Destination California: Antica (part I)

Guest blogger Stephen Simms traveled to California this summer with other wine consultants. Here are some of his notes on his experience at Antica.



Antica1On the last day of our three-day trip to Napa Valley, our ABC Fine Wine & Spirits wine consultant group arrived at the Antica Napa Valley property, which is a mile away from the famous Stagecoach winery. We were warmly welcomed by the estate manager, Ms. Kim Peters, and were treated to a breathtaking panoramic view of the Antica Estate. 


Antica Napa Valley is a 1,200 acre stunning wine estate located in Foss Valley at the base of Atlas Peak (or "blue mountain," as the locals call it) in the Atlas Peak sub-appellation. While this is Napa, it certainly does not resemble the main valley floor.


 


This property is owned by the Antinori family. This family has an amazing history. They own one of the world's five oldest family businesses and trace their wine business back to the year 1385 (they
have another 200 years before that in finance). That's more than six centuries, or, in their case, 26 generations of involvement in the wine industry. Their business was founded before Columbus set sail and about 450 years before wine grapes were even planted in the Napa Valley.


 


These are all hillside vineyards; the property ranges in elevation from 1,200 to 1,800 feet. Because of the elevation and relative close proximity to the San Pablo Bay to the south, the site has moderate weather year round.


 


Unlike the northern part of Mt. Veeder and the Spring Mountain appellations (on the other side of the valley) this part of Atlas Peak doesn't really see an inversion layer so the nights are also fairly cool even during the summer. This all contributes to a long growing season and hang time. Sugars can get high, but they have the hang time to ensure that the other phenolics develop and "balance" out the ripe fruit before the actual harvest.


 



Antica2After taking pictures of the lovely landscape we headed to the wine caves built under the small mountain.


The walls of the cave were filled with thousands of oak barrels and the cave walls were covered with moss.
We were informed by our tour guide that the 35,000 square foot cave was built in 1985 and was drilled by their employees using equipment from a mine that had
recently shut down in the southeastern USA. No gunite was used and after only 25 years the inside walls already look like a much older cave. The inside of the cave looks decidedly European—it has the "character" you often associate with a wine cave.


More to follow...



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