2015 Louis M. Martini Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Louis M. Martini is one of Napa Valley’s most historic wineries. It was founded by Louis M. Martini, who left his home in Genoa, Italy, to join his father in San Francisco in 1899. After experimenting with winemaking, the senior Martini sent his son back to Italy for 5 years to learn winemaking, and by 1911 the men were making wine for sale in rented space outside of San Francisco. Always known for its progressive thinking and attention to quality, the winery became one of the first and most successful large wineries in Napa Valley. In 2002 it was purchased by the Gallo family. The estate owns 700 acres and makes Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Malbec, Meritage and Petite Sirah.

Alexander Valley is an American Viticultural Area just north of Healdsburg, in Sonoma County. It was granted AVA status in 1984, with amendments made in subsequent years. The Russian River flows through the valley, and the region was named for Cyrus Alexander, a 19th century landowner and grape grower. The AVA includes 15,000 vineyard acres, much of it rich, alluvial soil layered on a bed of gravel, somewhat similar to many vineyards in Bordeaux. Alexander Valley is sheltered from marine weather by the low hills northeast of Healdsburg, though it is often shrouded in the morning fog coming off the Russian River. Some of the earliest commercial winemaking in the area started in the 1880s, when immigrants formed the Italian Swiss Colony cooperative at Asti. The region made jug wines until the 1960s and 1970s, when a new wave of quality-minded producers started estates. Today Alexander Valley is home to some of California’s most admired wineries, including Simi, Stonestreet and the Francis Ford Coppola Winery. Silver Oak Cellars, though based in Napa Valley, has a second winery in Alexander Valley where it makes Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Many grapes do well in the Alexander Valley, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel.

One of the most widely grown grape varieties, it can be found in nearly every wine growing region. A cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. It’s a hardy vine that produces a full-bodied wine with high tannins and great aging potential.