Chardonnay represents almost 65 percent of Cuvaison’s production. Merlot and Pinot Noir are also produced, and come from the winery’s same 400-acre estate vineyard in the cool Carneros region. Over the past 20 years, the estate has been developed by matching an array of clones and rootstocks to the special characteristics of each specific vineyard block. The wines produced from these individual blocks are blended to create balanced, elegant, well-structured wines.
Cuvaison purchased the historic 170-acre Brandlin Vineyard in the Mount Veeder Range on the southwest side of the Napa Valley. They planted 32 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and small amounts of Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc.
Winemaker Steven Rogstad sums up his winemakeing style 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.”
| Cu∙vai∙son [koo∙veh∙ZOHN] “The French term for the period when grape juice is kept in contact with the skins and seeds during both fermentation and maceration. Critical in the making of red wines, cuvaison allows color, tannins, and aroma to be transferred from the skins and seeds to the juice.” |
