One of the rockiest and most beautiful parts of Napa Valley is a little side valley in the southeastern corner called Stags Leap, where steep, chimney like cliffs tower over bench land vineyards. It is a narrow valley tucked between those towering cliffs to the east and rounded green hills to the west. Here and there canyons branch off, home to numerous vineyards.
The name of the region comes from an old ranch in the area, and from a story. A huge deer was being chased by hunters up the hillsides, dashing from peak to peak. Depending on who tells the story, they could have been Indians or cowboys who were doing the chasing. They cornered this great stag on top of a bristling knob of stone high above the valley floor. When they were about to close in, the stag leaped off, clearly to its death, but then they saw it running away to enjoy another day.
In the days when grapes first came to Napa the flat vineyards to the south west, away from the shadow of the mountains were thought easier to farm, than these rocky, tilted bench lands. There was one good sized winery there starting in the 1880’s, in a big stone barn on what is now the Regusci vineyards. Some of the area was used for dairy pasture and fruit trees. Even up into the 1950’s it was considered a grape growing backwater suitable for bulk wines. There was even a golf course on the site of the Chimney Rock Winery. But these things change and in the 1960’s the first premium grapes were planted there.
Those vineyards changed hands and then that fruit made it into a bottle, that traveled to France for the July 4, 1976 Judgment of Paris. Standing up there in a lineup with the best French and American wines it won first place for the Bordeaux style blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, etc.), the most prestigious wines that appeal to collectors, because they age so well.
That winery is called Stag’s Leap Cellars. There is also a Stags’ Leap Winery. The placement of that apostrophe took a ten year lawsuit to work out, probably because the Judge finally threw up his hands and started throwing punctuation marks around. A number of years later the two of them sued Pine Ridge winery for designating one of its wines as coming from its Stags Leap vineyard, where is it is located. The Judge quite rightfully threw out the case, stating that Stags Leap (no apostrophe) is the name of the AVA (American Vitaculture Area) that they had worked so hard to establish, and that includes about twenty wineries.
When they first set out to establish the AVA the idea was to designate the bench lands up from the Silverado Trail. Yet, when it was marked out it covered both sides of the road and stretched farther north and south than originally intended. Why, because that wonderful 1976 performance made many of the wineries want to be part of this new AVA. Remember, wine country is farm country, and when your neighbors ask to be included, it’s not neighborly to say no. In truth, everyone who asked to be included was.
A few side notes, the name Chimney Rock comes from the gold course that preceded the winery. The man who tore out half the course to plant grapes had lived in South Africa for many years, so he built his winery and home in that style. He also loved golf, which is why he only tore out half the course. Later the quality of the grapes won out and the other nine holes are now history. The two wineries that fought over the name for so long are now both owned by larger corporate beverage entities. The Silverado Trail once clung closer to the hillsides. It was established on top of the old Indian trading trail that connected the obsidian craftsmen in the north of the valley with the tribes along the bay. It once passed right by the front of that stone wine barn on the Regusci property. The story is that Grandpa Regusci had a still up on the third floor and if he had hooch for sale he would put a lamp up there to notify the passersby.
All of this doesn’t explain why this area is so magical, because how else can one explain why it produces such wonderful wines. The fog that rolls in the Golden Gate and fills up the valleys of wine country brings welcome overnight dew to the vines. Placed in the southern part of the valley Stags Leap receives a generous amount of that precious fog. Then thanks to all of those rounded hills and winding canyons that fog is trapped among the vines as the sun rises higher in the sky. Grapes are mostly sunlight and water, so the quality of the light the vines receive creates much of the flavor.
As the sun streams through the fog it refracts like a prism, creating an array of colors. When you taste the grapes you note that sparkle and that leads to wonderfully complex flavors. Then, as the day goes on the strong western sunlight bakes the grapes and encourages them build thick, tannin rich skins, which allow the wines to age well. That combination of complex fruit flavors and strong, solid tannins is a rare, but wonderful combination.
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