2017 Scribe Field Guide 7.2 West Side Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon

Scribe Winery is part of the wave of new California wine ventures operated by young people aiming to redefine California winemaking. Founded in 2007 by brothers Andrew and Adam Mariani, their Sonoma estate was once one of the state's first Riesling vineyards. Another part of the estate was a turkey farm. The brothers come from a family of California walnut farmers that goes back four generations and their approach to winemaking is non-interventionist and site-specific. In keeping with the German wine heritage of the property, Scribe produces Sylvaner and Riesling, as well as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

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.