Trefethen Family Vineyards
2008 - Trefethen Estate Dry Riesling
- * Style: Dry
- * Type: Late Harvest
- * Region: California
It starts with a smile. Pale gold edges seem to grin at you from the sides of the glass, and aromas of delicate jasmine flower, coupled with pineapple, guava, tarragon, and lemongrass soon bring a smile to your lips, as well. Dimples only deepen upon the first taste, with cantaloupe, lemon, fennel, and especially white peaches playing off each other in delightful balance. A little bit of slate minerality rounds out the finish, leaving you as you started, with a smile.
2007 - Trefethen Late Harvest Riesling
- * Style: Dry
- * Type: Late Harvest
- * Region: California
Our Late Harvest Riesling is left on the vine to develop botrytis cinerea, the “noble rot,” and then is harvested a full two months after our Dry Riesling. The juice inside each grape is reduced to a precious golden
syrup. A dessert unto itself, this wine is divine with baked fruit desserts, using peaches, apricots or apples. For a lighter finish, enjoy with fruit and
cheese.
One Family
In 1968, Eugene Trefethen, former CEO of the Kaiser Companies, and his wife, Catherine, acquired seven farms in southern Napa Valley surrounding an historic, 19th-century winery, creating a large contiguous, family-owned wine estate in Napa Valley. In 1973, when there were fewer than 25 working wineries in Napa, the Trefethens’ son, John, and his wife, Janet, joined the family business and began hand-crafting Trefethen Family Vineyards wines exclusively from their estate-grown grapes. Today, after more than 40 years as leading Napa Valley winegrowers, the Trefethen family’s third generation, Loren and Hailey, assist their parents in continuing the family tradition of passion for the land, its people and the art of crafting exceptional Napa Valley wines.
One Estate
The Trefethen family has always believed that great wines come from great vineyards and that growing your own grapes is essential to producing consistently superior wines. As a result, they have never purchased a single outside grape, relying exclusively on their estate vineyard to produce Trefethen Family Vineyards wines. The estate vineyard enjoys an ideal location in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley, a ‘sweet spot’ between the valley’s warmer northern appellations and its cooler southern tip. Morning fog and cooling afternoon breezes from nearby San Pablo Bay foster slow, even ripening of the grapes, enabling the Trefethen’s Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and other grapes to develop intense flavors balanced by bright acidity – flavors that beautifully express the site’s unique terroir. As conscientious stewards of the land, the Trefethens employ sustainable farming practices such as wastewater recycling, natural pest control, organic fungicides, bio-diesel fuels and the conservation of riparian habitats. For these and other eco-friendly efforts, Trefethen has been certified Napa Green.
One Passion
From the beginning, the Trefethen family’s passion for their land and the culture of winegrowing has been embodied in their wines, which long have been celebrated by wine aficionados for their artful blend of richness and elegance, intensity and balance. Despite a bevy of notable awards and accolades over the years, the Trefethens never rest on their laurels, striving perpetually to make their next vintage better than the one that preceded it, in the belief that the best is always yet to come. While cherishing past successes, they’re firmly focused on the future, embracing and implementing cutting-edge innovations in the vineyard and winery. Along with their children, Loren and Hailey, who literally have grown up on the winery estate, John and Janet Trefethen remain deeply committed to crafting exceptional, age-worthy wines that speak eloquently of their place, their heritage and the passion of the family that created them.
