How to Evaluate Spectacular Napa Valley Wines

Although anthropological research indicates that people have been drinking wine since at least 6000 BC, its popularity has dramatically increased in the past twenty years. With retail sales up between 30-50 since 2010, it seems everyone loves sipping a glass of fine wine with lunch or dinner, with friends, at a party or just to relax alone.

Northern California’s Napa Valley has become one of the premier wine regions in the world. Originally inspired by France’s famed Bordeaux region, pioneering Napa Valley winemakers envisioned the production of extraordinary red wines that would rival the finest French wines.

Napa Valley wines were initially considered inferior to their European counterparts, but everything changed during the 1976 Judgment of Paris, an exclusive international tasting event. For the first time, a Californian Cabernet Sauvignon beat out French mainstays—including Château Montrose and Château Mouton Rothschild—in a blind tasting by French experts.

A decade later, Groth Vineyards’ 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon became the first American wine to earn a perfect 100-point score from influential French wine critic Robert Parker, Jr. This triumph cemented the reputations of Napa Valley and its distinctive Cab, as well as the claims of local winemakers that they could compete with "the big boys" on an international stage. Today, Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically connected that a discussion of one necessitates the inclusion of the other. Napa Cab wine is the top-selling red wine in the US and known for its signature taste, body and aroma.

When critically assessing Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, the six most important characteristics are:

• Quality of Fruit

The superior taste of the Napa Valley Cab contains subtle traces of black cherry, black currant, plum, blueberry, raspberry and blackberry. As is the case with grapes, these fruits must be freshly-picked to ensure consistency in flavor.

• Layers of Flavor

The depth of a wine can be assessed over the duration of tasting. Wine can linger on the palette longer than a minute and, during this interval, different layers of flavor are slowly revealed to the taster. For example, an initial fruity flavor may slowly fade into a more floral (sage or violets) or mineral (dusty) taste and finally become textured with tannin in oak-aged notes (espresso/mocha, cedar or tobacco).

• Texture

Tannins are a significant feature of the taste of wine and can be either fine-grained or firm. They essentially complement the intensity of other wine features such as acidity, fruitiness and alcohol.

• Oak

Napa Valley wineries incorporate varying amounts of oak. Oak is primarily used as a seasoning and highlights the distinct flavors of the wine.

• Balance

Napa Valley’s top wineries ensure that every component—from color extraction, intense flavor or aroma—is in perfect balance with the others.

• Aging

The estimated aging period of Napa Valley Cabernets from the late 1990s was just ten years. This number has gradually increased and today’s wines age for fifteen years or more.

To be recognized with Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year award, a winemaker must master each of these six criteria. Joseph Phelps Vineyards knows this as well as any winery, as it earned the distinction in 2002 and has received countless other accolades as an industry-leader. Joseph Phelps Vineyards has been delighting wine-lovers around the world for nearly 45 years with its exclusive selection of fine wines and looks forward to continuing for at least 45 more.

About Joseph Phelps Vineyards

Joseph Phelps Vineyards is a renowned Napa Valley winery. Customers may now conveniently buy red wine online and ship to any doorstep in the world.

For additional information, please visit Josephphelps.com