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The Wine Road, which is Highway 29, runs parallel to the Napa River. It follows a mix of Vineland, and cellars/ tasting rooms that are strung along almost continuously from Trefethen’s winery at Oak Knoll Avenue, up through Napa. Napa has proven to be well-suited for growing grapes, mainly because of its superb climatic zones; and the stone cellars along the highway remain as gracefully aging monuments, and add to the already beautiful scenery.
Napa valleys first wine was made around 1840, by a Missouri Indian fighter (George Youngt), who settled at what is now Yountville in 1836; planting vines and orchards in 1838. By the 1860’s he was making 5,000 gallons of wine each harvest.
Winemaking in Napa Valley before the Civil War (1861-1965), usually went along with farming. While growing there vegetable garden, it was not unusual for farmers to put a few rows of grapes, where the sun would shine best. The true farming pioneer of Napa was Prussian Charles Krug, who began making wine in the early 1860s. He used the first mechanical winepress and built the first commercial winery at St Helena; training many of California’s great early winemakers- Clarence Wetmore (who founded Cresta Blanca), Jacob Beringer, and Carl Wente. More than 95% of the wineries in Napa Valley today were built after Mondavi's Spanish mission-style cellars, giving Napa character and style. Some say that the beauty of the scenery reflects the most delicious taste of the wine, or as Robert Louis Stevenson described wine, it is “bottled poetry”. We at Valerie Fitzgerald and Associates realize that you are in the information gathering stage of your purchase and we respect your privacy. Should you have any questions, please feel free to email us at info@valeriefitzgerald.com or call us directly at 310-285-7515. If you or anyone you know is looking to buy or sell a home, please note that we can provide detailed information and access to:
You can count on the services of Valerie Fitzgerald and Associates to provide you with information you can trust. |
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Napa
Valley is, by far, the best-know wine region in America, devoting
74,000 acres to vine growing. Although Napa's grape acreage represents
just one-tenth of California's wine-grape total, it accounts for
almost a third of the state's total, with about 250 wineries.
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