Napa Valley’s most unusual offerings
By their nature, wine regions have specialties. It’s only logical: We know that climate, soil, elevation — variables collectively known as terroir — influence the outcome of a wine, so it follows that each slice of the Earth should be best suited to different sorts of wine grapes.
The steep, river-adjacent banks of Germany’s Mosel were destined for Riesling. The gray, chalky limestone soil in chilly Chablis, in northern France, is perfect for Chardonnay. The warm, arid hills of Montalcino, in Tuscany, reward Sangiovese.
So when we say that Napa Valley is great for Cabernet Sauvignon, we mean it. Napa’s sunshine, Mediterranean climate, volcanic soils, hillsides and flatlands give this grape a platform to realize its extraordinary potential. Although we’re not bound by laws that dictate which grapes we can grow in which places, as Europe is, we self-police. Our accepted standards of quality and (not unrelated) the laws of economics keep Cab in the ground here: Try to persuade a grower in Oakville to replace his Cab with Gewurztraminer or Pinot Meunier, and he’ll laugh.
But Napa isn’t entirely monocropped to Cabernet (yet). A handful of wineries, whether because of freak curiosity or historical accident, make wines not only from more familiar Cabernet alternatives like Syrah and Zinfandel, but also from grapes you’ve likely never heard of.
When was the last time you had a Grignolino? Or a Malvasia Bianca? One small, family-operated winery in Napa’s eastern mountains, Spiriterra, even grows Muscadine — a grape native to owner Paul Dean’s home state of Georgia.
Here’s our guide to some Napa tasting rooms that offer obscure wines — or at least, wines obscure for Napa.