Cave Dog Albariño Napa Valley 2019

Michael Havens, the creator of Havens Wine Cellars which he founded and ran from 1984 to 2008, is championed by old school Sommeliers as a trailblazer for Merlot and Cabernet Franc in Napa Valley. We doubt he could have predicted that he would one day be a pioneer for Albariño in the Napa Valley.

While teaching English at UC Davis in the early 1980s, Michael Havens and his late wife, Kathryn, built a winery on Hoffman Lane just south of Yountville. Captivated by Bordeaux and Rhone varietal wines, Michael decided to take advantage of southern Napa's cooler climate to showcase their restraint and balance, a maverick move that lead him to produce one of the valley's earliest single-varietal Merlots and the first Carneros Syrah. After selling his family winery in 2006, he kicked off the Cave Dog label with the 2014 vintage, requiring him to rebrand himself with renewed energy. And he did this by planting Napa's very first Albariño vineyard!

Today, Michael continues to advocate for this varietal, sparking an interest that has led to the cultivation of over 220 acres of the grape in California today.­­ The zesty, crisp white varietal is native to Spain and Portugal and is the primary grape of Spain's Rias Baixas and Portugal's Vinho Verde regions. With a bit of Arneis blended in, this Albariño is a perfect summer wine - bright aromas of white peach, lemon, and jasmine lead to a palate dripping with salinity and minerality.  The acid hits with such a bang that you'll be reaching for your second sip before you know it!