2019 The Vineyardist Notre Mystere

The Vineyardist is a Diamond Mountain property with a long history. In the late 19th century it was purchased by a Dutch shipping captain who planted vineyards and made wine. During prohibition the vineyards were replaced with nut and prune orchards. In 2000 the property was purchased by Dirk Fulton and Becky Kukkola, who began replanting some of the 80 acres to vineyards. They also hired winemaker Mark Herold, who has been winemaker at numerous acclaimed wineries, including the one he founded, Merus. The Vineyardist produces no more than 400 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon annually and the wine is available primarily through mailing lists.

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,