Wine Maker Notes Flooding kicked off the New Year in Napa Valley, which made for great news headlines, but caused no damage to dormant vines. Cool, wet weather delayed bud break by a few weeks, but by early June, the sun came out and vines began to bloom and set fruit. In mid-July, a record-setting heat wave lasted about ten days, which helped the vines catch up to a ”normal” place in the typical growing season. Seasonal and somewhat cooler weather returned in August, with a mild weather pattern continuing throughout the fall that allowed for moderately paced, deliberate ripening and a long harvest period.

Technical Notes Located on a strand of gently rolling hills, ARCADIA VINEYARD is comprised of gravelly silt loam soils formed in part by an ancient inland lake. Cool to moderate temperatures prevail here in this vineyard just east of the town of Napa. The flinty, citrus-spiked fingerprint of this vineyard-designated Chardonnay originates from the vineyard’s climate and soil structure—which includes deposits from crushed shells. With such beautiful fruit coming from this vineyard, we show restraint in our winemaking practices—exercising minimal use of malolactic fermentation and aging the wine in older barrels that impart little to no oak character to the wine. In this way, we showcase the distinctiveness of this vineyard site.