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And in 1972, the winery was recognized globally when Schramsberg sparkling wine was poured at the "Toast to Peace" dinner attended by President Richard Nixon and Premier Chou En-lai in Beijing, China. Making World-Class Sparklers Today, the Schramsberg program is led by winemaker and President Hugh Davies, the youngest of the Davieses' three sons, who was born a month after the family took over the winery. A graduate of University of California, Davis and a lover of fi ne wines, Davies is committed to continuing to make world-class wines that can compete with those of the fi nest houses of Champagne. Currently, Schramsberg produces and distributes nine delicious sparkling wines: the Signature vintage-dated Reserve, J. Schram and J. Schram Rosé; the Premier vintage dated Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, Brut Rosé and Crémant; and the multi-vintage Mirabelle Brut and Mirabelle Brut Rosé. But the quest for perfection is an enduring process. Over the years, the winery has moved away from using estate fruit, and has greatly improved the sparkling wine program by continuously developing new relationships with premium vineyards in the Carneros region of southern Napa Valley and the cooler climate areas in Sonoma, Marin and Mendocino counties. Each of the cool climate vineyards is infl uenced by close proximity to the Pa- cifi c Ocean, and all provide excellent grape clusters that maintain the fresh acidity and mature fruit fl avors that are essential for world-class sparkling wines. The research also continues to fi nd more exciting and di- verse sites closer to the ocean. For the 2009 harvest, the winemaking team worked with the juices from 95 separate vineyard blocks to created 270 base wine lots—a record at the winery. "We're always on the lookout for quality fruit with concentrated fl avors, complexity and lively acidity. I'm a true believer that great sites are the keys to these treasures," said Davies. In general, the fruit is picked at 18 to 22 Brix. And although the majority of the base wines are fermented in stainless steel tanks, a growing portion of the juices—a major- ity used to make the Reserve and J. Sch- ram—are fermented in neutral oak barrels or go through malolactic fermentation to add more layers of richness and complexity to the fi nished blends. In March, before the wines go through the bubble-forming secondary fermentation process within the bottles, the fi nal blends for each wine are developed. In all cases, the focus is on insuring each wine has plenty of fruity fl avors, structure and a polished fi nish. Then the waiting game begins. At any given time, up to 2.7 million bottles are being aged for two to seven years in the original historic estate caves dug by German immigrant Jacob Schram in the 1880s. When ready for release, Davies says the winery's ultimate goal is to make each wine not only drinkable when young, but also worth cellaring to showcase the complex character and richness as the fruit fl avors soften over time. Memorable Hillside Estate Cabernet In addition to producing superb sparkling wines, Schramsberg's exciting new project is focused on making a classy Cabernet Sauvignon–based still wine with estate fruit. At elevations ranging from 500 to 1,000 feet above the valley fl oor, the 42 acres of hillside vineyards, which Davies began replanting in 1994, features Cabernet Sauvignon and smaller blocks of Malbec, Petit Verdot and Merlot. The fruit not used by the winery is sold to Hall, Girard, David Ramey and other fi ne Napa Valley producers. The current release is the J. Davies 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, a blend of 79 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 15 percent Malbec and 6 percent Petit Verdot. Prior to the fi nal blend, the individual lots were aged in French oak barrels for 22 months. The result is a sophisticated wine with aromas of dark chocolate, cassis, orange rind and tobacco. On the palate, the wine explodes with concentrated fl avors of ripe blueberry, blackberry, allspice and forest fl oor. Overall, this wine is big, rich, spicy and powerful, but with balanced tannins, great texture and a signature fl avor profi le representing the purity of true mountain fruit. The wine retails for $75 per bottle. "We like to say that this wine is bright, beautiful, developed and resolved," remarks Davies of the sixth vintage released by the winery. "We believe there is a lot of promise in the hillside vineyards, but the elegance and fi nesse of the fi nished wines have al- ready exceeded our expectation the terroir of the historic hillside site can offer." Schramsberg's sophisti- cated estate Cabernet, J. Davies, honors the founder At any given time, up to 2.7 million bottles are being aged in Schramsberg's historic caves. december 2009 / the tasting panel / 47