A year of The Wine Project
Dave Thompson’s The Wine Project has posted his long review of 2024 at www.napawineproject.com. Here are some highlights from it:
He added 41 new Napa Valley winery/brand profiles to this site in 2024 reaching 1,219. He has archived more than 390 profiles because they don’t produce wines anymore, moved production outside Napa County or were absorbed by another winery or brand.
His profile of Silver Oak Winery and review of its wines this year contained more than 25,000 words. Most of the reviews are between 2,000 to 5,000 words – and almost all have undergone significant updates and revisions since they were first published.
He has posted 25,000 photographs on his Napa Valley Instagram account.
Highest elevation vineyards in Napa Valley
The Wine Project has determined the highest elevation vineyards in Napa Valley.
- The highest vineyard site in Napa County is the Harris Blue Ridge Vineyard planted to Zinfandel; its highest vines are at 2,742 feet on the Napa/Solano County line. Most of this site is in Napa County with a very small section in Solano. This property was hit hard in the LNU Lightning Complex fires of 2020 and may not be active.
- The second highest vineyard in Napa Valley is Altezia (formerly Lampyridae Vineyard) owned by Merryvale with vines topping out at 2,625 feet near the summit of Mt. Veeder with most blocks above 2,500 feet.
- The third highest vineyard in Napa Valley and the highest vineyard on Atlas Peak, Kongsgaard Vineyard, has vines topping out at 2,447 feet.
- The highest vineyard on Howell Mountain and perhaps the fourth highest vineyard in Napa Valley is Black Sears Vineyard, which tops out at 2,396 feet.
- For reference, the highest vineyards on Spring Mountain don’t quite reach 2,200 feet and on Diamond Mountain, are slightly above 2,100 feet.
They’re listed with more details including coordinates at www.napawineproject.com.
