Angel's share

Organic Winery Tour

Frog’s Leap Winery, Rutherford

Long Meadow Ranch Winery and Farm, Mayacamas Mountain Range

We begin by visiting one of the Napa Valley’s most-beloved wineries, Frog’s Leap in Rutherford. Frog’s Leap is home amongst 130 acres of vineyards in Rutherford at the historic Red Barn. This grand and welcoming building was built in 1884 as the Adamson Winery and renovated in 1994 as Frog’s Leap’s permanent home. Using the best of Napa Valley’s organically grown grapes and the most traditional winemaking techniques, Frog's Leap strives to produce wines that deeply reflect the soils and climate from which they emanate. The historic Red Barn, originally built as a winery in 1884, is the heart & soul of Frog's Leap. Today, as 100 years ago, this "ghost winery" inspires winemakers, John Williams and Paula Siroky, to continue a tradition of hand-crafting wines using only Napa Valley's best organically grown grapes.

Next we visit an incredible facility, a 650-acre historic ranch nestled high atop the Mayacamas Mountains above the Napa Valley. Here you’ll taste world class red wine and olive oil using simple sustainable farming methods. The Hall family has re-established vineyards first planted on the ranch in the 1870s and have resumed producing estate-bottled wine from the ranch's distinctive mountain "terrior." The wine is outstanding, rich, supple, and food-friendly.

The ranch, winery and vineyards are all run on 100% solar power—talk about sustainable farming, this is the real thing in a family farm operation! Owner Ted Hall is the former non-executive Chairman of the Robert Mondavi Corporation, (which was acquired by Constellation Brands in late December 2004).

The totally integrated organic farming system goes beyond jsut the winery and vineyards, it includes world class estate-produced olive oils, a herd of grass-fed Highland cattle, an organic vegetable garden, and an egg-producing poultry flock. They even breed their own Appaloosa and POA horses. Taken together, the Halls are creating a modern, commercially successful, version of the family farm. All of their crops are organically produced and are certified by California Certified Organic Farmers.

Long Meadow’s award-winning rammed earth wine and olive oil building and the adjacent moist, cool caves allows the production of handcrafted red wines and olive oils entirely on the estate under carefully controlled conditions. Led by winemaker, Ashley Heisey, and by olive oil maker, Mike McDaniel, the staff is committed to pioneering modern approaches to their centuries-old crafts. Protected by easements granted to the Napa Valley Land Trust, their land will continue to provide a unique rural environment rich for wildlife for future generations.

This is a great opportunity to discover how Appaloosa horse breeding, organic vegetable gardening, and waste composting is setting new standards for environmental stewardship while producing world class red wines and olive oils.

Long Meadow Ranch Winery and Organic Farm

Long Meadow Ranch is an innovative organic farming operation - and purveyor of fine food - located high above the Napa Valley on the picturesque slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains where it produces extraordinary red wine, extra virgin olive oil, grass-fed beef, eggs, and heirloom fruits and vegetables for Napa Valley's finest restaurants. Long Meadow Ranch produces ultra premium wines and extra virgin olive oils, under the Long Meadow Ranch Winery, Ranch House Red, Prato Lungo, and Napa Valley Select labels. Beyond the Napa Valley, Long Meadow Ranch wines and olive oil have been regularly featured by the America's top chefs.

Long Meadow Ranch has been known as such since 1872 when it was established as an original "patent grant" ranch signed over by President Ulysses S. Grant. Having been home to a variety of uses during its long history, Long Meadow Ranch continues to grow and prosper through Ted, Laddie and Christopher Hall's stewardship.

The Halls continue to restore and preserve Napa Valley's oldest olive groves, as well as add new plantings of olive trees and vineyards. They have also brought cattle, poultry and vegetables back into commercial production. Appaloosa horse breeding, along with an extensive composting operation, round out the integrated farming activities at the Ranch.

"Excellence through Responsible Farming" is the motto of Long Meadow Ranch, bolstered by the belief that world-class products can be produced using sustainable, organic farming methods. Long Meadow Ranch does not use herbicides or pesticides and its products are organically grown and certified by the California Certified Organic Farmers.

The Winery at Long Meadow Ranch

Designed by award-winning architect, William Turnbull, the winery building is consistent with the Hall’s philosophy and aspirations. Using the diggings from the cave, they have constructed one of the largest rammed earth structures in North America.

By using materials indigenous to the site this winery demonstrates that elegant, functional neednot rely on manufactured materials from distant locations.

The Vineyards

Carved from a second growth forest at about 1100 feet elevation, the southwest facing vineyards in the Mayacamas mountains provide a distinctive "terrior" for LMR wines.

Vineyard development began in 1990 under the guiding hand of Napa Valley vineyard management legend, Laurie Wood. The vineyards have been managed by Frank Leeds, a true pioneer in organic farming in the Napa Valley, since 1998.

Planted on 110R rootstock, budwood is selected from the Bella Oaks Vineyard in Rutherford and the Jordan Vineyard in Alexander Valley. Planted at 9 by 5 spacing and using contoured terraces the Halls established the first vineyard on Long Meadow Ranch since before Prohibition. This Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard produced its first wines in 1994.

The yields are tiny (less than three tons to the acre), but the clusters of small berries produce beautifully concentrated wine. From the very beginning, the wine has expressed a distinctive character with concentrated deep black cherry and blackberry flavors.

Adjacent to the Cabernet Sauvignon, we have planted a tiny (.4 acre) Cabernet Franc vineyard. This small vineyard faces due south on a very steep terraces. Planted in European style, the vine rows are on both sides of each terraced bench. Highly stressful with rocky soil, this magnificent site provides richly flavorful grapes. The minute quantities of Cabernet Franc wine from this site have been blended by winemaker, Cathy Corison, with our Cabernet Sauvignon beginning with our 1997 vintage.

In 1994 the winery began developing a new Sangiovese vineyard. Inspired by family friend, Peter Kraljic, who spent many seasons in the hills of Tuscany, "Peter's Vineyard" is located at a 1000 elevation on a southwest-facing slope. Aspiring to make a truly great Sangiovese in the tradition of Brunello, LMR is the first to plant this varietal on a site in the Mayacamas Mountains. Employing 3309 rootstock to reduce vigor and using the small-cluster, small-berry clone known as "Rodeno," they are looking to produce a rich, full-bodied wine.