2005 Sterling Vineyards Three Palms Vineyard Cabernet Franc

Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga was founded in 1964 by Peter Newton, an English businessman and journalist. The first commercial vintage was the 1969 Merlot. Ric Forman was the winemaker for the early vintages, which were made in a Bordeaux style. In 1977 the estate was sold to Coca-Cola Bottling Co. and in 1983 it was purchased by Seagram. Today the estate owns more than 700 acres and makes a large portfolio of wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Riesling and Pinot Grigio.

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,

This is a parent grape to Cabernet Sauvignon. It most likely originates from Basque country. It is an excellent blending grape, known for making the exquisite Cheval-Blanc. Franc is a little hardier on a vine than Sauvignon, but drinks smoothly at the table.