Frog’s Leap Winery
Expressing Napa Valley Terroir
I truly believe that the best wines produced in the world have in common the characteristics of expressing a sense of place. This “sense of place” is created and influenced by such diverse elements as soil, climate, or local winemaking and winegrowing cultures. The French use the term “terroir” for this concept.
With this in mind, I paid a visit to a long time supporter of the idea of terroir in the Napa Valley, Frog’s Leap vineyards. The winery was founded in the late 70’s by John Williams, who had moved recently from the east to work at Stag’s Leap wine Cellars. From the beginning, John always stayed focused on producing wines closer to its French model. Even during the craze of buttery vanilla-laden California Chardonnays, he stayed true to his goal and kept churning clean, crisp, whites. In fact, the past forty years have been marked by constant work in the vineyards and winery to produce wines that are expressing this elusive sense of place.
If you believe, as John does, in this concept, the big question is how to encourage its expression. One tool that was used early (since the late 80’s) at Frog’s Leap is to farm the vineyards with no irrigation, or what is called dry farming. If you follow dry farming methods, the vine will be watered a few times after plantings, but once the roots are established, water will only come from the sky! The lack of irrigation will make the vine push its root deeper into the soil and create thus the condition of better soil expression in the produced wine. In the case of Frog’s Leap, the vineyards are still equipped with water sprinklers, which are used only for frost protection and limit heat shock during extreme heat events, which unfortunately are happening more often in the valley due to climate change.
Contact:
Website: Frog’s Leap winery
Address: 8815 Conn Creek Road, Rutherford, CA 94573-0189
Phone: (707)-963-4704
Dry farming is coupled with organic growing methods such as the use of beneficial insects, cover cropping or building habitats to attract specific birds. The elimination of chemicals in the vineyards is helping with the creation of a richer under-soil life, which in turn helps oxygenate the soil and increase its total organic matter composition. For John and his son Rory (which takes care of the vineyards), these practices constitute the building blocks of producing terroir-driven wines.
In the cellar, the job is to adapt to the fruit quality of the vintage and most importantly to not mask the inner character of the wine with the use for example of too much new oak during aging. A great example here is the chardonnay, which goes through a short stage of barrel fermentation before being racked to a neutral tank to limit the influence of new oak. John follow some of the same principle with its Zinfandel, where a large part of the wine is aged in cement tanks and not barrels in an effort to keep the wine’s inherent fruitiness and freshness.
Notable Wines Tasted:
Sauvignon blanc, concrete aged, 2022: (fermented and aged in cement eggs): Really fascinating wines with a distinct leesy nose mixed with some citrusy notes. I really enjoyed the palate that showed some richness (from lees aging) while staying really fresh from the well present acidity. Great food- friendly wine.
Heritage Blend, 2020: this field blend comes from the Rossi vineyard that was purchased by Frog’s Leap in 2007. All the old staples of Napa Valley vineyards are present such as Charbono, Valdiguie, Petite Sirah and even some Riesling! The grapes are picked together and co-fermented. This is just a fun wine with tons of dark and red berries fruit, and a soft palate balanced by well integrated acidity and tannins.
Dry farm cabernet sauvignon from the Rossi vineyard
Another eye-catching equipment that can be found in Frog’s Leap cellar is a row of cement egg tanks. These tanks, inspired from ancient wine making vessels, are used to make a very special and unique sauvignon blanc. Every year, a few parcels of sauvignon blanc are selected to go through this process and it does make a really uncommon wine (see tasting note below). This sauvignon blanc is only sold at the winery.
Tasting through the diverse range of wines, a common thread emerges marked by wines with elegant nose and palate, well balanced acidity and tannic structure and a distinctive ability of each wine to narrate the story of its origin. Frog’s Leap Winery stands as a testament to the art of winemaking rooted in the terroir of Rutherford and the Napa Valley, capturing the essence of the land and expressing it in every sip.