Villa Mt. Eden

Villa Mt. Eden winery is located in the heart of the Napa Valley on the Silverado Trail and has built its reputation for outstanding quality and critical acclaim by sourcing grapes that exemplify the best of type from California's diverse growing regions.

Veteran winemaker Mike McGrath has been making Villa Mt. Eden wines since 1982. Collaborating with him on the Signature Series and Grand Reserve wines since 1991 is renowned California winemaker Jed Steele, Villa's director of enology. Completing the team is viticulturist Rick Aldine, who manages Villa Mt. Eden's own vineyards and works closely with growers to extend the winemakers' vision.

In recent years, the winery has invested heavily in its operations, with a renovated winery in Napa and new vineyard plants. Tall Trees, Villa's 235-acre Napa Valley vineyard in Yountville, is planted primarily to classic red varietals. Distant Bay Vineyard, located inland from Monterey, is planted to 196 acres of Burgundian varietals that flourish in this appellation. Both vineyards picked their first crop in 1999. This spring, the winery will plant an additional 200 acres of cabernet and syrah in Paso Robles, with an equal size planting scheduled again for the spring of 2001.

In January 2000, Villa Mt. Eden introduced its new Coastal collection, popular-priced premium wines from California's North and Central Coast. In addition to Villa Mt. Eden's own vineyards, grapes are sourced from Sonoma, Mendocino, Santa Maria and Santa Ynez.

The Grand Reserve wines reflect the unique qualities of specific sites from throughout California. Villa Mt. Eden's Grand Reserve Bien Nacido Vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are as true to Santa Maria as the Grand Reserve Monte Rosso Vineyard Zinfandel is to Sonoma.

Villa Mt. Eden's Signature Series wines are styled to capture the essence of a vintage. The winemakers often say their job with these wines is to stand back and let the fruit express its natural characteristics, imprinting the “signature” of the vineyard and varietal in the bottle. Production is extremely limited.

To visit Villa Mt. Eden's website, click here.