1999 Cornerstone Cellars Stepping Stone Cabernet Franc

Cornerstone Cellars was founded in 1991 by Bruce Scotland, Michael Dragutsky and David Sloas. The trio wanted to make Cabernet Sauvignon from Howell Mountain grapes and for a decade they sourced their Cabernet and Zinfandel grapes before buying 13 acres on Howell Mountain. Scotland left the partnership in 2001. Today the estate makes several “collections,” including wines from Oregon grapes. Though best known for Cabernet Sauvignon, Cornerstone also makes Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, and, in Oregon, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

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.