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{ SOMMjournal.com } 87 and ages much more gracefully. There is depth and structure to the wines that you actually taste in these mountain grapes. Health Benefits As if ripe berry flavors along with perfect structure weren't reasons enough to seek out mountain wines, every year there seems to be a flurry of headlines about the health benefits of high-elevation red wine. There is growing evidence that red wines grown at higher elevations possess greater levels of healthy antioxidant properties. Basically, plants synthesize the antioxidant resveratrol as a response to natural UV sunlight. Resveratrol is a naturally-occurring polyphenol antioxidant that is found in some plants, including grapes. The pheno - lic content in wine can be separated into two groups, flavonoids and non-flavonoids. Flavonoids contain anthocyanins and tannins which give the color and mouthfeel of the wine. The non-flavonoids include the res - veratrol and phenolic acids. These phenolic acids provide some of the most important elements in assessing a wine's quality and are very possibly responsible for the benefi - cial health properties of red wines. "Red wine has been demonstrated to have a beneficial effect on preventing heart disease. The mechanism of this benefit isn't known yet, but we have been drinking wine for many centuries and, in addition to the joy it provides, scientists are working with vintners to better understand its health effects," says Dr. David Agus, Professor of Medicine and Engineering at the University of Southern California and author of The End of Illness. Napa's Mountain AVAs There are five American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in Napa that can be described as mountains. On the western side of the val- ley are Diamond Mountain, Mount Veeder and Spring Mountain; on the eastern side stands Atlas Peak and, to its north, Howell Mountain. Adjacent to Atlas Peak is Pritchard Hill, home to some of Napa's great award- winning mountain wines, including Dalla Valle, while further north is Mount St. Helena, home to Jericho Canyon with its spectacular, steeply terraced mountain vineyards. Renowned and highly influential Bordeaux-based enologist Michel Rolland (see page 84 —Ed.) says, "These mountain grapes are far more difficult to farm, and the growing season tends to be consider - ably longer. It's much more difficult to plant, more difficult to establish the vines, and they produce far lower yields; however, the end result is a grape expressing intensity of stellar quality, as difficult growing condi - tions often lead to extraordinary wines." Rolland maintains hundreds of vineyard clients across 13 countries around the globe. Home to Napa Valley's most highly elevated and rockiest volcanic mountain landscape, Atlas Peak has been producing wines of renowned quality since 1870. The 11,400 acres of land that comprise the AVA include Sangiovese and premium varieties used to create Bordeaux-style wines— Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Over the years, despite its rugged remoteness, the appellation has produced an abundance of wines acclaimed world - wide for the intense flavors and delicate, balanced tannins that have become the signature of Atlas Peak Mountain wines. It's worth mentioning that mountain viticulture is a very expensive business when you have to remove tons of huge rocks to plant vines with different ripening times in rows that require many passes during harvest. Mountain wines tend to be produced in small quantities from land that is extremely expensive to farm, hence the reason that many of Napa's expensive "cult" wines are from high elevations. Wine is born of passion, evolving over time, offering a truly beautiful thing that speaks to us through heightened sensory emotions that can sometimes reflect wonderful uni - versal mysteries in a surprising fashion—one of life's most unforgettable pleasures. I think the people who plant vineyards at higher elevations possess a different sort of inner motivation and optimism, perhaps more in harmony with Ernest Hemingway's view that "wine is one of the most civilized and natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection." Good to know that luscious healthy pleasures can be derived from mountain vines! Igor Sill farms a terraced hillside Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in St. Helena and a mountain vineyard in Atlas Peak. He is a passionate wine lover and writer, is certified through the Court of Master Sommeliers, attended U.C. Davis's winemaking pro - gram and is a member of the Napa Valley Wine Technical Group. He judges at the International Wine Challenge in London and holds his Masters from Oxford University. He extents many thanks to Dr. David Agus, Michel Rolland and Jessica Sill for their much appreciated assistance, insights and contri - butions to this article. Above the fog line at Bianchini Family Vineyards in the Atlas Peak AVA. PHOTO COURTESY OF STAGECOACH VINEYARD PHOTO COURTESY OF BIANCHINI FAMILY VINEYARDS In mountain vineyards (such as here at Stagecoach Vineyard), the variation from warm to cool causes the vines to struggle, developing the acidity needed to pro- duce such intense aromas, flavors, colors and tannins.