Our Winery and Vineyard

Our Winery

     After 18 years at the Napa Wine Company in Oakville, in July of 2012 we moved to our current custom crush facility at Jericho Canyon in Calistoga, Napa Valley.  A simple, yet beautiful, state of the art redwood structure houses stainless steel tanks, a destemmer, a press, and all sorts of other ridiculously expensive equipment. The winery leads to a 6,000 square foot cave which was drilled into the hillside.  The caves provide a cool, energy efficient, and humid space for barrel aging our wines, with the underground storage reducing wine evaporation up to 60%.  Our wines are very happy here in this beautiful winery; taste for yourself!

4 Acres to Zinfandel, 4 Acres to Cabernet

First purchased back in the early 1970's, our remote vineyard sites required years of preparation. Bob Lamborn planted the first vines in 1979 which produced our first vintage in 1982. Situated along the ridgeline at the 2,200 foot level, the deep red volcanic loam provides mineral rich and nutrient poor soils, ideal for red grape varietals. With a mere eight acres under cultivation, we have the distinct luxury of watching each and every vine, week in and week out. This intense "child care" lets us make needed adjustments vine by vine to assure our vineyard produces the very best grapes possible. Sustainable agricultural practices and organically registered products are employed to further the health of the vineyard and positively impact fruit quality.

Location

Our vineyard is approximately 25 minutes from St. Helena, "The Heart of Napa Valley." Winding your way up past the 1,400 foot elevation you enter the boundaries of the Howell Mountain AVA. Situated at 2,200 feet above sea level lies Lamborn Family Vineyards.

Surrounded by forests of oak, madrone, dogwood, and pine, our convenient yet remote location allows us the pleasure of sharing the land with such neighbors as black bears, mountain lions, wild turkeys, and Bigfoot himself. The latter has been embellished a bit, however we wouldn't be surprised at all if we saw him up here.

Our Vineyard Orientation

Our vineyard site projects off the ridge in a northerly direction and has a 1,000 foot perimeter drop-off of 50 degrees on three sides. During extreme cold periods, natural air moves across the vineyard protecting the vines from frost when other vineyards are in jeopardy. While Napa and Pope Valleys can frequently be blanketed with a thick layer of fog, we enjoy early morning sunlight and warm temperatures. During the growing season we are about 10 degrees cooler during the day and 15 degrees warmer at night. Our vineyard has a unique mesoclimate unlike any other on Howell Mountain.

Our Trellising System

What is a trellis? The grapevine is a natural climber. To grow, it needs something its tendrils can cling to. In our case it is a trellis system, or stretched wires. This greatly effects how many clusters will be produced. Following a research model developed by viticulturist Dr. Richard Smart of Australia, the vineyard was completely re-trellised in February 1999. This concept of separating the vine canopy combined with vertical shoot positioning allows maximum sunlight penetration to the fruit and to the wood. Dr. Smarts research has shown this to be highly beneficial to both fruit quality and quantity. We are in total agreement.

Napa Wine Company   Located in the center of Napa Valley at the corner of Oakville Crossroad and Highway 29, Napa Wine Company is just 3 miles North of Yountville and 7 miles South of St. Helena. An appointment is helpful. They can be reached at (707) 944-1710, between the hours of 10:30AM and 3:30PM, 7 days a week. Visit them on the web at www.napawineco.com.

 

Our Vineyard

4 Acres to Zinfandel, 4 Acres to Cabernet First purchased back in the early 1970's, our remote vineyard sites required years of preparation. Bob Lamborn planted the first vines in 1979 which produced our first vintage in 1982. Situated along the ridgeline at the 2,200 foot level, the deep red volcanic loam soils provide a vigorous growing environment. With a mere eight acres under cultivation, we have the distinct luxury of watching each and every vine, week in and week out. This intense "child care" lets us make needed adjustments vine by vine to assure our vineyard produces the very best grapes possible. Sustainable agricultural practices and organically registered products are employed to further the health of the vineyard and positively impact fruit quality.

Location      Our vineyard is approximately 25 minutes from St. Helena, "The Heart of Napa Valley."  Winding your way up past the 1,400 foot elevation you enter the boundaries of the Howell Mountain AVA.  Situated at 2,200 feet above sea level lies Lamborn Family Vineyards.      Surrounded by forests of oak, madrone, dogwood, and pine, our convenient yet remote location allows us the pleasure of sharing the land with such neighbors as black bears, mountain lions, wild turkeys, and Bigfoot himself.  The latter has been embellished a bit, however we wouldn't be surprised at all if we saw him up here.

Our Vineyard Orientation Our vineyard site projects off the ridge in a northerly direction and has a 1,000 foot perimeter drop-off of 50 degrees on three sides.  During extreme cold periods, natural air moves across the vineyard protecting the vines from frost when other vineyards are in jeopardy.  While Napa and Pope Valleys can frequently be blanketed with a thick layer of fog, we enjoy early morning sunlight and warm temperatures.  During the growing season we are about 10 degrees cooler during the day and 15 degrees warmer at night.  Our vineyard has a unique mesoclimate unlike any other on Howell Mountain.

Our Trellising System
What is a trellis? The grapevine is a natural climber. To grow, it needs something its tendrils can cling to. In our case it is a trellis system, or stretched wires. This greatly effects how many clusters will be produced. Following a research model developed by viticulturist Dr. Richard Smart of Australia, the vineyard was completely re-trellised in February 1999. This concept of separating the vine canopy combined with vertical shoot positioning allows maximum sunlight penetration to the fruit and to the wood. Dr. Smarts research has shown this to be highly beneficial to both fruit quality and quantity. So far we are in total agreement.