Domaine Chandon (Moët et Chandon)

Domaine Chandon was established in 1973 by Moët et Chandon, and California businessman John Wright in the town of Yountville. It was the first French-owned sparkling wine producer in Napa Valley. The winery has vineyards located in several local appellations including Los Carneros AVA, Mt. Veeder AVA, and Yountville AVA. Domaine Chandon makes both sparkling and still wines made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, the traditional grapes used in the production of Champagne.

Roederer Estate  (Champagne Louis Roederer)

Champagne Taittinger dates back to 1734 in Reims, and is one of the last remaining privately held Champagne firms. In 1987 the House established Domaine Carneros in the Los Carneros AVA to create terroir driven California sparkling wine using the Traditional Method as well as still Pinot Noir wines. The 138 acre estate is situated up a slope rising over San Francisco and San Pablo Bay. The estate building is modelled after Taittinger's Château de la Marquetterie in the Champagne region. The first vintage release was in 1991. The 2nd cuvée, a Blanc de Blancs, was first produced in 1988 and in 1992 they released a still single grape Pinot Noir.

Domaine Carneros (Champagne Taittinger)

Champagne Taittinger dates back to 1734 in Reims, and is one of the last remaining privately held Champagne firms. In 1987 the House established Domaine Carneros in the Los Carneros AVA to create terroir driven California sparkling wine using the Traditional Method and still Pinot Noir. he 138 acre estate is situated up a slope rising over San Francisco and San Pablo Ba. The winery building is modeled after Taittinger's Château de la Marquetterie in the Champagne region. The first vintage release was 1991, the 2nd cuvée, and Blanc de Blancs, was first produced in 1988 and In 1992 a still single grape Pinot Noir.

Mumm Napa (G.H.Mumm)

In 1827, Jacobus, Gottlieb and Philipp Mumm established their Champagne house in Reims, France. In 1983, embracing the classic winemaking techniques of Champagne, Mumm Napa produced its first vintage sold under the name Domaine Mumm. In 2002, Champagne-born, Ludovic Dervin was named Mumm Napa's head winemaker. Following in the footsteps of Guy Devaux, Ludovic has previously worked at G.H. Mumm. Mumm Napa became the first California sparkling winery to receive 94 points from Wine Spectator, awarded for its 2004 DVX.

Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc (Fumé Blanc) dominate the white grape varieties that flourish in Napa and have gained international recognition over the past 30 years. In 1976 California, Chardonnay gained notoriety with top place in the famous Judgement of Paris Tasting, putting Napa on the wine map.

California Chardonnay has a wide variety of flavors from citrus to tropical fruit, peaches, herbs, honeysuckle, almond and fig. The style can be steely and austere or quite creamy and buttery depending on the fermentation style, and if the wine is aged in new oak, steel vats or egg shaped concrete tanks. Cabernet Sauvignon is most important of the red grape varieties, accounting for 55% of the total production value.

Terroir

Although Napa Valley is one of the world's smallest wine regions, it is also one of the most diverse.  Within the Napa Valley, 16 nested AVAs, including: Atlas Peak, Calistoga, Chiles Valley District, Somerville, Diamond Mountain District, Howell Mountain, Los Carneros, Mt. Veeder, Oak Knoll District, Oakville, and Rutherford.

A vast array of 100 soils of volcanic and marine origins coexist in Napa Valley, created by tectonic plate movement and volcanic activity that have occurred over 150-million years. Erosion and subsequent intermingling of this material has formed complex and highly varied soil compositions, which affects the character of the grapes and determines the best grape varieties to plant on the valley floor versus the hillside.

History

Joseph Osborne started planting vines on an 1,800 acre tract of land he named Oak Knoll in the 1850’s. However, much of the credit for planting the first vines in Napa goes to George Calvert Yount in 1836 when California was still part of Mexico. John Patchett established the Napa Valley's first commercial vineyard in 1858 and then Charles Krug a few years latter, followed by Schramsberg (1862), Beringer (1876) and Inglenook (1879). There are now over 500 vineyards.

Napa Valley Wine Adventures

Connect to Napa's European wine heritage on a multi region adventure. For example, a French heritage route might include overnight stays in a Bordeaux style B&Bs, or French Provencal style resort. On a longer tour you can spend 3 days in Napa and Sonoma before flying to Paris Charles de Gaulle where we will pick you up and take you on an amazing Champagne discovery tour for 3 days.

If you love Sparkling wines and white wines like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, then we'll visit the top Napa artisan producers. We can also include grapes, famous in Europe, like Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling, as well as local Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel.

Multi Region Journeys