Wines & Vines

wi n ema k i n g increasing acceptance, Davies and Thompson felt the need to build their own red wine production facility. Building a winery for red wines It's very difficult to get permission to build wineries in hillside areas of Napa County, and it's not clear that there would have been an appropriate site at the Schramsberg property anyway. However, a local car dealership in St. Helena went bankrupt, and the family bought the building to construct a winery in mid-2012, rushing to ready it for harvest last year. Being in the limits of St. Helena reduced legal issues, for the small city welcomed a working winery—and the taxes it would contribute—even though no visitor center is currently included. Converting a car dealership into a winery has a different set of challenges than the usual project for building a showcase matthew levy in Epernay, France, Petaluma Winery in South Australia and Mumm Napa Valley. Davies previously served as Schramsberg winemaker and general manager, and he is still very involved in the winemaking process. Sean Thompson joined Davies as the red wine winemaker in 2006, though he also assists with sparkling wine. Thompson formerly worked at Staglin, Rutherford Hill and Beringer. In 1996 the Davies family made a little red wine, and they continued to do so until 2000. But they didn't release the wine commercially and sold most of the grapes. By vintage 2001 they felt retail ready, and in 2005 they released 500 cases of the 2001 J. Davies Cabernet Sauvignon, named in honor of Jack Davies, who died in 1998. An elegant, restrained wine of moderate alcohol (by Napa standards), the wine was initially considered out of the mainstream among Napa Valley red wines. Over time, critics' and consumers' tastes have caught up, and now the J. Davies wines are considered among Napa's upper tier. Unfortunately, Thompson had no room in the historic winery to produce red wine, so he made it at the nearby Frank Family Vineyards. As the wine gained Though hardly recognizable as a former car dealership (bottom), the Davies red wine facility (top) is utilitarian, not a showplace. winery. The company also had to be prudent in spending. The bonus is that the building was there, and it was on a large lot allowing plenty of room for expansion. It also was metal construction and never used to make wine, so there was no worry about TCA cellar taint. They quickly divided the large space in two, turning the front half into the barrel Win es & Vin es AU GU ST 20 13 63

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