Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Remember zinfandel? When there was such a thing as a claret style. When the wine smelled of cool coastal forests and wild blackberries. When the skin of the grapes gave zin all the spiciness anyone could want. It may be a fictional past, a golden age before these days of zin monster cults and sweet raisined reds. It may be, in fact, that Storybook and its pure, arrestingly aromatic zin is a window to the future. When Napa Valley's best hillsides will be planted to mixed blacks. And when the best will carry the intoxicating fragrance of this wine, the scent of desert succulent plants, of peppercorns and huckleberries. Open a bottle with braised pork shoulder and take a step out of time.
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.