Pine Ridge Vineyards, in the Stags Leap District, lies tucked beneath a ridge of pines, with a full view of the rugged palisades that speak to the dramatic geologic origins of our home and its world-famous Cabernet Sauvignon soils.
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Spring in the valley is a powerful reminder of good fortune. I feel incredibly lucky, not only to do what I do but to call this place home. Presently, the region is aglow in every shade of green on the spectrum and the sheer vigor is nothing short of energizing. Beautiful is an understatement.
That same energy fuels our work in the cellar. Lately, we’ve been deep in blending and trials. These are the test batches we whip up to see how the wines will ultimately be assembled. It’s always an intriguing puzzle, with clonal and vintage variation playing defining roles. We’re wrapping up the 2023 blends while getting our first glimpses of the 2024 vintage, both of which are shaping up to be very promising vintages.
Before long, we’ll be bottling, and in the blink of an eye, spring will give way to summer, and we’ll be gearing up for another harvest. From a growing season perspective, we’re at the very start of a new arc. one teeming with growth and potential. Walking through vineyard rows, you can almost hear the browns of winter giving way to the greens of spring.
The wines in this shipment are the last of the remarkable 2022 vintage. That growing season set the stage for some rich wines with great breadth and softness. These wines are drinking well now and are a fun juxtaposition to the 2021 vintage wines that are aging in your cellar.
The Andrus Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is Pine Ridge Vineyard’s legacy in a bottle. Our fearless founder moved here based on this very site, a 27-acre vineyard that bears his name and offers some of the most complex Cabernet Sauvignon in the Stags Leap District. The 16 separate blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon fruit that we grow here are so layered and varied that we don’t add a Bordeaux blending varietal to the mix. Instead, the Andrus is pure, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, stressing all those iconic qualities that have become synonymous with the Napa Valley.
Made from fruit grown in the first site Gustavo planted from the ground up, the Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is always special. Showing force, power, freshness, and vibrancy, the wine is at once elegant and muscular. We can’t get enough of the tension on display in 2022 especially.
Lastly, the 2022 Petit Verdot. I like to call this wine a towering black monolith. Interestingly, the aroma speaks to a much lighter and brighter wine. Yet, on the palate, it’s as bold as they come. It’s always a joy to taste this varietal in its own right and experience its ground-stomping presence.
Josh Widaman
Estate Winemaker
With spring comes bud break in the vineyard. This is an exciting and uplifting time as it marks the very beginning of yet another vintage. This year, things are off to an early start, with varieties like Chardonnay starting to sprout on March 5th in Carneros. Cabernet Sauvignon will follow suit a couple of weeks later, right on schedule for Napa Valley.
But with bud break comes vulnerability. The tender new growth is at the mercy of the elements, and frost is our biggest concern. A single cold snap could damage these delicate shoots, so vigilance is key. Farmers across the region are on high alert, no matter what’s growing in their rows. Fortunately, we have a few tricks up our sleeve to keep the 2025 vintage safe and thriving.
Wind machines are standing by. The moving air can disrupt the frost process by inverting the coldest air (lying just above the ground) with warmer air (10 to 100 feet above the ground). We tend to turn them on if and when temperatures fall to around 34 or 35 degrees to help minimize the frost risk. We also mow the cover crops to nearly ground level. This is tremendously helpful as it urges the ice to form on the ground as opposed to the fruiting wire height where the buds reside.
There’s a lot happening between the rows too. Cover crops play a heroic role in our vineyards just as they do in agriculture at large. They reduce erosion and improve fertility. They can help make the soil more friable, meaning it crumbles more easily. This kind of dirt is all the better for plant growth, allowing vine roots to really extend into the earth. Cover crops can also create healthy competition for the vines, making them work a little harder for their nutrient intake. And cover crops can aid in pest management by attracting beneficial insects as well.
I hope you enjoy the wines and raise a glass to the 2025 vintage. It’s only just the beginning, but we can’t wait to see how it develops.
Gustavo Aviña
Viticulture Director
Appellation Society and Collector’s Club Members, join us for our member exclusive April Club Release Event. Members will enjoy live music as they taste through the limited April club release wines.
