Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/518118
june 2015 / the tasting panel / 75 During the Gold Rush of the 1850s, Coombsville's Mount George was prospected for silver and, although none was found, Silverado Vineyards has struck gold there in the form of a single- vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon aptly dubbed GEO. Silverado's Mount George Vineyard is home to one of the oldest vineyard sites in Napa Valley, originally planted to vinifera in 1868 by one William Woodward. An industrious soul, Woodward made still wines and employed ovens to maderize them to produce a popular Sherry-style fortified wine. The distillation required for that endeavor earned the estate its whimsical name— Woodward's Whiskey Ranch, a name that has now been lost to history. By 1881, pioneering vintner Henry Hagen planted the first Cabernet Sauvignon on the site—which he called Cedar Knolls—the wines from which soon became the toast of Napa Valley. Today, a portion of the historic Cedar Knolls lives on as Silverado's Mount George Vineyard, named for the promi- nent 1,877-foot peak that looms above it and is now protected by the Foote Botanical Preserve under the care of the Land Trust of Napa County. In 1988, Silverado founders Ron and Diane Disney Miller purchased the vineyard as part of the winery's journey toward its now exclusively estate- grown model. Two years later, Jon Emmerich joined the winery as an enologist and was soon promoted to Assistant Winemaker. When the winery was in its tenth year, the Millers promoted Jon to Winemaker working with Founding Winemaker and General Manager Jack Stuart. When Stuart retired in 2004, Russ Weis was appointed General Manager, the position he holds today. Silverado Vineyards' first vintage for GEO was 2012, which is scheduled for release in June. Silverado Vineyards' new single-vineyard Cabernet, GEO, grows in Napa Valley's 16th appellation, the Coombsville AVA. PHOTO COURTESY OF SILVERADO VINEYARDS