Stag’s Leap Winery is the other famous estate in the Stags Leap District, frequently confused with Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars despite being separate properties with entirely different histories. Founded in 1893 and farming Petite Sirah vines planted in the 1920s, it is one of the older continuously farmed properties in Napa Valley and produces some of the most structured old-vine Petite Sirah made anywhere in California.

History of Stag’s Leap Winery

Stag’s Leap Winery was established in 1893 by Horace Chase, who built the manor house and planted the vineyards that would define the property through the 20th century. The estate passed through multiple owners and was farmed through Prohibition for table grapes before returning to wine production. The Petite Sirah vines planted in the 1920s survived replanting trends and remain the oldest continuous vineyard block on the property.

The Winiarski family, unrelated to Warren Winiarski of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, operated the estate through several decades before it was acquired by its current ownership. The name dispute with Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars was settled in 1985: both estates use their own versions of the Stag’s Leap name and both retain legal rights within their specific trademarked forms.

The name confusion between Stag’s Leap Winery and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars was so persistent that the two estates settled a trademark dispute in 1985, with each allowed to use its own variation of the name. Stag’s Leap Winery, with the apostrophe after the ‘s’, kept its name and its century of farming history. The Petite Sirah from the pre-Prohibition era vines is the wine that sets it apart.

The Stags Leap District and estate terroir

Stag’s Leap Winery sits on the Silverado Trail at the southern end of the Stags Leap District, sheltered by the ancient volcanic palisade cliffs that tower above the vineyard blocks. The cliffs moderate temperatures by providing afternoon shade earlier than the open valley floor receives and by reflecting radiant heat from the exposed rock face during warm afternoons.

The combination of volcanic alluvial soils from the palisade base and the bay-influenced airflow through the Stags Leap gap creates the terroir that has made the district famous for silky Cabernet Sauvignon. The Petite Sirah from the 1920s-era vines, on the same soils, produces a different expression: denser, more structured, with the inky character and aging potential that old-vine Petite Sirah from volcanic soils achieves.

The wines of Stag’s Leap Winery

The Ne Cede Malis Petite Sirah is the most distinctive wine in the portfolio, produced from the pre-Prohibition era vines and aged in French and American oak for 18 to 22 months. It is one of the more serious old-vine Petite Sirahs produced in California: inky, tannic, built for a decade or more of aging, with the mineral structure of volcanic Stags Leap District soils underlying the dense dark fruit.

The estate Cabernet Sauvignon draws from benchland and valley floor blocks and represents the Stags Leap District character in a more immediately accessible form: silky tannins, dark cherry and cassis fruit, and the volcanic mineral finish that defines the sub-appellation. Merlot, Chardonnay, and a red blend complete the program.

Food pairings with Stag’s Leap Winery wines

The Ne Cede Malis Petite Sirah demands the richest, most intensely flavored food you can bring to the table: braised oxtail with bone marrow, a long-smoked beef brisket, wild boar ragu over hand-rolled pasta, or a simple preparation of the finest aged beef you can find with nothing competing against the wine. Young vintages need three or more hours of decanting; bottles with ten or more years of age are infinitely more approachable.

The estate Cabernet Sauvignon has the silky Stags Leap tannin character and works beautifully at the table: rack of lamb with rosemary, grilled duck breast with cherry reduction, or dry-aged ribeye. The Merlot is the most flexible wine in the lineup for dinner parties where the range of dishes requires a red that can move from appetizers through a main course without overpowering the lighter preparations.

Stag’s Leap Winery: common questions