About Heitz cellars
Heitz Cellars: Crafting Iconic and Age-Worthy Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons
Heitz Cellars is a family-owned winery that has been crafting iconic and age-worthy single-vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons since its founding in 1961. With a commitment to quality, sustainability, and tradition, Heitz Cellars has become one of the most respected wineries in the region.
The Heitz family's passion for winemaking began when Joe Heitz worked as a cellar master at Beaulieu Vineyards in the 1950s. In 1961, he founded his own winery with his wife Alice. Together they purchased an eight-acre vineyard in St. Helena and began producing their first vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Over the years, Heitz Cellars has expanded its vineyards to include some of the most sought-after sites in Napa Valley. Today, they own over 400 acres of prime vineyards across five different appellations: St. Helena, Rutherford, Oakville, Howell Mountain, and Spring Mountain.
One of the things that sets Heitz Cellars apart from other wineries is their commitment to sustainable farming practices. They use cover crops to promote soil health and reduce erosion; they compost grape pomace to enrich their soils; they use natural predators instead of pesticides to control pests; and they conserve water by using drip irrigation systems.
But it's not just their farming practices that make Heitz Cellars stand out – it's also their winemaking philosophy. They believe that great wine starts with great grapes, so they focus on cultivating high-quality fruit from each individual vineyard site. They also use traditional techniques like hand-harvesting and barrel aging to create wines with depth, complexity, and character.
Heitz Cellar's flagship wine is their Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – a wine that has become legendary among collectors for its power, elegance, and longevity. This single-vineyard wine comes from a six-acre plot in Oakville that was first planted by Tom May back in 1964.
In addition to Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (which is only produced in exceptional vintages), Heitz Cellars also produces several other premium wines including Trailside Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (from Rutherford), Bella Oaks Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (from St. Helena), Ink Grade Vineyard Zinfandel (from Howell Mountain), Chardonnay (from various sites throughout Napa Valley), Grignolino Rosé (made from an Italian varietal grown on estate vines), Port-style dessert wines (made from traditional Portuguese varietals grown on estate vines).
If you're looking for world-class Napa Valley wines with a rich history behind them – look no further than Heitz Cellars!