Bistro Jeanty
Fun Fact by Sherry Page, Culinary Getaways:
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Rancho Gordo
Fun Fact by Sherry Page, Culinary Getaways: Rancho Gordo
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Wine Trivia du Jour
Okay, here’s one of my favorite bits of trivia: 
What percent of California’s wine comes from Napa Valley?
a) 4%
b) 12%
c) 25%
d) 89%
Let me give you a hint: Napa Valley is a little over 30 miles long and about 4 miles wide at the widest point.
What do you think? Find out in our Wine Trivia Challenge!
Yountville Moveable Feast
Did you know that our own home town of Yountville, Napa Valley, boasts more Michelin stars per capita than anywhere else on the entire planet?
And that there some great deals to be had when you visit this time of year?
Enjoy this 2-minute Fun Fact by Nancy Hawks Miller, Goosecross: Yountville Moveable Feast
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Visiting Napa Valley in Winter
There are so many good reasons to visit Napa Valley in winter. 
You’re looking at one of them! The wild mustard bloom is quite seasonal.
Fun Fact by Nancy Hawks Miller, Goosecross: Visiting Napa Valley in Winter
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The Mustard’s in Bloom!
Just look at the view from across the street 
Bellissimo, no?
So, what are those pretty yellow flowers in the vineyards all over Napa Valley? Why are they there?
Enjoy this two-minute Fun Fact!
The Wappo Indians of Napa Valley
When Rey and Patt Gorsuch, our founders, purchased the site where Goosecross is located it was a peaceful cow pasture. As
they began prepping the land to plant Chardonnay they came to realize that it must have been inhabited by Native Americans at one time – the plows kept turning up arrow and spear heads, and not just a few! They also found some old tools, such as stone mortars with pestle which are now on display with the arrow heads at the winery. His curiosity about the people who came before was piqued and he began to learn about who they were and how they lived. There are so few of the people we call the Wappo remaining, and they have become so scattered that information is scarce – some of it contradictory – but the following is a summary of what Rey managed to learn.
Archeological digs have uncovered local, cultural remains estimated at over 10,000 years old in Lake County, our neighbor to the immediate north. It’s possible that these remains were artifacts of the Wappo because the tribe was clustered in the areas around the south shore of Clear Lake, Alexander Valley, Russian River and Napa Valley. We know that a small segment, the southernmost group of the Wappo, lived by a little stream that drained into Conn Creek right here, where Goosecross Cellars is located.
The First Inhabitants of Napa Valley
The first Caucasians arrived here nearly 200 years ago. Life before then was quite peaceful, as far as we know, probably because the people had everything they needed, as did the neighboring tribes. Their natural environment richly provided for them with good fishing, hunting and gathering right outside the door of their dome-shaped homes. That may also explain why the white man saw them as primitive compared to other tribes they’d encountered. Other than making a once a year trek to the coast to trade for shells to make beads, and catch some salt-water fish and shellfish, there had been little need to mix with, or learn from, other tribes.
Plants and animals, which built their homes and provided their nourishment, were considered sacred, so ownership of any kind was discouraged. It was also considered immoral to force a person to do something he didn’t want to.
Cultivating crops wasn’t a part of the picture until Caucasians came on the scene because of the local bounty. Acorns were a dietary staple. They were ground into flour to make bread and other foods like mush; they hunted waterfowl, deer, elk, rabbit and even bear, usually in teams. They caught trout, salmon, freshwater shellfish and turtles with spears, their hands or with nets made from local plants. Nuts and berries were plentiful, which makes us wonder if they made any wine from the berries.
Marriages were monogamous and there was the traditional division of labor, with the men doing the hunting and fishing and the women tanning hides, gathering acorns and berries and preparing meals. George Yount observed that he found the people peculiar in that the children were kind to each other, unlike so-called civilized children, and there were almost never arguments amongst the adults, of any kind – that is until the white man introduced whiskey, which had an extremely negative effect.
Descendants tell us that the Wappo enjoyed a good party and were also very family oriented. Games, dances and music were a big part of life and the dance leaders, who would visit other tribes to learn new songs and dances, were generally the only well-traveled members of the group. Most villages were built around a communal sweat house and it was common to go for a steam and then plunge into the cold stream afterward.
The Wappo were known for their beautiful jewelry, made of bone and shells, and also for the magnificent baskets they wove.
The Padres Arrive in 1823
This was how Father Altimira, a Franciscan priest, found the Wappo when he arrived in 1823 to establish the northernmost of the 21 coastal missions, the Sonoma Mission. At that time, it’s estimated that there were about 4,000-8,000 Wappo living in the Napa Valley. Altimira’s arrival marked the end of a peaceful way of life. When the padres began moving the Wappos, and other neighboring tribes, to their missions for re-education, some went willingly, with the promise of food and comfort. Others were less cooperative and the natives were regularly rounded up and sent to the various missions to be converted to Christianity and also to become farmers and housekeepers who would support the Spanish colonies.
Records indicate that Altimira had converted 623 natives within a year. These converts also helped to raise buildings, bring up cattle from the south and plant orchards, row crops and Mission vines, the only wine variety available at the time. There was a small cellar in the mission to store the wine they made. Because of attempted escapes, the natives were no longer allowed to ride horses and those who were caught were returned to the mission to be punished.
When some of these natives put up greater resistance than officials anticipated, based upon their experience with other tribes, they began to call them Wappo, a corruption of the word “guapo”, which meant “brave” or “handsome”. In its way, the name expressed admiration, or at least respect, for the fierceness and skill they demonstrated in defending their way of life.
The original intent of the mission system was that the missions would last about ten years, after which the land would revert to the Native Americans working it and they’d become responsible, Christian, tax-paying citizens. As it turned out, the missionaries were quite reluctant to give up their vast land holdings and the free labor that came with them.
In 1926, the natives under Altimira’s care revolted against the frequent flogging and imprisonment employed in the effort to “civilize” them by attacking and burning the Sonoma Mission. The discouraged padre put in for a transfer, unsuccessfully, and eventually returned to Spain. The attack prompted the Mexican government to send in soldiers for protection. But, in spite of this, there was another attack of 2000 natives on Mission San Rafael three years later, effectively putting off others who considered settling in the region.
Colonization Under Mexico
When the region came under Mexican control, the growing population of colonial ranchers throughout California demanded that the government force the missions to “free” the Indians and redistribute the land, leading to the secularization of the missions.
In 1835 General Mariano Vallejo was made director of colonization in the region and was authorized to issue land grants to settlers. It was a method of securing a great deal of territory in the face of sparse colonial population. He granted huge tracts of land, totaling 180,000 acres in what are now Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties to relatives, friends and cronies. This was very bad news for the small groups of natives who had managed to maintain tribal village life rather than go to the missions. The Mexican Republic’s 1824 constitution declared Indians to be citizens with rights to vote and hold public office but, in reality, they were still treated as slaves. Any settlements within the ranchos were considered the property of the owner and the Indians became slave-like servants for these settlers. As the land owners sold off pieces of their ranchos, the new residents, even those of very modest means, had at least a few Indian servants.
Enter George Yount
Enter George Yount in 1836, an American from Missouri and the first Caucasian to settle in Napa Valley. He was the recipient of a 12,000-acre grant called Caymus Rancho. This 18-square mile parcel began below today’s Yountville and extended all the way up to just south of what is now St. Helena. He settled in, built a block house and ranched cattle in the area that is now Yount Mill Road. He procured most of the Indian labor he needed for the Caymus Rancho and also Rancho La Jota, which was granted to him a few years later, by promising safety and plenty of food. Yount’s biographers wrote that the relationship with the natives was one of mutual respect and good will. It was the smart way to go for Yount because, at least at first, his closest Caucasian neighbors were eighteen miles away in Sonoma. And it was the safest approach for the Wappo, too, because they didn’t own guns.
It wasn’t long before Salvador Vallejo settled on another large grant, south of Yountville, and then more Americans came on the scene such as E.T. Bale, who had married into the Vallejo family and became a neighbor to the north. Other well-known local names were grant recipients who settled in the areas that were eventually named for them, such as Pope, Chiles and Berryessa.
Yount began as a fur trader and cattle rancher, but is acknowledged as having been greatly influential in converting the area from a region of cows and wheat to one of fruits and vegetables including, of course, grapes. Wine historian Charles Sullivan was able to track down an account of the beginnings of winemaking in the Napa Valley by Yount’s granddaughter: “The grapes were put in rough troughs and the Indians, girt with their loin cloths only trampled out with their bare feet the mass until it was reduced to a pulp. This pulp was then placed in suspended ox-skins. They were hung from four strong stakes sunk in the ground, and when the fermentation process was complete a hole was made in the skin and the wine was drawn off.”
The Wappo Gradually Disappear From the Region
When he first settled in what is now Yountville, Yount estimated that there were about 8,000 Wappo living in the Napa Valley. But with the growing non-native population, which increased very rapidly with the onset of the gold rush, the Wappo fled, or were rounded up and sent to Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties.
In 1850, California changed hands, again, and became the 31st state in the union. According to Yount, there were less than 500 Wappo in the area by then – countless dead due to disease, many relocated by the successive governing bodies, and others had simply scattered, joining and marrying into other tribes. By 1880, it’s estimated that there were about 50 Wappo remaining. Today, to quote Yolande Beard, “a few Wappo families live in northern California. Typically they maintain a low profile.”
The Native American Garden at Bothe State Park
You can visit a very interesting Native American garden, in Calistoga, at Bothe State Park. It displays twenty of the plants important to the Wappo, especially native iris, wild rose and elderberries. You can see the black oaks that provided the all-important acorns and the sedge, willow and redbud they used to make their beautiful baskets. There’s a sacred redwood circle that is said to symbolize the harmonious relationship between the native people and the universe. One of the last remaining Wappo to speak the language, Laura Fish Somersal, was quoted: “Although these are modern times, these plants still give us a living. They feed us, help us get along. Heal us when we’re sick, and remind us we’re still Indians, even in these times. That’s why it’s so important to keep them.”
Thank you
It’s important to acknowledge that two wonderful books were of particular help in putting this together: Yolande Beard’s The Wappo, a Report and also Victoria Calkins, The Wappo People.
Goosecross: Pumping Over the Cap
We continue with winemaking at Goosecross Cellars in the Napa Valley, two minutes at at time. The “cap” has risen, we’ve added the yeast, and now it’s time to begin “pump overs”. The cap refers to the layer of skins that rise to the top during red-wine fermentation. Enjoy!
Goosecross: Harvest Ends with a Bang!
Well – things took a rather dramatic turn after our last update! Shoulda known better than to brag about the great weather 
Mother Nature reminded us, once again, who’s in charge and she did it in spades.
A mere four days after that post we got three+ inches of torrential rainfall in 24 hours here in Yountville. My rain gage at home in St. Helena showed over five inches. SHOCKING! WE DON’T ALLOW RAIN DURING HARVEST!!
What’s the beef? A little sprinkle is nothing to worry about. But, big-time rain causes rot and dilution – some varieties are more susceptible than others.
Lucky for us, a couple of days before the rain hit we got our three rows of Petit Verdot in looking very nice, thank you very much. That just left the Syrah.
After the rain stopped, Geoff gave it a few days, then went down to the Carneros , where our Syrah is grown, with trepidation. He saw some sad looking Chardonnay and Zin there but,fortunately, the Syrah looked clean and the sugar was just where it was for last year’s crush. So, not wishing to push his luck, we brought it in the next day. Thus, our harvest ended. Next day? More heavy rain. Good call, Geoff!!
As for our Napa Valley neighbors, things could be a lot worse. If you could choose which grape get hits by the rain it would be good-old Cabernet Sauvignon, which is about the only thing still hanging. It’s tough skinned, like the Syrah, and forms a loose cluster. The air circulation helps prevent rot. Plus, last weekend was very warm and somewhat windy, which really helps dry things out. Folks are harvesting at a frentic pace to finish up in case Mother Nature gets peevish again.
From valley-wide reports, just about everything will be in by Halloween. The most common response to rain damage is to be extremely careful about sorting the fruit when it gets to the winery. Most winemakers are quite optimistic about quality, in spite of the rain.
The theme for this harvest, aside from the game-changing rain, is that flavor maturity has been quite good at lower sugar levels, which translates to slightly lower alcohols. We’re absolutely OK with that!
So, all that’s left is to finish pressing, get the wines barreled up and call it a vintage. Cheers!
Join Us For Our Annual Harvest Party
We invite you to join us in the best possible setting — to celebrate you, our customer! This year’s event is sure to outshine previous efforts! We have planned an evening that presents all of our great wines with a meal prepared by one of Napa Valley’s best caterers and further enhanced by live music provided by renowned musician, Terrence Brewer and his Jazz trio.
Saturday, September 26, 2009 from 4:00-7:00pm at our Yountville winery
Dinner at 5:00 p.m.
Price: $100 per person
Enjoy a delicious catered meal, featuring the seasonal flavors of Napa Valley
- Sip on fabulous Goosecross wines
- Dine in our intimate garden overlooking the vineyards
- Relax to the soothing sounds of live Jazz music
- Tank and barrel sampling with Winemaker, Geoff Gorsuch
- Tour the grounds with Director of Education, Nancy Hawks Miller
- Exclusive Goosecross wine offerings
- Share your thoughts and viewpoints on Goosecross with its owners
- And…if nature permits, you’ll see harvest in action
Reservations will be limited to 60 guests
Make your reservation today!
Click here for directions to Goosecross
Click here to RSVP to the party
Click here to access our concierge service
We hope to see you here.
We’re looking forward to seeing you soon!
A Year In The Vineyard
Managing a vineyard, like many of the most worthwhile things in life, is a labor of love. Before planting, the grower must make a thorough investigation of the soils and meso-climate1 on the site to determine what variety will perform best in that situation. He must select the various clones2 and rootstock hybrids3 to suit the inevitable variability of those factors throughout the property. He may decide to vary the vine spacing depending on the anticipated vine vigor, or lack of it, in different areas of the site.
After planting and training a new vineyard over a period of three to four years the grower is rewarded with his first small harvest. Once the vineyard is established, keeping the vines healthy is a year-round project. Surprisingly, the weather experienced in winter can have an influence on the timing, quantity and quality of the harvest to follow.
Winter
Grapevines are like roses in some respects. Once we have some frost in November they drop all of their leaves and go dormant for the winter. This rest is very important to vineyard health and performance in the following season. Like 
roses, the vines require severe winter pruning which will help to determine how many shoots and clusters will appear in the spring. Almost all of the growth from the previous season is pruned off, so that the vines will bear a small, intensely flavored crop.
If we have a long, cold winter, the vines “sleep in”, and come out of dormancy late. If the winter is mild, they’re likely to wake up (we call it “bud break”) early. Bud break is usually in the middle of March, but we’d much prefer that it be late than early. Early bud break increases the risk of frost damage. A beautiful, clear day in the late winter/early spring can turn into a freezing, cold night. The newly exposed, tender buds will be damaged if the temperature drops below 32° F. The risk lasts through about mid-May. This can lead to many nights of poor sleep for growers all over the valley. Geoff Gorsuch, our Winemaker, may have to get up in the middle of the night several times during these months, to protect the vines from frost using wind machines4 and smudge pots5. The upside of early bud-break is that it can translate into an early harvest and reduce our risk of rain damage on the other end. It all depends on the weather that follows.
Spring
Early spring brings the period we call “great growth” in the vineyard, because the new shoots grow like gang-busters. We sometimes imagine we can see them grow! This great growth creates a lot of work, including weed cultivation and suckering6 or shoot thinning. The suckering is done by hand, and is like a post-pruning. We prune during dormancy with the idea that we’ll get certain results, but inevitably, the vines do as they please, and require more of our attention. Once the shoots are a few inches long, Geoff can begin walking the vine rows to make sure they’re developing well and also to look for signs of disease or nutrient deficiencies. This continues throughout the growing season.
The buds flower and form clusters around mid-to-late May. We are fortunate that the flowers are self-pollinating, so we don’t have to worry about bees or wind to carry the pollen. We only worry about the weather. Too much rain, high winds or excess heat can impair pollination. Again, we are fortunate because most years we go for months without rain after the end of April. The weather is blessedly boring and predictable most years, and generally leads to good “fruit set.”7 Once the crop is set, we count the clusters. Of course, there’s nothing we can do about too few, but if we count more clusters than we believe the vines can ripen well, we drop the excess on the ground right then and there.
Summer
When the grapes first form, regardless of the variety, they look like tiny green beads. They’re not recommended for tasting at that point because they’re highly acidic. They plump and develop amazingly quickly. Usually, by mid-to-late July, they’re 2/3 their full size, and the dark varieties begin to soften and change color (we call this veraison). White varieties like Chardonnay go through a much more subtle color change, going from a bright, spring green to more of a yellow-green as they soften.
During this time, Geoff continues to walk the vineyard to make sure it’s healthy, and he monitors the leaf canopy and clusters to see if we need to do further shoot, leaf or crop thinning. He takes leaf samples to do a “petiole (the leaf stem) analysis”, which just means he’s checking for nutrient deficiencies.
Irrigation may be necessary a few times during the long, dry season, but Geoff prefers to keep it to the minimum. Too much irrigation or fertilization may take away from flavor intensity. He can test the vines in different parts of the vineyard to see if they’re becoming water-stressed and respond accordingly.
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How We Make Our Estate Chardonnay
Wine making is so simple, it was discovered by mistake. Fresh grape juice, unattended, will become wine sooner or later. But here’s the hard part: will the wine be any good? Science helps us bottle wine that is much more predictably sound than it was 100 years ago, but we can’t make memorable wine in a lab.
The real fun and art of winemaking lies in the endless variables that come up along the way. Where and how to plant? When to harvest? How to handle the grapes at the winery? What kind of yeast to add? What kind of fermentation vessel should we use? Which barrels to buy? It goes on and on.
We’re going to focus on the choices that Geoff Gorsuch, our Winemaker, makes along the way to produce Goosecross Chardonnay every year.
Planting A Vineyard
Geoff will tell you that the wine can only be as good as the grapes that make it. There is no way to make a wonderful wine out of mediocre grapes, no matter how skilled the producer. Geoff’s goal is to get his hands on the best possible fruit and then to conserve the beauty of the fruit through attentive, but not intrusive, winemaking.
In our case, as a small, family winery, the winemaker is also the vineyard manager. Geoff is hands-on from the planting of the vines, every step of the way, until the wine is bottled.
You’ve heard the old real estate saw: “location, location, location.” Well, it truly applies in growing grapes for wine. Getting the right variety in the right location is 90% of the battle. We grow our Estate Chardonnay in the coolest region of Napa Valley, known as the Carneros Region. This is an ideal location for Chardonnay, where the grapes ripen slowly in the persistent morning fog, and cool evening breezes. The resulting prolonged “hangtime,” literally means that the Chardonnay has enough time on the vine to develop completely mature flavors and to delight us with a little tropical character. The soil is typical of Carneros, in that there is clay, but it is interspersed with some gravel and sand, improving drainage.
Before planting a vineyard like this, we bring in experts to take soil samples from various parts of the property, and also to measure the specific mesoclimate1 throughout the vineyard. With this information, we can make good decisions about selecting the optimal clone2 and root-stock hybrid3 for the site, and also set up the best spacing and row orientation for eventual wine quality.
For this site, we selected the low-vigor, SO4 rootstock in order to keep the yields down and flavors concentrated. A vertical trellis system4 in this location, running east-west, allows for plenty of light exposure to heighten fruitiness with very little risk of sunburn.
With these choices made, we lay out the posts, stakes and wires for the trellis. We dug the holes, planted and trained the vines and attached the trellis wires by hand. A drip irrigation system completes the installation.
From planting the rootstock or benchgrafts5, it is 3-4 years to the first small crop. We think of the vineyard as mature when it is 6 or 7 years old, and hope that it will be with us for decades.
Rutherford AVA
According to Andre Tchelistcheff, the man many of us think of as the father of the post- repeal Napa Valley wine renaissance, “Cabernets need a touch of that Rutherford dust.” It’s hard to pin down the illusive, dusty character he referred to, and today’s Rutherford Dust Society says “What we now fondly refer to as “Rutherford dust” has come to reflect an enduring commitment to quality, a spirit of achievement and a deep connection to Rutherford’s soil – as opposed to any sensory component in the appellation’s wines.”
The Rutherford District attained AVA (American Viticultural Area) status in 1993 and is the proud home of many fabled Napa Valley names such as Caymus, Beaulieu, Cakebread, Rubicon, Staglin, Quintessa, Bella Oaks vineyard and Bosche vineyard. And these names tell you that this is Cabernet country.
History
The first wine we know of from Rutherford was made by the town’s namesake, Thomas Rutherford, somewhere between 1850 and 1880. He had married into the Yount family, who owned the Caymus Rancho, a remarkable land grant from General Vallejo totaling nearly 12,000 acres. It began south of Yountville and stretched all the way up to Zinfandel Lane, just south of St. Helena. As a wedding gift, Mr. Rutherford and his bride received over 1000 acres at the northern end of the Rancho in what is now known as the Rutherford AVA.
As the rest of the Caymus Rancho was gradually sold off, the Rutherford area welcomed some well-known, historic names in wine such as Gustave Niebaum (Inglenook) and Georges de Latour (Beaulieu). By the late 1880s there were over two million vines under cultivation in Rutherford as the phylloxera problem began to spread. De Latour proved to be a valuable addition to the community, in that regard, as he brought phylloxera-resistant rootstock to the valley, which were used to start his vineyard, and he also became a major supplier for other valley growers faced with devastation.
In 1900, he established his winery, Beaulieu Vineyard, on the site that is still home to B.V. and won local respect for his high standards in winemaking. B.V. was one of a handful of wineries that garnered a number of awards and also managed to survive prohibition by producing sacramental wine.
De Latour was also renowned for recognizing brilliance when he saw it – he brought the young enologist, Andre Tchelistcheff, to Napa Valley in the late 1930s to further improve wine quality. Tchelistcheff went on to consult for countless local vintners and is considered largely responsible for leading the valley’s industry through successful reconstruction following repeal of prohibition.
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Oakville AVA
The Oakville AVA is home to some of the most famous names in Napa Valley – Robert Mondavi, Harlan, Rudd, Opus One and Screaming Eagle are well-known producers, there, and To Kalon and Martha’s Vineyard grow some of the most sought-after grapes in California.
History
The history of research and innovation in the region, which still thrives today, was instigated by Hamilton Crabb in 1868. The first “research station” in Oakville was Crabb’s To Kalon (Greek for “highest beauty”) vineyard, where he planted over 300 varieties. He purchased the 240-acre parcel in Oakville and, by 1877, he had over 130 acres of producing vineyard and sold cuttings to other Napa Valley growers. As the first commercial winery owner in Oakville, he was producing 50,000 gallons of To Kalon wine. Today, the University of California at Davis has a research vineyard in Oakville and Robert Mondavi Winery is renowned for its in-house research, part of it on the original To Kalon ranch. Crabb’s neighbor, Far Niente winery, began producing in 1885 and by 1887 over 1000 acres of vines were thriving in Oakville. In the long, arduous recovery from prohibition, the Napa Valley became the first AVA in America in 1981 and the Oakville District gained AVA status in 1993.
Location
Oakville is just about in the center of Napa Valley, and is about two miles wide, it’s borders clearly marked by the western Mayacamas mountains and the Vaca range to the east. From its northern boundary, where it meets with the Rutherford District, to its southern boundary, the Yountville District, is just over a mile. At about 5,000 planted acres, it represents about 11% of the total vine-acres in Napa Valley.
Soil
At first glance, the soils appear to be relatively uniform and well defined – a mix of various loams, especially clay, sand and gravelly loam. They’re mainly the result of weathered, broken down rock that washed down the two mountain ranges over the millennia to mix with the with the river and stream deposits of clay, silt and gravel. They rest on a base of gravel that promotes, generally, very good drainage and deep root penetration. A closer look reveals that the two ranges have little in common. The western Mayacamas were pushed up from the bottom of the sea as the valley floor sank, millions of years ago, bringing up a chaotic mix of ancient marine rock formations, sandstone, limestone, serpentine (California’s state rock!), shale and metamorphic rocks. The two large, famous alluvial fans at the base of the Mayacamas are composed of rock and loamy sediment that washed down during storm after storm over the millennia. The eastern Vaca range, rather than pushing up, was formed, layer by layer, by the deposit of repeated volcanic eruptions caused by fissures in the tip of the San Andreas fault as it was dragged north by the Pacific and North America plates. It left compressed volcanic ash (tuff or tufa – often exposed tufa), lava flows, volcanic mudflows, a variety of other pyroclastic deposits (fragmental pieces of rock, such as minerals or glass, spewed by the eruption), and sedimentary rocks of volcanic origin. Virtually every knob and knoll you see in Napa Valley is of the same volcanic origin. Oxidized iron accounts for the noticeably-red soils in much of east Oakville. Heavy rainfall over the Mayacamas may explain the large size of the western alluvial fans. The eastern fans are small and the soil thin by comparison.
Climate
Oakville is noticeably warmer than the neighboring Yountville District, to the south, and just a tick cooler than the Rutherford District to the north. Moving from south to north, the valley heat increases as it moves away from the marine influence of the San Pablo Bay at the southern end. Oakville residents often experience afternoon temperatures in the mid-to-upper 80 and 90s, F., in the height of summer. The heat of the day forwards the maturation of the slow-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon that dominates the district. As the heat rises, it eventually pulls in cool bay fog and breezes, and it’s common to see temperatures drop into the mid 50s at night. The fog often lingers until mid-morning the next day, preventing over-rapid sugar accumulation and retaining color and refreshing acidity. This is about as good as it gets for Cabernet Sauvignon. The west side of Oakville is exposed to heavy winter rains and is in the shadow of the Mayacamas, late in the day, in mid summer. The east side experiences lighter rainfall and receives the full impact of the afternoon sun as the day wears on.
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Napa Valley Farmer's Market
Fun Fact by Sherry Page, Culinary Getaways: Napa Valley Farmer’s Market
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