The Napa Valley stands arrogantly in the center stage of California, just as France dominates the wine-lands of Europe. It was the Napa which forged the modern California wine industry, and which acted as the magnet drawing money, ambition and genius from other walks of life; and it set standards against which not only the rest of California but also the rest of the world have to measure up.
The Napa was the obvious starting point for any fledgling winemaker, because its climate had long been considered ideal for grape-growing—free from frost dangers, with average rainfall, rich soil, and a very long, reliable ripening period of hot but not sweltering days. These conditions make for regular crops of perfect grapes, which allow the winemakers to exercise all their skills and passions on molding the grapes into their own personal style of wine.
