Promontory

Beef, Lamb, Poultry, Game (deer, venison), Mature and hard cheese

The beginning of the season sometimes foreshadows the remainder, but this was not the case in 2018. An unusually warm winter leading into the growing season prepared the vines for budbreak in mid-February. This anomaly of warmth came abruptly to a halt at the end of the month, when 10 to 12 inches of rain fell by the start of April, returning conditions within the territory to their cool average. Moderate temperatures ushered in a consistently mild summer of fair days, cool nights, and blankets of fog; allowing the vines to ripen their clusters slowly and evenly. Although harvest began on September 10th, the activity was gradual and deliberate, consisting of 95 passes, the last of which took place on October 23rd, making the 2018 harvest one of our longest.

The road to Promontory unfolds slowly. Its winding path begins in the benchlands of south-western Oakville alongside a small seasonal creek, then ascends gradually through a narrow ravine in the mountains. The air cools, ferns appear among rocky outcroppings, and moisture clings to moss hanging from surrounding trees. Almost forbiddingly, steep slopes rise up seven hundred feet on either side and slivers of light struggle to penetrate the dense forest canopy. A moment later reveals a meadow in the full glow of day, and the first glimpse of the territory’s rangelands stretching upward toward the sky. Promontory is truly a world apart from the Napa Valley that most people experience. Within this secluded canyon there are two distinct fault lines, roughly demarcating the boundaries between volcanic, sedimentary, and metamorphic soils. This diverse geology is stretched across 500 feet of elevation, on a multitude of dramatic slopes and panoramic exposures. Less than ten percent of the land is under vine, weaving an intricate patchwork among the wild expanse of forest and woodlands. This natural landscape, along with the warmth of the rock-studded western exposure, invites morning fog and slightly cooler air to fill its narrow canyon on an almost daily basis. The enviable — if sometimes daunting — task of unearthing and translating the essential qualities of this majestic formation has given us a deeply visceral connection to the place. The land is speaking at last, awakening a long-dormant story of this uncharted territory.