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September–December 2017
A Visit to...
The Henry Wine Group began representing Frog’s Leap
Winey on July 1st of this year. This news brought me a
great deal of joy, as I have secretly coveted (I know, a
deadly sin) this particular brand for some time. I liked
the wines (a lot), I knew they were organically farmed
(important to me) and I just thought that the label was
super cool and that there had to be something behind
it (boy is that true). So, I looked at my schedule and
cleared a couple of days and made my way to the
Rutherford AVA of Napa Valley at the end of July.
I drove down the Silverado Trail to Conn Creek Road,
hung a right, and looked for the big Red Barn. There it
was, and I was at the winery. This iconic old barn was
renovated and then purchased by Frog’s Leap in 1995.
At this point I should introduce the cast of the story.
Enter a young John Williams, fresh to the Napa
Valley from upstate New York. He meets one Larry
Turley. Larry helps John get a job working for Warren
Winiarski at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. John has a hand
in bottling the ’73 Cabernet which wins the 1976 Paris
tasting. One night, after being overserved, John and
Larry agree to create a winery together, using Larry’s
property, and old frog farm, as its base, and decide on
the name Frog’s Leap.
I was met at the winery by Kristy Byrd, the California
Sales Manager, and Michelle Williams, the Sales
Manager. We relaxed on the deck of the tasting
room, a beautiful spot overlooking the orchards and
gardens of the property, with vines stretching out in the
distance. All organically farmed, of course. We quaffed
the current releases (tasting notes later) and marveled
at our good fortune, to be alive and here and able to
take in such a lovely place on such a lovely day.
We walked the property and poked our head into
the Red Barn, which has been lovingly restored to its
proper iconic majesty. I knew that the property was
organically farmed (CCOF in 1989), but I did not know
that all of the vineyards that produce Frog’s Leap wines
are Dry Farmed as well. Dry Farmed? In the Napa Valley?
John gets his degree in Oenology at UC Davis in 1977.
He returns to New York for a few years, then back
to Napa, and finally, he and Larry release their first
vintage of Frog’s Leap Sauvignon Blanc in 1982. John
begins fashioning Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay,
and Zinfandel.
By 1988 John had become convinced that organic
farming will produce healthier vines, better grapes,
and therefore finer wines. He enlists the aid of Bob
Cantisano, who teaches John the protocols of organic
and helps him convert his vineyard. Others in Napa
Valley such as Andy Hoxey (Ghost Block) and Lee
Hudson join in on the movement. A year later, after
hiring Frank Leeds to oversee farming operations,
the fruit from Frank’s family vineyards in Rutherford
become a valuable fruit source, and dry farming is
introduced and followed in earnest.
This dry farming thing really intrigued me. The next
day I joined John and his son Rory (no slouch in the
viticulture/winemaking arena either) for a tour of the
historic Rossi Vineyard (acquired in 2007) in the famed
Rutherford Bench.
As we walked the vineyards we looked at the basis of
dry farming – establishing healthy St. George vines to
graft upon.
BY PETER NEPTUNE, MS, AIWS, CWE, FWS
Senior Vice President, Corporate Training & Wine Education for The Henry Wine Group