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Napa Valley · Section through Oakville

Napa Valley: from the Mayacamas to the Vaca Range

One walk across the valley at Oakville: down the Mayacamas, over the To Kalon fan and the valley floor, and up the volcanic hills of the Vaca Range to Atlas Peak. Tap a layer to read it.

Swipe the plate sideways to see the whole section.

Schematic. The line runs west to east for 20 km at about 38.43° N, through To Kalon and Stagecoach. Houyi lies about 4 km north of the line and is shown where it projects; the Rutherford vineyards in the list below lie 3–5 km north. Formation contacts follow the general west-sedimentary, east-volcanic pattern of the USGS Napa map (Graymer and others, 2007) and are simplified; the depth of the valley fill is approximate. AVA lines in the top band are approximate. Heights from AWS terrain data. Single vineyards drawn dashed lie off the line and are shown where they project: the Rutherford vineyards are valley-floor sites 3–5 km north, which fall on the Mayacamas slope or the floor in this drawing only because the valley narrows northward. Waters Ranch lies just beyond the east end of the line. Oakville Ranch is placed approximately.

Key to the ground

6 layers, youngest at the top

    Single vineyards we pour from. Tap one on the plate.

    Why Oakville’s two sides taste different

    1. On the west, fans off the Mayacamas laid down deep gravelly loam that drains well yet holds enough water for summer.
    2. The bench sits a little above the valley floor, out of the worst cold-air pooling and frost.
    3. The west side loses the late-afternoon sun behind the Mayacamas; the east side bakes in it.
    4. On the east, thin red volcanic soils give smaller crops, darker fruit and firmer tannin.

    Did you knowRobert Mondavi built his winery on To Kalon land in 1966. The vineyard’s outline follows one of the Mayacamas alluvial fans almost exactly.

    In the book

    Pas Mal wines on this ground

    Oakville: To Kalon and the west bench

    • Janzen Beckstoffer To-Kalon — Cabernet SauvignonBacio Divino / Janzen
    • Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri HopperPurlieu

    Oakville: the east side and blends

    Rutherford, a few kilometres north

    • Estate Proprietary RedBella Oaks Estate
    • Le Génie Cabernet SauvignonBella Oaks Estate
    • Cabernet Sauvignon Helms VineyardDANA Estates
    • Cabernet Sauvignon Brinkman BlockHunnicutt
    • Heritage McGah Vineyard Rutherford — Grenache · CLOSEOUTKale David Wines
    • Cabernet Sauvignon Napa ValleyPurlieu

    Mount Veeder

    • Mythical Cabernet SauvignonPerliss

    Pritchard Hill and Atlas Peak

    • Cabernet Sauvignon Montagna VineyardDANA Estates
    • A18 Chardonnay · CLOSEOUTKale David Wines
    • Mythical Cabernet SauvignonPerliss
    • Ways of Wayfarer Chardonnay Waters RanchWayfarer

    Atlas Peak fruit in a blend

    Napa Valley blends

    Further afield: Lodi

    • Cabernet Sauvignon LodiTRIM

    Sources: USGS Scientific Investigations Map 2918, geologic map of the Napa 1:100,000 area (Graymer and others, 2007); Napa Valley Vintners, soils and geology; Oakville Winegrowers, terroir notes; Beckstoffer Vineyards, To Kalon and Missouri Hopper notes; David Howell, geologist, on the Mayacamas fans (via Napa Valley trade press); Flora Springs and Williams Selyem, Missouri Hopper notes; Oakville Ranch Vineyards, estate pages; Gallo press release on Stagecoach (2017); AWS Terrain Tiles.