Stags Leap District

According to legend, a huge stag, evading a hunting party, leaped from peak to peak on palisades towering over the Napa Valley below. Thus the name: Stags Leap, which was the first viticultural area in the United States to be approved based on the distinctiveness of its soils.

This district is located along the famed Silverado Trail (so named for a brief silver boom that erupted in the early 1870s), six miles north of the city of Napa and east of the Napa River. Barely a mile wide and two miles long, the district comprises roughly 2,700 acres, of which half are planted to vineyards.

The soils vary from river sediments of loam with a clay substructure, to volcanic mountain erosions. The rock faces of the palisades reflect the heat of the sun onto the vineyards below, causing temperatures to rise more quickly than in neighboring vineyards. In late afternoon the hills funnel the cool, marine air flowing north from the San Pablo Bay through the Stags Leap District corridor.

The cooling effect of this breeze allows the grapes to achieve an excellent balance of acid and sugar and also minimizes the threat of frost. The result is a longer growing season of warm days and cool nights—perfect for late-maturing varietals such as Cabernet. Just two square miles -- over half of which is vineyard -- the district produces wines (especially Cabernet Sauvignons) that walk softly but carry a big stick. These are powerful wines with firm tannins. Yet, they have a sense of elegance and grace that sets them apart from other Cabernets.

The district is planted 90% in Bordeaux varietals, with 80% in Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. There are also small amounts of Petite Syrah, Sangiovese and Sauvignon Blanc.

In 1976, at a blind tasting in Paris, nine judges awarded first place to a 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet, besting the great growths of Bordeaux. That historic event put this small appellation on the map, solidifying California's claim as one of the world's gr