Oakville, CA
– Nickel & Nickel, the Napa Valley winery devoted exclusively to
producing 100 percent varietal, single-vineyard wines, has opened its
doors to the public, by appointment, after a two-year program of
construction and historic preservation. Visitors are offered tours of
the winery’s historic farmstead buildings as well as tastings of Nickel
& Nickel’s collection of single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and
other vineyard-designated varietal wines.
Founded in
1997 by the partners of Far Niente, Nickel & Nickel is located in
Oakville along Highway 29 on 42 acres that were originally settled as a
farmstead in the 1880s. The winery’s collection of classic barns along
with the site’s original farmhouse featuring charming Queen Anne
details, brings the historic farmstead back to life, while housing a
cutting-edge winery capable of custom making each single-vineyard wine.
"Nickel & Nickel has distinguished itself by dedicating its entire
production to making 100 percent varietal, single-vineyard wines, and
by restoring one of the Napa Valley’s original, 19th century farmsteads
as its home. Our hope is that, through tasting our wines, visitors will
gain an understanding of the distinctive and varied terroirs of the
valley, and at the same time, appreciate the historic treasure of our
restored Oakville farmstead," says Dirk Hampson, director of winemaking
and president of Nickel & Nickel. Hampson is joined in the project
by partners Gil Nickel, Larry Maguire and Erik Nickel, who together
also own the Far Niente and Dolce wineries.
Visitors will be welcomed at the Sullenger House, a restored 1884 Queen
Anne home built by John C. Sullenger, a successful prospector and owner
of gold, silver and quicksilver mines, who settled the site in Oakville
in the 1880s. The Sullenger House contains tasting salons and an
open-air, wrap-around porch on the main level, as well as a large
cellar space that will be used for hospitality and entertaining.
Tastings are presented in flights, enabling guests to taste wines from
an array of vineyards side-by-side and learn how each vineyard can
produce a dramatically different and distinctive wine. For example, a
tasting called the "Terroir Tour" examines a collection of 100 percent
Cabernet Sauvignon wines of the same vintage, but grown in different
Napa Valley vineyards. The tasting will show how characteristics
including vineyard location, soil, exposure and farming methods affect
the expression of flavors and profile of a single grape variety.
Tastings of single-vineyard varietal wines other than Cabernet
Sauvignon will also be offered.
Tours include a walk through the historic farmstead, including a barn
that was built circa 1770 of hand-hewn hemlock and white pine beams; an
authentic, post-and-beam fermentation barn, made from century-old
reclaimed timbers; and an underground barrel aging cellar, with 10-foot
vaulted ceilings. The barns and the Sullenger House ring around a
working courtyard, traditional to farmsteads throughout the centuries.
"Anyone driving past on Highway 29 will see a restored farmstead that
appears to have been there for generations, without realizing the
classic barns house an extremely sophisticated winery" says Hampson.
History Meets Cutting-Edge Technology
The 5,800 square-foot fermentation barn is made from reclaimed,
century-old fir beams and features traditional American barn-building
methods. The wood-frame barn has been assembled using age-old
techniques of hand-joinery for post and beam construction that were
common in the 1880s. Yet the barn houses a modern winery equipped to
custom make the wine from each individual vineyard.
Twenty-six stainless steel tanks, in three different sizes, are capable
of heating and/or cooling simultaneously, depending on the vineyard’s
fermentation needs. The winemaker can check and adjust fermentation
temperatures from a remote computer, allowing for instant changes,
depending on the requirements of the fermenting juice. The technology
allows the winemaker to handcraft the wine in each tank.
Located directly below the fermentation barn is a 30,000 square-foot
underground barrel aging cellar, large enough to house 3,200 French oak
barrels. Vaulted ceilings and groin arches provide aesthetic appeal,
yet also conceal the piping, electrical and other mechanical systems
necessary for wine production. Radiant cooling in the floor and ceiling
maintain perfect cellar temperature.
"Our goal was to develop a modern winery, specially outfitted to meet
the needs of single-vineyard winemaking, while respecting the history
of the location," comments Hampson.
Nickel & Nickel was founded upon a philosophy of exclusively
producing small-lot, 100 percent varietal, single-vineyard wines that
best express the distinctive personality of each vineyard. The current
releases from Nickel & Nickel include single-vineyard Chardonnay,
Merlot, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon wines, produced from vineyards
throughout the Napa and Sonoma valleys.
Tours
and tastings at the Nickel & Nickel winery are available to the
public, by appointment, seven days a week. Appointments may be
scheduled by contacting the winery at (707) 967-9600, or by sending
e-mail to info@nickelandnickel.com.
