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Our Vineyards

The heart of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is undoubtedly the estate vineyards, which express distinct personalities and a sense of place.

S.L.V. Vineyards

our legendary
S.L.V. Vineyard

S.L.V., also known as Stag’s Leap Vineyard, is the winery’s first vineyard, planted in 1970. The vineyard is home to 35 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and 1.5 acres of Cabernet Franc, and is composed of predominantly volcanic soils with healthy drainage. This vineyard achieved global fame when the 1973 S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon triumphed over Bordeaux’s First- and Second-Growth Chateaux in the 1976 Judgment of Paris  blind tasting. This historic Stags Leap District vineyard continues to produce wines with complex black fruit and berry character, spicy intensity and excellent structure. Wines from S.L.V. are craft to be enjoyed upon release, but also promise long life and an exceptional ability to age.

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The difference between a good wine and a great wine is in the details. Our viticultural practices are driven by extreme, even obsessive, attention to those details.

Estate Winner - Paris Tasting, 1976

our acclaimed
FAY Vineyard

The FAY Vineyard is where the story of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars begins. Pioneering grape-grower Nathan Fay established the FAY Vineyard in 1961. It was the first planting of Cabernet Sauvignon in what is now the Stags Leap District. Tasting Nathan Fay’s homemade Cabernet Sauvignon in 1969 was a defining moment for Warren Winiarski, founder of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. He could taste that wines from this vineyard would rival the best in the world and within a year, he purchased an adjoining ranch now known as S.L.V. to begin his pursuit of crafting fine wines from Stags Leap District soils. In 1986, when presented with the opportunity, Winiarski purchased Nathan Fay’s vineyard and named it FAY in his honor.

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Our Sustainability

At Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, we know that vineyard and winery choices profoundly impact the quality of our wine, the health of the environment, and the welfare of generations to come. Our goal is to ensure that these vineyards live in harmony with the natural environment surrounding them. Our farming embraces mother nature and promotes a healthy ecosystem in which our vineyards and the local flora and fauna thrive.

Certifications

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is undergoing a rigorous program to achieve Organic and Regenerative Organic certifications in 2024. We are also currently a part of the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA) and hold Napa Green Winery, Napa Green Land, and Fish Friendly Farming (FFF) certifications. These certifications are binding agreements of our commitment to the land, the local agricultural community, and the generations to come after us.

Sustainability, a pile of healthy soil
Soil Health

We have always been at the forefront of viticulture and land stewardship. In the S.L.V. and FAY vineyards, the viticulture team focuses on soil health to keep their vines thriving. They use sheep grazing, cover crops, soil microbiology, and integrated pest management without herbicides. These practices protect against soil erosion, contribute nutrients and organic matter, improve soil structure and water infiltration, and aid in a healthy, complex ecosystem. These practices ensure purity, quality, and terroir character in the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars wine portfolio.

Sustainability, a branch with a bud
Irrigation

Our vineyard team utilizes drip irrigation to minimize water loss by delivering it to the plant’s roots. This is in opposition to overhead systems, which water the entire vineyard inefficiently. Drip irrigation allows our team to finetune water application down to the subblocks. In this way, the vines are cared for attentively and meticulously.

Sustainability, managing pests
Pest Management

At Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, we have adopted an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) system to mitigate vineyard pests in a naturalistic way. The vineyards are home to owl and bluebird boxes, where birds dwell and keep the pest population at bay. The vineyard team also releases beneficial insects, implements pheromone disruption, and utilizes biofungicides to naturally decrease the pest population while simultaneously upholding the health of the vines.