Heitz Wine Cellars is a
California wine
California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when
Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted ''Vitis vinifera'' vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. I ...
producer located within
Napa Valley
Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...
east of the town of
St. Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constit ...
. An
early modern era Napa Valley presence and pioneering exponent of
French oak
Oak is used in winemaking to vary the color, flavor, tannins (wine), tannin profile and texture of wine. It can be introduced in the form of a barrel during the fermentation (wine), fermentation or aging barrel, aging periods, or as free-floating ...
,
the estate enjoys a historical renown with the success of its Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon,
and has also been described as a "master of
Grignolino
Grignolino () is a red Italian wine grape variety commonly grown in the Piedmont (wine), Piedmont region. It makes light colored wines and rosés with very fruity aromas (wine), aromas, strong acidity (wine), acidity and grape tannins, tannins. ...
".
History
The estate was established in 1961 by Joseph (Joe) and Alice Heitz, during a period when the population of Napa Valley wineries had been reduced to the lowest number since the
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...
, with about two dozen wineries, at what is recognized as the turning point of Napa's wine industry.
[
]
Joe Heitz
Born in Princeton, Illinois
Princeton is a city in and the county seat of Bureau County, Illinois, Bureau County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,832 at the 2020 census.
Princeton is part of the Ottawa, Illinois, Ottawa Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area ...
, Heitz grew up on a farm and came to California in the 1940s while serving in the Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
. For most of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, he served as a mechanic at an Air Corps base near Fresno
Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...
. At night and on weekends, he worked various odd jobs which led to work at an Italian Swiss Colony winery setting him on his career path.[ After the war ended, Heitz began taking classes at ]UC Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...
, achieving bachelor
A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". ().
Etymo ...
and master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. s in viticulture
Viticulture (from the Latin word for '' vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of '' Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...
and enology
Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...
as the first seven graduates in this major in 1951. Heitz found employment under the wine industry extremes, first at Gallo
Gallo may refer to:
*Related to Gaul:
** Gallo-Roman culture
**Gallo language, a regional language of France
**Gallo-Romance, a branch of Romance languages
**Gallo-Italic or Gallo-Italian language, a branch spoken in Northern Italy of the Romance ...
, and then under André Tchelistcheff at Beaulieu Vineyard
Beaulieu Vineyard (BV for labelling purposes) is a vineyard near Rutherford, California, belonging to the appellation Rutherford AVA. It was established by Georges de Latour and his wife Fernande in 1900.
History
Initially a purchase of of la ...
as an assistant winemaker where he worked for near ten years.
In 1958, he worked as a professor at the Research Center for Viticulture and Enology program at California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...
for four years.[ In 1961, Heitz and his wife Alice bought a small ]vineyard
A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...
just south of St. Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constit ...
from Leon Brendel named "The One & Only" for $5,000, planted with grignolino
Grignolino () is a red Italian wine grape variety commonly grown in the Piedmont (wine), Piedmont region. It makes light colored wines and rosés with very fruity aromas (wine), aromas, strong acidity (wine), acidity and grape tannins, tannins. ...
, and went into business for himself where his winemaking production preceded Robert Mondavi
Robert Gerald Mondavi (June 18, 1913 – May 16, 2008) was an American winemaker. His technical and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. From an early period, Mondavi promoted label ...
's emergence in Oakville.
In 1963 Heitz bought at an auction several barrels of Chardonnay and Pinot noir wine from Hanzell Vineyards Hanzell Vineyards is a California wine producer located just outside the town of Sonoma (wine), Sonoma. The winery was founded by James David Zellerbach (future United States Ambassador to Italy) who acquired 200 acres in the Mayacamas Mountains in ...
in Sonoma, the last vintages of the deceased owner James D. Zellerbach's pursuit of Burgundian excellence sold off by his widow.[ Heitz blended the wines with success, achieving lucrative prices for the times.][ A stated strategy for success was to pay growers "what their grapes were worth", in turn increasing the standard of the product he was receiving.][ In 1964, Heitz acquired an 1898 stone winery with its ranch property, which became the Heitz winery and home,][ with the original winery retained as a visitor's centre.
]
Heitz holds an exclusive agreement with Tom and Martha May, owners of the Martha's Vineyard in the Oakville AVA
The Oakville AVA is an American Viticultural Area located within Napa Valley AVA and centered on the town of Oakville, California. The appellation extends over a flat expanse of well-drained gravel soil between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountain ...
since the first purchase of fruit in 1965 which Heitz blended with other Cabernet, an act considered Heitz' great breakthrough.[ In recognizing the quality of the grapes, from the 1966 vintage Heitz first vinified the fruit separately and designated the vineyard on the label.][ Heitz is considered the first to champion the single vineyard designation in the U.S. Later, the 1968 vintage received attention for its quality, widely considered the greatest wine made in America up to that time.][ It had been American oak vats, transferred to Limousin barrels where it aged for further two years.][ Frank J. Prial contended the wine remained "the benchmark by which California cabernets were judged" for more than two decades.][
Since 1976, a similar exclusivity agreement has existed with Barney and Belle Rhodes, owners of the Bella Oaks Vineyard in the ]Rutherford AVA
The Rutherford AVA is an American Viticultural Area located within Napa Valley AVA and centered on the town of Rutherford, California. The area is known for its unique ''terroir'' particularly with its Cabernet Sauvignon. The well-drained s ...
.
Following a review by Robert Parker where he wrote about Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon that it "lacked aroma", Joe Heitz sent Parker a box of linen handkerchiefs, insinuating to the critic that he ought to clear his nose.
Joe Heitz suffered a stroke in 1996 which left him frail though lucid.[ He died on December 16, 2000, aged 81.][ He was described by ]Warren Winiarski
Warren Winiarski (born 1928) is a Napa Valley winemaker and the founder and former proprietor of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars.
Winiarski owns and operates Arcadia Vineyards in the Coombsville AVA of Napa Valley, which produces Chardonnay, Cabernet S ...
as the first of the Napa Valley artisans and the first to grasp the single vineyard concept.
Modern era
Born in 1950, David Heitz succeeded his father as winemaker in the late 1970s, having worked at the estate for many years.[ In 1984 the estate purchased the Trailside Vineyard in Rutherford, having previously purchased fruit from the site, introduced as a single vineyard bottling in 1989.][
During the late 1980s and early 90s there were reports of TCA taint, or in alternate claims '']Brettanomyces
''Brettanomyces'' is a non-spore forming genus of yeast in the family Saccharomycetaceae, and is often colloquially referred to as "Brett". The genus name ''Dekkera'' is used interchangeably with ''Brettanomyces'', as it describes the teleomorp ...
'' yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...
infection,[ in the Heitz cellars that were eventually overcome, and ]Tom Stevenson
Tom Stevenson (born 1951) is a British wine writer and critic. Described by his colleagues as one of today's most prolific wine authors, Stevenson is regarded as the world's leading authority on Champagne.christies.coChristie’s Champagne Ma ...
has criticized American wine writers for not daring to "tell the late king he had no clothes on at the time".[
In the early 90s, the Bella Oaks Vineyard suffered from the disease eutypa and replanting became necessary. No 1991 and 1992 vintages were made of this cuvée.][ Also in the early 90s, phylloxera afflicted Martha's Vineyard, and no vintages were made in the mid-1990s.][
In 2018, Heitz was acquired by Gaylon Lawrence, Jr.
Brittany Sherwood is the winemaker at Heitz and has been there since 2012.
]
Competitions
The 1970 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon appeared in several wine tasting competitions, including the "Judgment of Paris" tasting, where it placed ninth out of the ten red wines, and its subsequent 'rematches'. In the San Francisco Wine Tasting of 1978
The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, also known as the Judgment of Paris, was a wine competition organized in Paris on 24 May 1976 by Steven Spurrier, a British wine merchant and his colleague, Patricia Gallagher, in which French judges carried out t ...
it placed second out of seven wines, in the French Culinary Institute Wine Tasting of 1986 it placed seventh out of nine wines, in the ''Wine Spectator'' Wine Tasting of 1986 it placed first out of ten wines, and in the 2006 "Judgment of Paris" 30th Anniversary tasting it tied for a third place out of ten wines.
Production
The estate amasses of vineyards, in addition to its purchase agreements, Vines
A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...
are cultivated by organic principles per certification. Heitz Wine Cellars annually produces approximately of wine.
Heitz works with a number of grape varieties grown in several American Viticultural Areas
An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know about the ...
including Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constit ...
and the greater Napa Valley. In addition to several vineyard designated Cabernet Sauvignon that are often aged in oak for three and half years, Heitz also produces varietal labeled wines from Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Grignolino
Grignolino () is a red Italian wine grape variety commonly grown in the Piedmont (wine), Piedmont region. It makes light colored wines and rosés with very fruity aromas (wine), aromas, strong acidity (wine), acidity and grape tannins, tannins. ...
and Zinfandel. Other wines include a dry rosé made from Grignolino and fortified
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
" port-style" wine from Portuguese grape varieties
Portugal's history of viticulture and vinification covers many centuries and has included the use of an extensive number native varieties. In addition, through experimentation and field trials a number of new varieties have emerged and are now pla ...
like Touriga Nacional
Touriga Nacional is a variety of red wine grape, considered by many to be Portugal's finest. Despite the low yields from its small grapes, it plays a big part in the blends used for ports, and is increasingly being used for table wine in the D ...
, Tinta Roriz, Souzão, Tinta Cao
Grand Noir de la Calmette (or simply Grand noir) is a red ''teinturier'' grape variety that is a crossing of Petit Bouschet and Aramon noir created in 1855 by French grape breeder Henri Bouschet at his vineyard in Mauguio in the Hérault d ...
, Tinta Bairrada, Tinta Madeira, Tinta Amarela
Tinta Amarela or Trincadeira is a red wine grape that is commonly used in Port wine production. The grape is noted for its dark coloring. Its use in the Douro region has been increasing in recent years. The vine is susceptible to rot and perform ...
and Bastardo.
References
Further reading
External links
Heitz Wine Cellars official site
{{coord, 38.501497, -122.417865, region:US_type:landmark, display=title
Wineries in Napa Valley
Companies based in Napa County, California
St. Helena, California
American companies established in 1961
Food and drink companies established in 1961