If you ask a sommelier where the most exciting Cabernet in Napa Valley is coming from right now, they won’t point to the famous, warm valley floor of Oakville or Rutherford. They will point south,... Read More

If you ask a sommelier where the most exciting Cabernet in Napa Valley is coming from right now, they won’t point to the famous, warm valley floor of Oakville or Rutherford. They will point south, to the cool, fog-shrouded bowl of Coombsville.

Coombsville is probably not what you think of when Napa pops into your head.  It is defined by ancient volcanic soils and its proximity to the San Pablo Bay. The cool breezes here act as a natural air conditioner, allowing the grapes to hang on the vine for weeks longer than their neighbors up north, developing profound complexity without turning into jam. It is the home of "savory" Napa Cabernet—wines that smell like graphite, tobacco, and fresh herbs rather than just vanilla and fruit.

It’s not just the somms who have figured this out. Coombsville was designated an AVA back in 2011. And long before that, there was Frank Farella (not to mention his son, Tom, who lobbied for the AVA designation).

Frank planted his vineyard in the late 1970s, when everyone else said it was too cold to ripen Cabernet. History has proven him right. Today, the Farella vineyard would be considered Grand Cru if such a legal designation existed. It is so highly regarded that many of the valley's most expensive cult wines (including $300+ bottlings from producers like Realm) are built on the back of fruit purchased from Farella.