2016 he-li-an-thus

he-li-an-thus is a single vineyard wine project from Jessica Futo, daughter of the couple who founded the Futo wine estate in Oakville, and Jason Exposto, Futo winemaker. The name of the wine comes from the helianthus genus of plants, which are sunflowers. Grapes for the wine are sourced from a vineyard in the southern Napa Valley foothills. The vineyard is on rocky volcanic soil at an elevation of about 300 feet, which, combined with its southwestern orientation, results in large diurnal swings in temperature. The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Just 508 cases of the inaugural 2013 vintage were produced. The wine is generally available by mailing list only. Reviewers have been complimentary about the first vintages. Robert M. Parker Jr. called the 2013 “a beauty.” Vinous noted that he-li-an-thus wines “are lush and racy, very much in the Futo style.”

Napa Valley AVA is the most famous winemaking region in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. With nearly 43,000 acres of vineyards and more than 300 wineries, it is the heart of fine wine production in the United States. Winemaking started in Napa in 1838 when George C. Yount planted grapes and began producing wine commercially. Other winemaking pioneers followed in the late 19th century, including the founders of Charles Krug, Schramsberg, Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards. An infestation of phylloxera, an insect that attacks vine roots, and the onset of Prohibition nearly wiped out the nascent Napa wine industry in the early 20th century. But by the late 1950s and early 1960s Robert Mondavi and other visionaries were producing quality wines easily distinguishable from the mass-produced jug wines made in California’s Central Valley. Napa Valley’s AVA was established in 1983, and today there are 16 sub-appellations within the Napa Valley AVA. Many grapes grow well in Napa’s Mediterranean climate, but the region is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay is also very successfully cultivated, and about 30% of the AVA’s acreage is planted to white grapes, with the majority of those grapes being Chardonnay,