Trinchero Napa Valley

Every Trinchero Napa Valley bottling, with the exception of our Meritage, is a varietal designate from a single site. The foundation for these wines comes from our four estate vineyards in the Napa Valley totaling 200 acres. In addition to our own properties – Main Street, Chicken Ranch, Mary’s and Vista Montone – we work with a few highly regarded growers such as Lewelling in St. Helena. Of course, having access to great sites is only the first step in making great wine. Implementing hands-on farming and winemaking techniques is the key to unlocking the greatness of the land.

Prior to planting a site, the climate and soils are carefully analyzed to better understand the terroir. Weather stations and multiple soil pits are essential tools in helping us determine block design, rootstocks, spacing, trellising, varieties, clones and farming procedures. Sites with richer soils, for example, will receive rootstocks that inhibit yields. Sites with poorer soils might be planted to closer spacing to encourage competition. Cooler vineyards, like Vista Montone in southern Napa are perfect for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir while mid-valley, warmer spots like Chicken Ranch and Main Street are ideal for red Bordeaux varieties.

Once a vineyard is planted and bearing, our viticulture team is able to influence wine quality and character through various techniques. Sustainable and, in some cases, Biodynamic farming methods are employed in all of our Napa vineyards. Crop levels are kept very low (average three tons per acre) to guarantee concentration and depth. Cover crops are planted to soak up water and increase intensity. Fruit is dropped during the growing season to encourage even ripening patterns. Strategic leaf removal ensures better sun exposure and air circulation. Our goal is to grow ripe, flavorful fruit that shows the character of the site (terroir) and personality of the variety.

In the winery, we tailor our winemaking techniques to each individual lot of wine based upon vineyard blocks. Pre-soaks, length of maceration, temperatures, time in oak are all determined based upon the nature of the grapes. For reds we have developed a special seed removal regime allowing us to work the skins more aggressively without fear of excessive seed extraction. We also utilize delestage or pumping from tank to tank to increase extraction. This technique has proven especially valuable with thick skinned varieties such as Cabernet and Merlot, which are often unable to realize their full potential of extraction with the gentler techniques such as punch downs or pumpovers. For white wines we look for ripe fruit, varietal accuracy and underlying rather than overt power. Any lots that for one reason or another don’t fit stylistically with the Trinchero Napa Valley program are declassified into our Trinchero Family Selection tier. This process raises the quality of both tiers of wine.

At its essence, our Trinchero Napa Valley wines use the variety to interpret the site and the site to interpret the variety.