Napa Valley is America's most prestigious wine region, and the place that first made the world take Californian wine seriously. Its reputation rests on Cabernet Sauvignon: ripe, powerful and built to age, yet more polished and precise than the California sun might suggest.
Valley floor and mountain Cabernet Sauvignon explained
The valley is small but far from uniform. Down on the floor, Oakville and Rutherford produce the benchmark bottles: dense, cassis-scented Cabernet Sauvignon, with Rutherford's famous dusty, savoury note running through the mid-palate and the Stags Leap District bringing an iron fist in a velvet glove. Climb the slopes of Howell Mountain and Mount Veeder and the wines turn darker and firmer, with more grip and freshness from the cooler, higher sites. This is cult wine country too: Oakville alone is home to Screaming Eagle and to Opus One, the Robert Mondavi and Baron de Rothschild collaboration. To explore more American reds, browse our wider red wine range and the rest of the USA.
Beyond Cabernet: Chardonnay, Zinfandel and 1976
Napa announced itself in 1976 at the Judgement of Paris, when a Stag's Leap Cabernet and a Chateau Montelena Chardonnay beat France's finest in a blind tasting. That white-wine pedigree endures in barrel-aged, textured Chardonnay full of orchard fruit and toasted oak. There is brambly old-vine Zinfandel here as well, and generous Merlot that fleshes out many of the valley's most celebrated blends. Napa rewards curiosity as much as a deep cellar.
Napa Valley wine FAQ
What food pairs with Napa Cabernet Sauvignon?
Reach for grilled steak, roast lamb or braised short ribs. The wine's ripe tannin and depth stand up to charred, fatty meat, and aged hard cheeses work beautifully too.
Should I drink Napa Cabernet now or cellar it?
The best valley-floor and mountain Cabernets from a good vintage will improve for fifteen to twenty years. Everyday bottlings and the Merlot-led blends are lovely within five.
Is Napa Valley only about expensive wine?
Not at all. Alongside the cult trophies there is honest, well-made Cabernet, Chardonnay and Zinfandel at fair prices, so it pays to look beyond the famous labels.