Napa’s Nested AVAs : Wild Horse Valley
"What sets the Wild Horse Valley AVA apart are the cool temperatures and relatively mild growing conditions that we enjoy. This is perhaps the most important detail, as the cool temperatures are no doubt influenced by our proximity to the San Francisco Bay. Cool temperatures equal longer hang times for our grapes and we like hang time!"
- Marc Nanes, Kenzo Estate
Cayetano Juarez
The area now encompassed by the Wild Horse Valley AVA was once part of the Rancho Tulocay land grant given to Cayetano Juarez, a Californio ranchero, in 1841 by Mexican Governor Manuel Jimeno. Cayetano Juarez had been a soldier stationed at the San Francisco Presidio and was awarded two leagues of land for his decade of service in the Mexican army.
Wild Horse Valley doesn't have the long history of other Napa Valley AVAs. Nearly 60 years after Prohibition in 1978, the first new grape vines were planted on 1100 acres by John Newmeyer.
The lean mountain soils in Wild Horse Valley force vines to dig strong, deep, healthy root systems in search of water and nutrients. This vine stress helps reduce yields and increases the concentration of the harvested fruit. In fact, Wild Horse Valley's soils, while desirable to smaller producers, have effectively prohibited large-scale producers from developing the area. Today, there are only around 100 acres dedicated to vine, and just a handful of boutique producers using the terroir. Wild Horse Valley had its first vineyards planted in the late 19th Century, and it was one of the first AVAs to be established in Napa, after Howell Mountain and Napa Valley itself. The winegrowing zone straddles the county line between Napa and its eastern neighbor Solano County, meaning that only wines grown in the Napa portion of Wild Horse Valley can claim the better-known and more economically lucrative Napa Valley title. But some of my personal favorite and more affordable Pinot Noir’s lie to the East in The Suisun Valley AVA.
The Wild Horse Valley AVA is one of the smallest in the United States, covering just 3,300 acres of land on the hills above Coombsville. located in the Vaca Mountains above Napa town itself. It is one of the cooler AVAs in the area, and is planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Wild Horse Valley is elevated well above the Silverado Trail, with the valley floor rising roughly 1,400 feet above sea level. This altitude raises the vines above the fog level, but the valley's western slopes are open to breezes from the nearby San Pablo Bay. Intense sunshine, high diurnal temperature variation and these reliable breezes make for healthy vineyards capable of producing ripe, intensely colored wines balanced in both acidity and tannin.
Wild Horse Valley remains sparsely planted, devoted mostly to wilderness protection, watershed preservation and cattle grazing. According to Newmeyer, only about ten percent of the land is suit- able for wine grapes, and just a fraction of that is planted. That includes a portion of the gorgeous Kenzo Estate vineyard, located in the AVA’s northern reaches. The brainchild of Kenzo Tsujimoto, the vineyard boasts two superstars – viticulturist David Abreu and winemaker Heidi Barrett. Over the years, grapes grown in Wild Horse Valley have attracted attention from some of Napa Valley’s best wineries, such as Newton Vineyard, which made Heron Lake Vine- yard grapes a staple component of its splendid “unfiltered” Chardonnays. Mahaffey’s wines, first bottled under the Heron Lake label, and later under the Olivia Brion brand, have gained a devoted following and are featured in many of the area’s best restaurants.
A series of misfortunes befell the little valley– the economic depressions in 1893 and 1929, a phylloxera outbreak in the 1890s, and a devastating wildfire in 1913. Vineyards vanished during Prohibition. Then gasoline rationing during World War II made the area hard to reach. By 1945, there were almost no inhabitants. Over the next few decades, homesteaders gradually returned, despite two serious wildfires in 1953 and 1964. By the 1970s, vineyard farming had resumed. A few years later, recognizing the unique attributes of this growing region, Newmeyer and Mahaffey set about the painstaking task of applying for, and ultimately achieving, a separate AVA designation for Wild Horse Valley, which includes land in Napa and Solano counties. The Wild Horse Valley AVA was officially recognized as an American Viticultural Area in 1988.
Wild Horse Valley is the most under-appreciated of the Nested AVAs. It doesn’t have the same cache as some of it’s Napa Mountain AVA counterparts. However from personal experience I can say I prefer a Wildhorse Pinot over an Atlas Peak, but that is just personal opinion. Wildhorse Valley does offer one of the best Pinot Noirs I have ever had. Olivia Brion’s 2021 Pinot Noir was so unique and delicious. It was paired perfectly with Paella from Zuzu’s. I had seconds of both.
“I DIDN’T WANT TO START A CLUB UNTIL I COULD MAKE ONE THAT I WOULD WANT TO JOIN. AFTER YEARS OF PREPARATION, I HAVE THE WINES, THE COMMUNITY-BASED EVENTS, AND THE TASTING SPACE I’M EXCITED TO EXPERIENCE EACH YEAR. I CAN’T WAIT TO SHARE IT WITH OTHER WINE LOVERS.”
— Kira Ballotta, Winemaker/Proprietor Olivia Brion Wines