The SOMM Journal

October / November 2015

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84 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 { what's new } with Kim Beto W hen I arrived at the winery, I realized how long it had been since I had visited Silverado Vineyards, beautifully situated along the Silverado Trail, perched on a hilltop with awe-inspiring views of Napa Valley. Fred Dame, MS, and I—along with our SOMM Journal group of a dozen sommeliers and wine buyers— taste the Silverado Miller Ranch Sauvignon Blanc on the terrace; it's a very refreshing, crisp and beautiful single-vineyard white. Silverado Vineyards has been family-owned since 1981, and things are very different now compared to back then. Single-vineyard focus, estate fruit and sustainability are foremost— and the word quality is something you hear a lot. The Miller family purchased their original Stags Leap District property in 1976 and founded Silverado Vineyards there in 1981. Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc were released a few years later and the first of their Cabernet Sauvignons were released in 1984. In 1987, all four of Silverado's entries take Gold at the prestigious London Wine Fair. Founding Winemaker Jack Stuart is celebrated for making great wines and garnering some serious press. Jon Emmerich, the current and long-time winemaker, came on board in 1990 and soon after, in 1993, the Silverado Vineyards 1990 Cabernet Sauvignon Limited Reserve was named the number three wine on Wine Spectator's top 100. b y K i m Be t o / p ho t o s b y J e rem y B a ll S I L V E R A D O V I N E Y A R D S S H O W CA S ES I T S 2 0 1 2 S T U N N E R S In 1968, Silverado's Stags Leap Vineyard became the third planted to Cabernet Sauvignon in the Stags Leap District. Now in its 11th vintage, SOLO, the winery's single-vineyard, single-varietal wine has a sibling aptly named GEO. Comprised of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cab Franc, GEO is introduced in its inaugural 2012 vintage, claiming the burgeoning Coombsville appellation as its home, grown on Silverado's own Mt. George Vineyard. Silverado Vineyards: Practitioners of Bordeaux Varietals

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