Terra Valentine

Spring Mountain District

Save

Terra Valentine

Our Story

Terra Valentine Winery sources from Spring Mountain whose varied terrain shines through in the robust yet balanced style of the wines–exhibiting the true essence of the Spring Mountain District. While mountain viticulture presents its challenges, for Terra Valentine, it comes down to hand-tending the vines to get the most out of the diverse soil types and ripening patterns that the mountain bears. The reward–wines ripe with intense flavor and color.

WURTELE VINEYARD

The 30-acre Wurtele Vineyard planted in 1990 by Raymond family was purchased by Angus and Margaret Wurtele in 1995. The vineyard, which sits at elevations between 600 to 1000 feet, exudes variations of slope, aspect, and soil. Much like a compass rose, the vineyard is comprised of multiple exposure points that span a full 360 degrees around a central knoll. Though planted exclusively to clone 7 Cabernet Sauvignon, these exposures yield variety in vine orientation and tannin intensity, all of which lend to the unique characteristics of the wine.

SPRING MOUNTAIN DISTRICT

Spring Mountain District was one of the first appellations in Napa Valley to receive notoriety as a grape growing region with documented grape plantings dating back to 1874. The area experienced its first boom in the 1880s when Jacob and Frederick Beringer planted a vineyard on Spring Mountain. The region experienced a decline between 1910 to 1940 due to the onset of phylloxera and Prohibition, but bounced back in the '50s with the launch of the Stony Hill Winery in 1953.

Meet the Winemaker

SAM BAXTER - Winemaker Terra Valentine

Sam Baxter quite literally grew up among the grapevines in Saint Helena, most often found just a few small steps behind his father, Phil, a legendary winemaker starting in the late 1960s in the Napa Valley. Sam began working in wineries as a young teenager and began learning the art of blending from his father at the age of 16.

After graduating from the University of California in Davis with a degree in Fermentation Science in 1998, Sam worked abroad in Australia before returning to his hometown. He started as Cellarmaster at Terra Valentine Winery at its inception in 1999 under his consulting winemaker father, where the father-son team began the transformation of the ghost winery property into a world class vineyard estate on Spring Mountain.