What Napa Valley’s most famous grower is thinking and doing today

(TheDrinksBusiness) - Standing in the middle of his historic Georges III vineyard, Napa Valley’s most renowned grape grower, Andy Beckstoffer, answered the question “how do you know a vineyard is great?” with the response “You have to taste the wines”.

Beckstoffer owns some of the most prized vineyards in Napa Valley, farming over 1,000 acres in the valley as well as more than 3,600 acres total in Northern California’s top wine producing areas. To him, however, the final wine is the key. “We are not”, Beckstoffer said, “into making beautiful grapes, we are into making beautiful wines.”

Beckstoffer went on to explain, “The total equals more than the sum of its parts (ie. soil, climate, aspect and more). You must grow the grapes over a length of time to see the quality but the final test is wine made from these grapes by an experienced and skilled hand.”

Just as important as cultivating grapes and preserving these vineyards, he says, is who buys his grapes. The winemaker needs to be great or promising (if they have not yet made their mark) and needs to appreciate the vineyard’s contribution to quality, he continued. The buyer will also have the means, attitude, and ability to market the wines properly.

Beckstoffer made these comments at a dinner event called Twilight in the Vineyard, hosted by B Cellars winery. B Cellars produces premium quality, vineyard-designated wines from historic Napa Valley sites owned and farmed by Beckstoffer. Beckstoffer called B Cellars’ owner Jim Borsack “right out of central casting” in that he and partner Duffy Keys and investor Bill Cameron fit his ideal profile for those seeking to purchase his Napa Valley fruit.