This narrow valley stretching from the San Francisco Bay north to Calistoga is today dotted with vineyards and wineries. Some are on the valley floor, but most are on the west and east slopes. The north of the valley is hotter than the south due to the climatic influence of the bay. Here (Carneros) pinot noir, and chardonnay grow better and yield finer wines than cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and zinfandel. Cabernet sauvignon, merlot and zinfandel grow much better around Oakville and Calistoga.

Napa Valley’s worldwide fame came when Stephen Spurrier, and Englishman, who at the time had a wine school and shop in Paris, decided to stage a blind tasting of French, (mainly Bordeaux and Burgundy) and Napa Valley wines to be judged by French experts. He travelled to Napa valley and visited many wineries tasting their best products. After selecting the best, he retunes to Paris and orchestrated the tasting.

Blind tastings are always tricky affairs. Experts, or those who claim to be experts, can be fooled relatively easily when the source and names of the wines are unknown. At the end of the well-publicized tasting, a few Napa Valley wines edged world famous Bordeaux and Burgundy products by a slim margin, which was enough for the Time magazine to report the success at length. Needless to say major national American TV networks reported the results as well and Napa Valley wines gained unprecedented prominence in the minds of consumers.

Since then, hundreds of new wineries opened in the Napa Valley, and today tourist traffic exceeds 500 000 annually. Many come from San Francisco in limousines and stop at Robert Mondavi’s Oakville Winery, Niebaum-Coppola, Chandon Napa, Grgich Hills, Beringer, and Beaulieu to name just a few, for tastings. Robert Mondavi’s Winery in Oakville attracts 300 000 paying visitors, who are expertly guided through the impeccably maintained winery. The visit finishes with a formal tasting of six wines. Visitors can buy special releases in the boutique. But beyond famous wineries along the Highway 29 that runs through the region there are a few that produce only a few thousand cases of super premium wines dubbed cult wines. These wineries are closed to the public. They are located high in the mountains, small and sell only to their clients on their mailing lists. They don’t have to go through wholesalers and retailers and enjoy an excellent reputation due to their famous and consistent quality wines. In poor vintages they do not release any wine, but sell the production in bulk to other wineries.

Most produce one wine they are focused and strive for the best possible wines. Needless to say, they are expensive. Some at release cost $ 200.00 and more. But then, in auctions, well-heeled consumers pay much more for older vintages.
These wines are brilliant, dark red in colour, exude ripe fruit aromas, show an excellent balance, depth, and have superbly long aftertastes. They are cellar worthy. In fact they should be aged pending on vintage for at least four to ten years, but can be enjoyed after purchase with rich food.

Generally, the North American public wants enjoy wine rather young. There are caveats in drinking such wines before they reach their peak. These wines hide their intrinsic qualities and the consumer is short-changed.
The following cult wineries are famous for their cult wines:

Cabernet Sauvignon, Silver Oak
Cabernet Sauvignon, Dominus Estate
Opus One
Cabernet Sauvignon, Eisele Vineyard, Araujo
Cabernet Sauvignon, Bryant Family
Cabernet Sauvignon Madrona Ranch, Aberau
Merlot, Pahlmayer
Old Vines Zinfandel, Turley
Artesa Reserve, Harlan Estates
Cabernet Sauvignon Screaming Eagle
Insignia, J. Phelps

Vintages are not listed for reasons stated above.

If you want to experience the very best Napa Valley red wines, try to get on the mailing list of one of these wineries or attend auctions such the annual auctions of the L C B O arranged each November in Toronto.

Guest Writer – Hrayr Berberoglu E-mail or interested in his books?.