The regions · United States
Napa Valley: the small valley that became a byword for Cabernet
Napa Valley is a narrow valley north of San Francisco Bay, in California, that in 1981 became the state's first official wine-growing area. It makes only 4% of California's wine grapes, but it's the name many people associate with American wine, especially Cabernet Sauvignon, which covers more than half of the vineyards.
Where it is and what the place is like
The valley floor is only about 48 kilometers long and, at its widest point, about 8. It runs between two mountain ranges: the Mayacamas to the west and the Vaca to the east. Under US law, the Napa Valley wine-growing area lies entirely within Napa County.
The climate is dry Mediterranean, something that, according to the producers' association, only 2% of the planet has. The difference between the daytime heat and the nighttime cold is large, and that lets the grapes ripen slowly without losing acidity. In the south, near San Pablo Bay, fog and sea breezes keep the Carneros area cool. Up at the top of the valley, Calistoga goes from hot to very hot in summer, relieved by the late-afternoon and evening breeze.
The ground is a patchwork quilt. The association says the valley holds half of the world's 12 major soil orders and 33 different soil types. That's why two vineyards a few kilometers apart can make very different wines.
The region's grapes
Here Cabernet Sauvignon rules: it's 54% of the vineyards, about 10,000 hectares. Next come Chardonnay (12%), Merlot (8%), Sauvignon Blanc (6%) and Pinot Noir (5%), the latter mostly in the cool southern part. Zinfandel and Cabernet Franc round out the list, with 3% each.
Many Napa reds are a blend, a mix of grapes: Cabernet with a bit of Merlot or Cabernet Franc, grapes that also show up in the valley's vineyards. But a grape's name only goes on the label if it's at least 75% of the wine, under the US federal rule.
What wine comes from there
Napa's signature is the full-bodied Cabernet red, with dark, ripe fruit, often with time in a barrel, the oak cask, and firm tannin. Tannin is that grip on your gums, like the one from strong black tea. Many are made to age for years.
There's also Chardonnay, with or without oak, fresh Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir from Carneros. Production is small for the size of the fame: Napa makes 0.4% of the world's wine. There are more than 500 wineries in the county, and 95% of them are family-owned, according to the producers' association.
What the label says
Napa Valley on the label is an AVA, an American Viticultural Area: a piece of land with boundaries drawn by the federal government and characteristics of its own. To use the name, at least 85% of the wine has to come from grapes grown inside it. It was California's first AVA, created on January 28, 1981.
Inside it there are subregions, each one an AVA too. The producers' association lists 17. Some with dates: Los Carneros (1983, shared with Sonoma), Howell Mountain (1983), Stags Leap District (1989), Mt. Veeder (1990), Oakville and Rutherford (1993), St. Helena (1995), Calistoga (2009), Coombsville (2011) and the youngest, Crystal Springs of Napa Valley, from 2024.
Reading the label works like this: Napa Valley tells you the valley; a name like Oakville or Rutherford tells you the exact patch of the valley. The AVA tells you where the grapes came from, not how long the wine spent in the barrel, nor its rating.
What it pairs with
Napa Cabernet, full-bodied, calls for meat with some fat: picanha, beef ribs, rib-eye, lamb. It also goes well with grilled burgers and aged cheese, like canastra. Oaked Chardonnay goes with roast chicken and fish in butter sauce; Sauvignon Blanc, with salad, ceviche and casquinha de siri (stuffed crab shells). Carneros Pinot Noir is great with salmon and mushrooms. All suggestions: liked another pairing? Go with that one.
Paris, May 24, 1976
That day, an English wine merchant and his American partner organized a blind tasting in Paris, with nine French judges: six California Chardonnays against four white Burgundies, and six California Cabernets against four Bordeaux reds. First place in both the white and the red went to Napa Valley wines. The episode became known as the Judgment of Paris.
The Smithsonian, through its National Museum of American History, kept bottles of both winning vintages in 1996, on the tasting's 20th anniversary. Eight years before that, in 1968, the valley itself had created the country's first agricultural preserve, designed to keep open space and keep the valley from being taken over by construction.
The grapes in the labels from here
Across the 695 Napa Valley labels in the search, the grapes that show up most. The number is how many labels use each one.
Top rated from Napa Valley
Average rating from the people who drank it (X-Wines), from 1 to 5. Tap to see the wine's page.
- Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Proprietor Grownrating ★ 4.8
- Schrader Cabernet Sauvignon RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyardrating ★ 4.8
- Promontoryrating ★ 4.8
- Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignonrating ★ 4.8
- Harlan Estate Redrating ★ 4.8
- Hundred Acre Ark Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignonrating ★ 4.8
- Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignonrating ★ 4.8
- Bond Melburyrating ★ 4.8
See the Napa Valley labels in the search →
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