The Mt. Veeder AVA is a 25-mile appellation in the Mayacamas Mountain Range. Between Sonoma and Napa Valley, an arm’s reach from the San Pablo Bay, this area is exceptionally cool.
For its size, it might seem surprising how few vineyards are actually planted here. But a closer look at the rugged terrain and slopes so steep that the vineyards must be worked by hand alone explains why so few choose to grapple with this part of the natural world. Mt. Veeder AVA wines are truly a testament to endurance and adaptability.
We’re reminded of the intensity of the writings of Jack London, the great novelist and short story writer who, in his time, turned out over fifty books. Like the wines of Mt. Veeder, London’s body of work is full of narrative twists, often confronting the natural world and our place in it. His writing style is at the intersection of primitive and profound, bordering on the impulsive, and asking the reader to remember their wildest selves.
The challenging environment of Mt. Veeder builds great character in the wines; the grapevines have no choice but to dig deep into the earth in search of nutrients and water. The awards of this great effort can be tasted by you, the reader.
Wilderness Meets Terroir
On the slopes of the Mayacamas Mountain Range, Mt. Veeder AVA is known for its craggy rocks and dramatic gradient. The vineyards sit above the fog line, planted to what was once an ancient seabed, pushed up into a mountain.
The grapes reap the benefit of intense sunlight during the day and good drainage all season long. Viticulture styles here are a result of the kind of limits that nature provides the characters in London’s books, challenging the protagonists to adapt to the extremes of their world. Because of this, yields are low and the berries are small and powerfully concentrated.
The Cabernet Sauvignon is powerfully structured, floral, and herbal, with striking tannins. The Chardonnay is textured and age-worthy, and the Zinfandel is spicy and briary.
Mt. Veeder Through The Years
Each year, the winemakers negotiate with the weather and the luck, or misfortune, it brings. If there’s any writer who understands the struggle of man against nature, it’s Jack London. In that spirit, we’ve paired each of our vintages with one of his works.
2016 – This vintage was introspective, self-aware, and ripe for the telling, like the profound autobiographical tale, Martin Eden.
2018 – This year, the fruit was in focus and the structure was strong, like London’s masterpiece, White Fang.
2019 – London’s short story, To Build A Fire, opens with the following line, “Day had broken cold and grey, exceedingly cold and grey.” We’re reminded of how much rain opened the beginning of the growing season, setting the stage for an interesting narrative arch.
2020 – This year we had to learn to work with elements that were out of our control to create a deeply structured wine with a real story to tell, like the characters in Sea-Wolf.
2022 – This wine is deep and self-reflective, almost like an artist’s statement, like The Iron Heel, a story set in the California wilderness.
2023 – The longest growing season in decades made a wine that reflects endurance and timeless beauty, like London’s greatest work: Call Of The Wild.
The Call of Mt. Veeder AVA Wines
The wines of Mt. Veeder tell a story of vigor and intensity. They are the kind of tales born from overcoming challenges that force you to rise and meet your greatest self. Our brave winemakers tend the land here because they know that the reward will outweigh the risk and that the result will be powerful wine that can stop you in your tracks with its ripe fruit and earthy aromas. Were London a winemaker today rather than a novelist in the 20th century, we like to think this is where he would choose to be.