Frog's Leap | |
---|---|
Location | Rutherford, California, USA |
Coordinates | 38°28′25″N122°24′04″W / 38.4737°N 122.401°W |
Appellation | Rutherford AVA |
Founded | 1981 [1] |
First vintage | 1981 |
Key people | John Williams, owner & winemaker Paula Moschetti, winemaker Jonah Beer, general manager |
Cases/yr | 60,000 [2] |
Known for | Sauvignon Blanc [3] Cabernet Sauvignon [4] |
Varietals | Sauvignon blanc , Chardonnay , Zinfandel , Petite Sirah , Merlot , Cabernet Sauvignon , Cabernet Franc , Valdiguié , Riesling |
Distribution | national |
Tasting | by appointment |
Website | www.frogsleap.com |
Frog's Leap Winery is a California wine producer that operates from Rutherford. It was founded in 1981 on a spot along Mills Creek known as Frog Farm. [5] Frog's Leap Winery was established by John Williams and Larry Turley. [6]
In addition to their accolades for their wines, Frog's Leap is also noted for its humorous approach to winemaking, [1] down to their "Ribbit" corks. [7] The winery got its name by combining "Frog Farm" (where its first wines were made) with "Stag's Leap" [6] (where John Williams had his first winemaking job). [8]
John Williams and Larry Turley formed Frog's Leap in 1981 at the site of the historic Adamson Winery, producing 700 cases of sauvignon blanc. [6] When they started, Turley was a doctor and Williams was a winemaker at Spring Mountain Vineyard. [9] They took the winery into organic farming, and made it the first Napa winery with certified organically grown grapes. [2] They built up the winery in Saint Helena, California [1] together until 1994, when John Williams took Frog's Leap to the Red Barn Ranch in Rutherford, California and Larry Turley established what is now Turley Wine Cellars. [10] In 2004, Sunlight Electric met with Frog's Leap discussing how the winery was spending around $50,000 annually on electricity. On February 9, 2005, the photovolatic system went live over Frog's Leap's leeching fields. With the system's annual output of 260,000 kilowatt-hours (9.4×1011 J), it produces about 85% of the site's energy usage. [11]
Frog's Leap features organically grown grapes and dry-farmed vineyards. [12] Owner John Williams believes dry-farming results in stronger, healthier vines. [13]
Frog's Leap engages in other green practices as well. They were one of the first wineries to use solar power to run their entire operation. [14] [11] The winery also includes the use of compost and cover crops to organically enrich the soil, as well as dry farming to conserve water and reduce soil erosion. [11]
Frog's Leap used to make a wine known as "Leapfrögmilch" [6] (a pun on Liebfraumilch), but after an incidence of noble rot in 2006, they replaced it with "Frögbeerenauslese" [12] (a pun on Trockenbeerenauslese).
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars is a winery founded by Warren Winiarski in 1970 and based in the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley, California.
Heitz Wine Cellars is a California wine producer located within Napa Valley east of the town of St. Helena. An early modern era Napa Valley presence and pioneering exponent of French oak, the estate enjoys a historical renown with the success of its Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, and has also been described as a "master of Grignolino".
Gustave Ferdinand Niebaum was a Finnish-American sea captain and winemaker.
Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier wine regions in the world. Records of commercial wine production in the region date back to the nineteenth century, but premium wine production dates back only to the 1960s.
J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines is a winemaking company headquartered in San Jose, California, with over 4,000 acres of estate vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA in San Luis Obispo County, Arroyo Seco and Santa Lucia Highlands AVAs in Monterey County, and the St. Helena AVA in Napa Valley, California. The family-owned and operated company was founded by Jerry Lohr in 1974. The company operates wineries in San Jose, Paso Robles, and Greenfield, California. In 2013, Steve Lohr was appointed CEO of the company. J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines’ product portfolio includes eight tiers of wine: J. Lohr Signature, J. Lohr Cuvée Series, J. Lohr Vineyard Series, J. Lohr Gesture, J. Lohr Pure Paso Proprietary Red Wine, J. Lohr Monterey Roots, J. Lohr Estates and ARIEL Vineyards. The portfolio also includes specialty brands Cypress Vineyards and Painter Bridge. J. Lohr ranks among the top 25 wine producers in the United States, with annual US sales exceeding 1.8 million cases.
Sonoma County wine is wine made in Sonoma County, California, in the United States.
Dawnine Sample Dyer is an American winemaker and entrepreneur who pioneered the use of champagne-making methods in California's fledgling sparkling wine industry in the 1970s.
Mexican wine and wine making began with the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, when they brought vines from Europe to modern day Mexico, the oldest wine-growing region in the Americas. Although there were indigenous grapes before the Spanish conquest, the Spaniards found that Spanish grapevines also did very well in the colony of New Spain (Mexico) and by the 17th century wine exports from Spain to the New World fell. In 1699, Charles II of Spain prohibited wine making in Mexico, with the exception of wine for Church purposes. From then until Mexico’s Independence, wine was produced in Mexico only on a small scale.
John Williams is an American winemaker and the owner and winemaker at Frog's Leap Winery in Rutherford, California. He is a champion of dry farming and an early pioneer of organic grape growing in the Napa Valley.
Cono Sur Vineyards & Winery is a subsidiary of Concha y Toro Winery and is the third largest exporter of bottled wine in Chile. Established in 1993, its name is a reference to its location in the Southern Cone of South America and a play on the word connoisseur. In 2015, it was the official wine of the Tour de France.
Araujo Estate Wines is a California winegrowing estate founded by Bart and Daphne Araujo. Located in Calistoga, California within both the Calistoga and Napa Valley AVAs, the estate produces a small portfolio of limited-production wines from the organically and Biodynamically farmed Eisele Vineyard.
Chinook is a Washington winery located in the Yakima Valley AVA. Founded in 1983 by the wife and husband team of Kay Simon and Clay Mackey, Chinook was one of the pioneering wineries that established Prosser, Washington as a major wine-producing region in Washington state. Kay Simon, who began her career after graduating in 1976 from University of California-Davis in California's San Joaquin Valley and at Chateau Ste. Michelle, was one of the first female winemaker in Washington State. Chinook wines are widely regarded for their quality and help spread recognition for Washington wines. They are considered by wine experts such as Paul Gregutt to be "the classic expression of Yakima Valley fruit". Chinook's work with Cabernet franc, in particular, has garnered the statewide acclaim with the dry Cabernet franc rosé often described in wine reviews as a "Washington Chinon".
Caymus Vineyards is a Napa winery owned by Chuck Wagner and his family. It was named for George Yount's Rancho Caymus land grant, which in turn was named for the villages of Kaimus, the Wappo settlements previously existing in the region.
Cathy Corison is an American winemaker, entrepreneur and consultant. She specializes in Cabernet Sauvignon. Corison was the San Francisco Chronicle Winemaker of the Year in 2011.
Blackbird Vineyards is a Napa Valley based winery. It is part of the Bespoke Collection. Founder Michael Polenske wanted to create a winery that focused on producing wines from Merlot grapes, which fits with the name "Blackbird", as merlot means "young blackbird", in French patois. Blackbird Vineyards creates wines inspired by the Pomerol area of France. The winery calls their wines "California Bordeaux".
Christine Barbe is a French winemaker based in Napa Valley, California. She is known for producing wine from Sauvignon blanc grapes in the Pessac-Léognan style.
Silver Oak Cellars is a family-owned, California winery dedicated to producing only Cabernet Sauvignon. Silver Oak was established in 1972 by Ray Duncan and Justin Meyer. It is currently operated by Ray's sons David Duncan, who serves as the President and CEO, and his brother, Tim Duncan, who serves as Executive Vice President. Silver Oak has two wineries; one in Oakville in the Napa Valley and one in Healdsburg in the Alexander Valley. The Duncan Family also established Twomey Cellars in 1999, which has wineries in Calistoga and Healdsburg.
Twomey Cellars is a California winery. It was established in 1999 by the Duncan Family, who have operated the successful Silver Oak Cellars in California since 1972. The Duncan Family started Twomey Cellars to pursue varietals other than Cabernet Sauvignon. Twomey has three wineries: one in Calistoga in the Napa Valley; one in Healdsburg in the Russian River Valley; one in Philo in Anderson Valley, and produces mainly Pinot noir and Sauvignon blanc. Twomey’s Sauvignon blanc is a blend of Sauvignon blanc grapes from their estate vineyards at their wineries in Napa Valley, Anderson Valley, and Russian River Valley.
St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery is a 100% estate winery located in the Napa Valley of California, with a vineyard and winery in Rutherford, and a 1,531 acre ranch, Dollarhide, in the Napa Valley foothills.
Spottswoode Estate Vineyard & Winery is a winery in the southern outskirts of St. Helena, California, in the St. Helena AVA of the Napa Valley, in the United States. The estate was established in 1882. The winery is a producer of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. As of 2021, about 40 acres are under cultivation, which typically produces around 5,000 cases of wine per year.