Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
Sitting at the crossroads of Carneros and Napa Valley, Starmont occupies a portion of the historic Stanly Ranch. Established as a wine growing region over 150 years ago, Carneros is world renowned for its Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. With foggy mornings and cool afternoon bay breezes creating the perfect conditions for these varietals, Starmont wines are expressive, food-friendly and distinctly Carneros.
The Starmont story began over 25 years ago, starting as an integral part of the Merryvale brand. Led by the Starmont Chardonnay and delivering high quality Carneros and Napa Valley wines at approachable prices, Starmont complemented the more mature Merryvale portfolio. For a decade and a half, these two brands shared space at our venerable St. Helena facility. It was a perfect partnership, but as Starmont grew from a single wine into a full-fledged brand, it became time to move out.
Opportunity to find a new home was realized in 2005. Starmont acquired 50 acres of prime Carneros vineyard, a portion of the Stanly Ranch Estate first planted in 1872, and broke ground on the new winery the same year. Honoring the heritage of the vineyard, Starmont has constructed a state-of-the-art “green” winery. Among other steps taken towards sustainability, the Starmont Winery recycles 100% of winery process water, diverts over 98% of waste away from ending up in a landfill and generates enough electricity each day to power over 250 homes. In creating a certified Napa Green Winery, Starmont ensures that the surrounding area will remain pristine for future generations to enjoy.
Reaching up California's coastline and into its valleys north of San Francisco, the North Coast AVA includes six counties: Marin, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake. While Napa and Sonoma enjoy most of the glory, the rest produce no shortage of quality wines in an intriguing and diverse range of styles.
Climbing up the state's rugged coastline, the chilly Marin County, just above the City and most of Sonoma County, as well as Mendocino County on the far north end of the North Coast successfully grow cool-climate varieties like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and in some spots, Riesling. Inland Lake County, on the other hand, is considerably warmer, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc produce some impressive wines with affordable price tags.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.