The Rutherford AVA of California's Napa Valley has a significant role in the shaping of the iconic wine region. George Yount, for whom the town of Yountville is named, was granted a large parcel of land known as 'Caymus Rancho' by Mexico's General Mariano G Vallejo for payment of services rendered. Elizabeth Yount, a daughter of George Yount, married Thomas Rutherford. As a part of their wedding gift, Yount bequeathed 1040 acres at the north end of his ranch to the young couple. As the Railroad from San Francisco to St Helena was being built, the Yount family used their influence to erect a stop at the Rutherford Ranch. Today, the Rutherford Depot still stands, dilapidated, but still standing that helped make the Rutherford a significant location within the Napa Valley.

Winemaking legend André Tchelistcheff once said, “It takes Rutherford Dust to grow great Cabernet Sauvignon.” And that phrase—Rutherford Dust—is today a well-known descriptor of Napa Valley’s Rutherford AVA. This area of Napa has unique geological properties that distinguish it from its neighbors. Once an ancient riverbed, Rutherford sits atop alluvial fans that have washed from the walls of the Mayacamus and Vaca Mountains providing the vineyards with diverse, mineral -driven soils for the vines to take root. Located at the widest part of the Napa Valley, Rutherford vineyards receive more sunshine than most of the Napa AVAs and experience a significant diurnal shift for optimal ripeness and retention of acidity. It is the culmination of all of these factors that contribute to the 'dust' that makes Rutherford a premium spot for Cabernet Sauvignon.

Winegrowing in Rutherford dates back to the late 1880s when Captain Gustave Niebaum purchased land to make wine to rival Europe's finest Chateaux and the Inglenook Winery was born. Soon after in 1900, Georges de la Tour, a French immigrant, purchased a parcel of land adjacent to Inglenook and began his wine venture. His wife, Fernande, named it 'Beaulieu' or Beautiful Place. Both of these wineries are considered pioneers and helped put Napa Valley on the map and both were located in Rutherford, securing the significance of this region in the wine world's hierarchy.

Today's focus winery, Sequoia Grove, started in 1979 and is nestled in one of the last surviving groves of Sequoia sempervirens in Napa Valley. This 24-acre estate vineyard was part of the original Rancho Caymus land grant. On the property and where the tasting room is located is the 100-year-old barn in the Sequoia grove, of which the winery is named. Sequoia Grove Winery is Certified Napa Green, which holds them to strict farming and winemaking standards.

FUN TREE FACT: Sequoia Sempervirens is the sole living genus in the Sequoia Cypress family... AKA California Redwoods.