Napa is sixteen places, not one
The Napa Valley AVA was established in 1981 — California’s first — and it now contains sixteen nested sub-appellations. Learning four or five of them will do so much for your enjoyment!
- Oakville and Rutherford — the classic valley-floor benchlands. Rich, structured Cabernet with the dusty tannin people call “Rutherford dust.”
- St. Helena — warmer, narrower valley, generous fruit and softer edges. Often the friendliest Napa Cabernet to drink young.
- Stags Leap District — the velvet reputation. Cabernet with more perfume and finer tannin than its neighbours.
- Howell Mountain, Mount Veeder, Spring Mountain — above the fog line, thin soils, small berries. Firmer, more savory, built to age.
- Coombsville and Los Carneros — the cool southern end, pulled by San Pablo Bay. Lower alcohol, higher acid, and where Napa Chardonnay and Pinot Noir actually work.
Why Napa costs what it costs
Napa vineyard land is among the most expensive agricultural land in the United States, and the Agricultural Preserve — passed in 1968, the first of its kind in the country — permanently restricts what else can be done with it. Add low mountain yields, hand farming on steep ground, and new French oak, and we quickly get to $80 bottles being the price of entry. BUT there are outliers!
A well-made Cabernet from a good AVA at $50–$70 will out-drink a famous one at $150 more often than the market wants to admit. That’s the gap we shop in.
The Napa that pushes back on Napa
For two decades the valley’s reputation was built on ripeness — picked late, high alcohol, heavy new oak, scored accordingly. A quieter group has spent the last several years going the other way: picking earlier, fermenting with native yeast, using older barrels, and making wines that finish nearer 13% than 15.
Matthisson is the clearest example, deliberately building leaner, mid-century-inspired Napa reds — including Cabernet Sauvignon, Vermentino, Chardonnay, and even Ribolla Gialla! Check out an NDA Label, M1 Babbitt. It works St. Helena fruit with Howell Mountain fruit to create an impecable representation of Napa at a price that can't be beat. This is the Napa we’re most interested in, and the one that ages best.
Beyond Cabernet
Cabernet Sauvignon is most of what Napa plants, and for good reason. But the valley also makes serious Cabernet Franc, Merlot that deserves better than its reputation, mountain Sauvignon Blanc with real cut, and cool-end Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Carneros and Coombsville. If you’ve written off Napa whites, it’s worth one more try.
Don't sleep on the Riesling, Vermentino, Chenin Blanc, and mountain grown Nebbiolo either! Napa is really more versatile than you'd think.
For the wider state — old-vine Zinfandel, Central Coast Pinot, Sonoma heritage blends — see our California collection. For everything from small, cleanly farmed estates, our organic and natural wine collections overlap more with Napa than you’d expect.
How to buy it
Decide what the bottle is for. A Tuesday steak doesn’t need a mountain Cabernet that won’t open for six years; a fifteenth anniversary probably does. If you’re buying to lay down, go up the hill — Howell Mountain, Mount Veeder, Spring Mountain. If you’re opening it this month, stay on the valley floor.
Stuck between two? Ask us. And if a bottle isn’t right when it arrives, we replace it or refund it — no return shipping, no explanation required. That matters more at this price than at any other.
Common questions
What makes Napa Valley Cabernet different?
A long, dry growing season with cool nights and morning fog off San Pablo Bay, plus gravelly, well-drained soils on the valley floor and thin volcanic soils on the slopes. Grapes ripen fully while holding acidity, which gives Napa Cabernet its combination of ripe fruit and firm structure.
How many AVAs are in Napa Valley?
Sixteen nested sub-appellations sit inside the Napa Valley AVA, which was itself established in 1981 as California’s first American Viticultural Area. More on how AVAs work here.
Why is Napa wine so expensive?
Vineyard land is among the costliest farmland in the country, the 1968 Agricultural Preserve limits what else it can be used for, mountain sites yield very little, and much of the farming is done by hand. Barrels and long aging add the rest.
What’s a good price for Napa Cabernet?
Genuinely good Napa Cabernet starts around $50. Between $50 and $80 you’re buying real fruit from a real AVA without paying for marketing and a brand. The sky is really the limit on what a Napa wine can cost. Screaming Eagle or Ghost Horse anyone? (AKA regularly the two most expensive bottles in Napa...and the world...at $5,000+ per bottle). One day...One day...probably isn't that life changing. Who want's to change our mind?
Should I age it or open it?
Valley-floor Cabernet from St. Helena or Oakville drinks well within three to five years. Mountain fruit from Howell Mountain, Mount Veeder or Spring Mountain wants eight or more. Decant anything young for an hour.
Do you ship Napa wine to my state?
We ship to California, Oregon, New Mexico, Wyoming, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Nebraska, Florida and Washington D.C., in temperature-controlled packaging with an adult 21+ signature. Check your state, or choose local pickup if you’re in San Diego.
