FAY Vineyard

FAY’s soils, alluvial in makeup, yield more of the “water-like” elements of softness, perfume and rich berry qualities.

The FAY vineyard is where the story of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars began. Established by pioneering grape-grower Nathan Fay in 1961, it was the first planting of Cabernet Sauvignon in what is now the Stags Leap District. At the time, conventional wisdom maintained that the area was too cold for Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasting Nathan Fay’s homemade Cabernet in 1969 was a defining moment for the founder of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. Here was land capable of producing an outstanding wine that could rival the best in the world. Within a year an adjoining ranch, now known as S.L.V., was purchased and in 1986, the winery purchased Nathan Fay’s vineyard and named it FAY in his honor. Today, it remains one of the great and most famous Napa Valley vineyards, producing fruit with an abundance of supple red and black berry character, voluptuous perfume and a luscious, fine-grained texture. The 66-acre vineyard is planted primarily to Cabernet Sauvignon with 1.5 acres of Cabernet Franc. The soil is a combination of fine Bale gravelly clay loam and volcanic alluvium.