Chardonnay Carneros 2021 Cuvaison

Cuvaison's Carneros Chardonnay comes from a 400-acre estate in the southern part of Napa Valley. This cool climate vineyard allows them nearly perfect conditions year after year to produce world class Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Merlot. Controlling all farming aspects within their own vineyard gives Cuvaison an advantage in producing the best quality fruit therefore minimizing over manipulation at the winery. Winemaker Steven Rogstad sums it up best, 'My style and philosophy are based on expressing the unique character of our estate grapes and doing as little as possible to them. When one has such wonderful fruit to work with, that should be one's emphasis.'

Bordered on the north by Sonoma and on the south by the San Pablo Bay lies the appellation of Carneros. Originally sheep pasture ("Carneros" means sheep in Spanish), the land was turned into vineyards in the late 1830s. Although it started early on, the development of this land into vineyards was slow. Cuvaison was one of the first to recognize this land for its stellar wine growing potential, with a climate that is characterized by fog and cool breezes from the San Pablo Bay, gently rolling hills and hard clay soils. The morning fog keeps the grapes from heating up too quickly, while the afternoon wind lowers leaf temperature and dries the dew left by the morning fog, preventing the harmful growth of mildew and mold. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Merlot thrive in this environment and are characterized as elegant, crisp wines with pronounced fruit nuances

Cuvaison Winery is situated on the historic Silverado Trail in northern Napa Valley. In 1969 Thomas Cotrell and Thomas Parkhill, both Silicon Valley engineers, founded Cuvaison with a 27-acre vineyard at the winery's present location. New York publisher Oakleigh Thorne purchased the winery in 1974 and then appointed the Swiss-born Philip Togni as Winemaker. In 1979, the Schmidheiny family of Switzerland purchased Cuvaison as well as 400 acres of prime vineyard land in the Carneros region in southern Napa Valley. The autumn of 1998 marked the purchase of the historic 170-acre Brandlin Ranch on Mt. Veeder.

John Thacher took over the winemaking in 1982. In 1988, he was selected as Winemaker of the Year by 'Wine & Spirits' magazine and then became President in 1998. With John's departure at the end of 2001, Jay Schuppert became President and Steven Rogstad took over as Head Winemaker. Steven oversees all vineyard operations at both the Carneros and Brandlin Ranch estates.

Steven uses the finest equipment and French oak barrels in the fermentation of Chardonnay and in the aging process of Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Estate Selection wines - all of which are planted at the winery's 400 acre estate in the Carneros region - as well as Cabernet Sauvignon, which comes from the St. Helena, Howell Mountain and Calistoga regions of the Napa Valley. All Cuvaison grapes are harvested by hand. The philosophy of Cuvaison wines echoes Steven Rogstad's winemaking in stating, "Our wines must be the unique expression of the singular sites from which they come, it's our wonderful vineyards that shape the style of each wine and that's as it should be."

Cuvaison Winery produces approximately 63,000 cases per year, 65% of which is Chardonnay. Today, Cuvaison wines are distributed in all 50 states and are presented in over 25 international markets, first class airlines services such as British Airways, and China Airlines and on cruise lines such as Holland America, Carnival, Seabourn and Crystal . Approximately 20% of Cuvaison's production is sold internationally each year.