The Coombsville American Viticultural Area (AVA) was officially designated in 2011, making it one of the newest appellations in the Napa Valley. Joining the ranks of historical, nearby AVAs, Coombsville is very much an up-and-coming region with many beautiful wines waiting to be discovered.
There is so much opportunity in front of Coombsville, yet the vineyards here are already deeply connected to the heart and soul of Napa. So, our literary pairing for Coombsville AVA wines can be none other than naturalist Terry Tempest Williams, whose work shares a similar excitement and opportunity for discovery. With lyrical prose, Williams’s writing is intimately linked to the environment and maintains stewardship of the land and the people who inhabit it.
The Natural Beauty of Coombsville AVA Wines
The wines of Coombsville are youthful and soft with balanced tannins, and bright acidity. The quality of these wines is on par with the finest in the world, yet like our insightful writer, Terry Tempest Williams, they fly under the radar even today.
Located east of the town of Napa, Coombsville AVA is in the foothills of the Vaca Mountains. Most of the vineyards are located within a concave bowl formed over millennia. The soil is rocky, gravelly, and volcanic in some places. This type of soil composition lends itself well to wines—with good drainage, it sets the tone for bright wines with distinctive minerality.
There is an array of unique landforms within the AVA, and even the slightest shift in elevation, sun aspect, and soil type creates a unique microclimate therefore, a different wine. These subtle differences can be tasted, smelled, and felt. It is through this process that we admire the natural world through wine.
Coombsville Through The Years
The Coombsville AVA has yielded beautiful wines throughout the years, and we’ve chosen quotes from Terry Tempest Williams’ body of work to express each unique vintage.
2016 was a moment to admire the beauty of nature in balance. “So here is my question: what might a different kind of power look like, feel like, and can power be redistributed equitably even beyond our own species?”
2017 brought some curveballs, and we experienced the unpredictability of climate change. “Finding beauty in a broken world is creating beauty in the world we find.”
2018 gave us generous sunshine, and a cooling influence from the bay held the balance. “To be whole. To be complete. Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.”
In 2019, the wines were lush, soft, and bright. “These handwritten words in the pages of my journal confirm that from an early age I have experienced each encounter in my life twice: once in the world, and once again on the page.”
2023 gifted us a long growing season that resulted in wines with ripe, concentrated fruit and elegant structure. This was a celebratory vintage; one for the books. “The birds still remember what we have forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated.”
The ongoing discovery of Coombsville AVA wines
Despite the hot summers, Coombsville enjoys a moderate climate thanks to the fog and marine breezes coming in from the San Pablo Bay. Traditionally, the region is known to yield aromatic Pinot Noir and crisp Chardonnay. These wines are worth discovering, but we invite you to keep turning the pages on this region—there are more chapters that include excellent Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah. These wines are a celebration of nature.
