When it comes to Napa Valley's towns and big names, Rutherford is one to know. But as far as grapevines go, Rutherford is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it spot along Highway 29 about halfway up the valley. As you drive past a former railroad station you might catch the smoky aromas of expertly grilled food at Rutherford Grill without realizing you've just passed through the heart of a town with a population of only about 100. On Rutherford Cross Road, there's a small post office, the Rancho Caymus Inn and La Luna Market & Taqueria, a go-to for Mexican foods. But this sleepy appearance belies that Rutherford boasts a rich wine history shaped by some of the region's most important trailblazers.
The indigenous Mishewal-Wappo people first inhabited the land that now includes present-day Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford. In 1836, authorities granted nearly 12,000 acres on the valley floor to George C. Yount as part of the Rancho Caymus land grant. In 1864, Yount gave his daughter Elizabeth 1,040 acres in the center of the modern-day AVA as a wedding gift when she married Thomas Rutherford. The Rutherfords planted vineyards and produced wine, and gave the town its name.
The Rutherfords' parcel changed hands several times before Finnish fur trader and sea captain Gustave Niebaum acquired it in 1879. He founded Inglenook and built its semi-Gothic château in 1887; the building still stands. After Prohibition ended, his grand-nephew John Daniel Jr. crafted a series of extraordinary wines until he sold the estate in the 1960s. In 1975, filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola purchased the estate; he worked to reunite the original property and transform it into a popular tourist destination.
French chemist Georges de Latour had arrived in California in 1883 and built his fortune in the cream of tartar business, an important baking ingredient that is a natural byproduct of winemaking. In 1900, he moved to Napa Valley and founded Beaulieu Vineyard on land adjacent to Inglenook. He also became the first to import phylloxera-resistant rootstock. In 1938, de Latour hired winemaker André Tchelistcheff at BV, and under his direction the Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet became one of the most famous wines in the world.
Rutherford sits at the widest point of Napa Valley, where fewer mountain shadows allow more sunlight to reach the vineyards. The benchlands divide into two distinct areas. On the eastern edge, complex soils and varied microclimates fold into the Vaca Mountains. Volcanic soils dominate much of this terrain and remain moderately deep, but the mountains delay sunrise and slow the warming of the vines.
The western benchland receives morning sun and gains protection from afternoon heat when the sun dips behind the Mayacamas Mountains. This side of the valley features more alluvial soils and experiences cooler, windier conditions that create a drying effect.
Tchelistcheff coined the term "Rutherford Dust," in reference to dusty, powdery alluvial soils on the west side and the distinctive, subtle grain and minerality they instill in the AVA's Cabernets. There are few simple pleasures as fine as sipping a Rutherford Cabernet while some Rutherford Dust clings to your shoes after a day in the vineyards.
