2017 Nickel and Nickel Element 28 Cabernet Sauvignon

Nickel & Nickel, in Oakville, was founded in 1997 by the partners who also own the Far Niente and Dolce wineries. The founding principle behind Nickel & Nickel is to make only 100% varietal, single-vineyard wines. As a result the winery creates single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons from six sub appellations including Oakville, St. Helena, Howell Mountain, Rutherford, Stags Leap and Yountville. The producer also makes single-vineyard Chardonnay, Merlot, Syrah and Zinfandel from vineyards in Napa Valley and Sonoma. Winemaker Darice Spinelli joined the winery in 1998. Nickel & Nickel’s headquarters is located on a 19th century farmstead where the original 1884 farmhouse serves as the company’s offices.

Napa Valley AVA is the most famous winemaking region in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. With nearly 43,000 acres of vineyards and more than 300 wineries, it is the heart of fine wine production in the United States. Winemaking started in Napa in 1838 when George C. Yount planted grapes and began producing wine commercially. Other winemaking pioneers followed in the late 19th century, including the founders of Charles Krug, Schramsberg, Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards. An infestation of phylloxera, an insect that attacks vine roots, and the onset of Prohibition nearly wiped out the nascent Napa wine industry in the early 20th century. But by the late 1950s and early 1960s Robert Mondavi and other visionaries were producing quality wines easily distinguishable from the mass-produced jug wines made in California’s Central Valley. Napa Valley’s AVA was established in 1983, and today there are 16 sub-appellations within the Napa Valley AVA. Many grapes grow well in Napa’s Mediterranean climate, but the region is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay is also very successfully cultivated, and about 30% of the AVA’s acreage is planted to white grapes, with the majority of those grapes being Chardonnay,

One of the most widely grown grape varieties, it can be found in nearly every wine growing region. A cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. It’s a hardy vine that produces a full-bodied wine with high tannins and great aging potential.