Dennen (91pts Wine Spectator) as well as the flagship Smith Devereux line of wines.
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.