One of the many great things about living in the Napa Valley is we are literally surrounded by greatness, both in nature and in talent. We don’t have to travel far to find ourselves sitting on a patio, surrounded by vines, with a glass of wine in our hand that most people will never even get a chance to try. We love the Napa Valley! Being the curators that we are here at ACME it is our responsibility to capture these experiences, procure these special wines, and share them with you.
Wheeler Farms, the long awaited project of Bart & Daphne Araujo, former proprietors of Araujo Estate Wines and the Eisele Vineyard. After Bart and Daphne Araujo made the decision to sell their esteemed estate in 2012 to Chateau Latour’s holding company, wanting to remain active in the world of Napa Valley wine the two envisioned building a ‘perfect’ place for crafting world class Napa Valley wines in a traditional agricultural setting. Enter Chapter 2 for the Araujo’s and their dedicated team that followed them from their prior estate. In 2014, the Araujo’s acquired a historic property on Zinfandel Lane in southern Saint Helena. Now three years later they have opened their doors with a focus on making wines of balance with meticulous attention to detail, the same they had in their earlier era, but with a heightened awareness of grape growing and the inspiration of wines from the early, revolutionary Napa Valley wines from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s.
Wheeler Farms Winery was originally established in 1880 by Charles Wheeler, who built the original winery at the northeast corner of Highway 29 and Zinfandel Lane. The Wheeler family property included fruit and nut orchards in addition to grapevines. Charles’ son, John Wheeler, was an early and creative pioneer of viticulture and winemaking in the valley. Bart and Daphne Araujo have continued that legacy with the construction of a new winery just down the road from the original, on a parcel of land that has been in the Wheeler family since 1894. Building on the technological advances that J.H. Wheeler made, the Araujos, with winemaker Nigel Kinsman, have designed a state-of-the-art winery and hospitality space that houses not only their new brand, Accendo, but also other ACME favorites including Arrow & Branch and TOR.
ACME has been a longtime supporter of the Araujo’s and were one of the very first wine shops that had the distinction of offering Accendo in its first release. While on our visit to Wheeler farms with Bart & Daphne, we were delighted and surprised to get to taste another wine they are making in honor of the old Wheeler Farms Winery. These wines are only being offered to their members but through our special relationship with the Araujo’s, they are offering us a small amount to share with you.
Clean, crisp, and refreshing! This non-alcoholic version of their vibrant Sauvignon Blanc has layers upon layers of citrus notes and stone fruit aromas. As this wine opens the nose becomes very expressive with tones of guava, lychee and Bosc pear. On the palate, this wine offers a racy minerality, balanced by a touch of Semillon adding richness followed by a crisp, zesty finish.
How to make a Wheeler Farms Sauvignon Blanc Grape Juice Spring Mocktail!!!
Ingredients:
8oz. Wheeler Farms Sauvignon Blanc Grape Juice
2oz. Meyer lemon juice, fresh squeezed
2oz. sparkling water
Mint from the garden to garnish
Preparation Option A: Simply pour over ice and enjoy as is or add sparkling water.
Option B: To make this an adult beverage, trying adding 2oz. of vodka, gin or rum. Shake or stir and pour over ice.
