The 21st annual Zinfandel Festival in San Francisco this week, sponsored by the Association of Zinfandel Advocates & Producers (ZAP), highlights why California’s signature grape is worth preserving.  Zinfandel is not just the charmingly fruity wine that we all love, it is a chameleon of a grape that expresses its diverse origins and reveals true complexity and signature spiciness with age.  ZAP works to preserve this diversity by sponsoring a long-term zinfandel research program – conducted by the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) – whose aim is to find …

Zinfandel has been grown in California since the 1850’s and, unlike many of the early-planted varietals, zinfandel has maintained its popularity to this day, representing the 2nd most widely planted red wine grape in the state.  We love youthful zinfandel for its fruity charm, but it’s the old vine zinfandels that we treasure for their intensity of flavor, structure, spiciness and most of all, expression of terroir.
To record and preserve the diversity of zinfandel expression, the University of California, Davis – with major support from the Association of Zinfandel Advocates …

Irreverent, irrepressible and incorrigable – that about sums up John Caldwell and Napa Valley wouldn’t be the same without him.  No other person outside of Napa City founder and Coombsville namesake Nathan Coombs is more closely associated with the Coombsville wine region than Caldwell, and it started really as opportunism to develop land as tony real estate in the emergent Napa Valley tourism destination in the late 1970′s.  He was flying high then with his successful shoe stores in the valley, he says, touring around in his Cadillac Seville ragtop …

When immigrant Jacob Schram searched the relatively virgin Napa Valley in the early 1860’s to plant vines, he searched for steep hillsides that he knew from his youth growing up near the Rhine River would yield the highest quality grapes.  He found his vineyard site in the foothills south of Calistoga.  The wines of Schramsberg would achieve such renown for their quality that author Robert Louis Stevenson was inspired to declare on the veranda of Schram’s home that “wine is bottled poetry.”  After Jacob Schram’s death in 1905, the estate …

Under the terms of the Australia-European Community Agreement on Trade in Wine, on the first of this month, Australia became the latest in a long line of countries that prohibit outright the use of the name “Champagne” on the label of domestically-made sparkling wine.  Champagne is a venerable protected appellation (or place) of origin in France which produces high quality sparkling wine based on unique location and winemaking techniques.  In the European Community (“EC”) and in other countries which respect appellation of origin through trade agreements, only wines made from …

Kenzo Tsujimoto, Chairman of publicly held Capcom Co., Ltd., is the owner of Kenzo Estate, a 15,000 case production winery in the eastern mountains of Napa Valley.  His luxury cabernet sauvignon wines are made with the best talent money can buy but his goal wasn’t to create an exclusive wine that few can buy.  Like the successful video game products his company sells worldwide, his wines are approachable and accessible.
Tsujimoto wasn’t one of the those wealthy businessmen seeking to create a monument to himself in the Napa Valley.  While he …

From the first building to be erected in the Napa Valley in 1848, the downtown area of the city of Napa grew rapidly over the following three decades to support the growing commerce arising from the abundance of grains and grapes grown in the fertile valley, and increasing tourism.  Even in the 1870’s, Napa Valley had become a popular weekend or permanent retreat for San Franciscans attracted to the beautiful scenery, mild climate, medicinal springs and convenience to the metropolis.  Visitors would take one of the daily steamboats …

The new 1313 Main upscale wine bar and lounge in Downtown Napa opens officially on May 27th.  It is the latest addition to Downtown Napa’s wine tasting scene that differentiates itself by offering a range of local and international wines that are hard to find by the glass and available in 2 oz. and 5 oz. pours.  Even better, the price points are accessible, allowing wine lovers to discover wines they wouldn’t normally buy by the bottle.  For example, Kistler Chardonnay at $7 per 2 oz. pour.
According to proprietor and …

Downtown Napa, as the Gateway to the Napa Valley, has a wide range of casual and fine dining to meet every palate and occasion.  There is also a variety of specialty food purveyors, farmers’ markets, bakery/cafes and even take-out that feature what Napa Valley does best, serve up local, fresh and sustainably grown food that is vibrant with flavor.
Reservations Recommended
For serious dining, you don’t need to go up-valley to experience a range of world-class cuisine from French at Michelin star La Toque in the Oxbow District to southern Italian at …

 Beyond the cult cabs and posh brands, sometimes one comes across a cabernet sauvignon wine that is a reflection of what the Napa Valley is about, not just in terms of terroir, but in terms of history, friendships and families.  Trivium is such a wine.
Trivium is a 100% cabernet sauvignon wine created by three partners and friends who have left their footprint on dozens of prestigious Napa Valley wines over their long careers, Stu Harrison as a marketer, Jack Stuart as winemaker and Doug Wight, as a 5thgeneration grower.  All three …