2009 EMH Vineyards Black Cat Cabernet Sauvignon

EMH Vineyards was founded in 1999 when Merrill Lindquist purchased a pocket-sized vineyard just east of the Silverado Trail. With slightly less than an acre, the vineyard nevertheless grew outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, and in her first year as owner, Lindquist decided to keep a half ton of grapes for herself, selling the rest to other producers. She hired winemaker Art Finkelstein to make the first nine vintages. Finkelstein founded Whitehall Lane Winery, later sold it and opened a custom crush facility. Today the winemaker is Kenn Vigoda, and due to the success of the estate’s one wine, Black Cat Cabernet Sauvignon, Lindquist no longer sells grapes, but keeps all her grapes for her own label. Black Cat is named for the family’s pet, and the wine is generally available only through a mailing list. About 100 cases are made annually.

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.