Smith-Madrone Vineyards and Winery

Smith-Madrone Vineyards and Winery is a winery in Napa Valley in the Spring Mountain District AVA. It was founded in 1971 by Stuart Smith. The name Smith-Madrone comes from the madrone trees among the estate.

Charles Smith, Stuart Smith's brother, is the winemaker at Smith-Madrone. Charles joined the winery in 1973.[1] Sam Smith, Stuart Smith's son, is the assistant winemaker.[2]

Vineyards

Smith-Madrone is located in the Spring Mountain District in the Napa Valley AVA. The estate is a 200-acre (81 ha) ranch, planted partly as vineyards over a century ago. It sits at 1,600 to 1,800 ft (550 m) elevation at the top of Spring Mountain amid fir and madrona. Some of the vines are planted on slopes angling over 30 degrees. There are 6.25 acres (2.53 ha) of Riesling, 10.25 acres (4.15 ha) of Chardonnay, 13 acres (5.3 ha) of Cabernet Sauvignon, 1-acre (0.40 ha) of Cabernet Franc and 3.75 acres (1.52 ha) of Merlot.

Wines

Smith-Madrone's current varietals are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Riesling and Cook's Flat Reserve. Production of the first vintage was in 1977. There are less than 5,000 cases released each year.

Smith-Madrone is most known for its benchmark Riesling, "one of the most coveted California Rieslings",[3] and was voted "The Best Riesling in the World" by the Gault-Millau International Wine Championships in Europe in 1979. The Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay have also won several gold medals at various wine fairs across California such as the San Francisco International Wine Fair and Critic’s Challenge.

References

  1. ↑ http://napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/wine/two-brothers-discovered-wine-and-never-looked-back/article_dbf2be42-1699-11e3-b18c-0019bb2963f4.html
  2. ↑ http://www.sacbee.com/food-drink/wine/dunne-on-wine/article5498430.html
  3. ↑ Bonne', Jon. "Napa Off the Map", Napa Valley Register, 7 September 2007

External links