The Best Of Napa

Descending off the foot of the Mayacamus mountain range my favorite region in Napa Valley is the Oakville AVA (American Viticultural Area). I have enjoyed the finest wines produced in Oakville. Cult wines like Harlan Estate, Bond, and Screaming Eagle. Single vineyard wines like Opus One, Nickel and Nickel and Far Niente just to name a few. Oakville has a terrior (a combo of climate, soil and exposure) that give wines a deep opulence and almost purple color from the high amount of rhyolite (volcanic sediment) found in the valleys floor combined with granite alluvial soils Cabernet Sauvignon is the star. Oakville wines often exhibit exquisite dark fruit flavors like black cherry, plum, creme de cassis imparted by use of new oak giving the wine nice hints of toast, vanilla, coconut and mocha.