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In 1976, the victory of a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon over a French Bordeaux at the Judgement of Paris changed the course of the Napa Valley. Prior to this, Napa was filled with diverse farms, orchards, and vineyards planted to countless grape varieties. Chasing fame and fortune, wineries have spent the last four decades systematically ripping out heritage vineyards and replanting to more profitable vines, regardless of whether or not the terroir was more suited to the original plantings. As a result of this Manifest Destiny approach to planting Cabernet Sauvignon, many old varieties are on the verge of disappearing. Of all the heritage varieties, Charbono has perhaps suffered the most. Once widely planted and highly acclaimed, it's been relegated to obscurity in the last few decades, with less than 65 acres surviving.

In 2013, I found myself living in the Napa Valley, working as a director and photographer alongside some of my favorite vintners. Friendships formed with winemakers and vineyard managers helped me to understand the level of knowledge, dedication, and artistry it takes to make great wine.
It was in 2014, during a classic late night discussion over a few bottles of wine that I wondered—what would happen if you gave Charbono the same level of love and care usually reserved for world class Cabernet Sauvignon?

It was only intended to be a small, one-time experiment.

The results, however, were so thrilling that it became a passion project.

Shepherding the wines is the legendary Françoise Peschon. I had been introduced to Françoise when she was the winemaker at Araujo, long before I had any idea I would someday live in the Napa Valley, let alone have the opportunity to work alongside her.
She inspires everyone around her to be better, is equal parts wickedly funny and incredibly kind, and makes the most delicious canelé you've ever had.
We currently source our Charbono from two different vineyards, Shypoke and Tofanelli. Both properties have been family owned for around a century, with gnarled Charbono vines approaching 40 years of age. Their respective caretakers, Peter Heitz and Vince Tofanelli, have spent the majority of their lives tending to their land. They're both incredible allies and will bend over backwards to accommodate my most outrageous requests in pursuit of quality. The goal of the vineyard designate wines is to speak to the unique qualities of each of these sites, while the Heritage allows us a playground to experiment with how other old school grape varieties interact with Charbono.

One of the joys of working on this project has been embracing a romantic way of making wine in the Napa Valley that can be harder and harder to find as it becomes such big business. Everyone involved, from the winemaking team to the growers to the friends who chip in when we need help, is in it for the love of it.

While the way of life is nostalgic, the wine isn't. The point is not to look back at the past wearing rose colored glasses, but to bring an important piece of Napa's history into the present.

As Jean-Luc Godard said, “It's not where you take things from, it's where you take them to.”

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Vintner Matt Morris

Growers Peter Heitz  Vince Tofanelli

Credits

Photography
video & copy Matt Morris Label Alta+Matt Morris Design Alta

Website
Development Lab 43 MMW
Logo Kaya Thomas

See Matt’s
Photography at mattmorrisphotos.com Label and
website byalta.co