Why it matters
The producer
In 1934, Beringer opened its doors. Not to sell wine through a counter, but to walk visitors through the aging caves and pour them a glass at the end. No California winery had done it before. The wine industry was eighteen months past Prohibition, reputation was raw, and Beringer chose that moment to invite the public in. That decision, the guided walk, the caves, the tasted wine, became the format every Napa Valley winery now runs.
Beringer was founded in 1876 by Jacob and Frederick Beringer, brothers who had emigrated from Mainz, Germany. It is Napa Valley's oldest continuously operating winery: production never stopped, including during Prohibition. Treasury Wine Estates has owned it since 2011. The winery sits at 2000 Main Street in St. Helena, and the Rhine House, the Victorian mansion the family built on the estate, still stands on the property.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Beringer's vineyard footprint spans ten appellations across Napa and Sonoma: Howell Mountain, Los Carneros, Mount Veeder, Oak Knoll, Oakville, Rutherford, Spring Mountain, St. Helena, Stags Leap, and Yountville in Napa, plus Knights Valley in Sonoma County. Each appellation pulls in a different direction: Howell Mountain gives tannin and dark fruit from volcanic soils at elevation; Los Carneros brings cooler maritime air and Pinot Noir character; Rutherford sits at the Napa floor with its famous dust and cassis concentration.
Knights Valley's floor soils are cobbled and alluvial, well-drained, and low in fertility, which keeps yields in check and concentrates flavour. The slopes carry volcanic ash and clay, a mix that holds moisture through the growing season and contributes to the wine's acidity even as the warm, sheltered climate pushes fruit toward full ripeness. Knights Valley grapes achieve bold ripeness while retaining pronounced acidity.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
In the cellar, the Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is aged for 15 months in French oak barrels, with 30 percent new oak, and put through malolactic fermentation. The modest new-oak proportion keeps the wood from overwhelming the site character: boysenberry, cassis, and dark fruit flavours carry forward into the finished wine without an overlay of vanilla or toasted wood. Malolactic fermentation converts the sharper malic acid to softer lactic acid, rounding the palate and contributing to the plush mouthfeel the wine shows in the glass.
Wines to know
The range in view
Beringer produces thirteen varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel, Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Sangiovese, Syrah, and Viognier. The range moves from broad California and Napa Valley labels at the entry level to single-appellation and single-vineyard bottlings at the top.
The Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon anchors the upper range. It is a Bordeaux-style blend, meaning Cabernet Sauvignon carries the wine with support from other permitted varieties. The oak protocol, French barrels at 30 percent new, keeps the élevage measured so fruit character reads clearly at every stage. The 2019 vintage is built for further development in bottle: the volcanic and clay soil gives it the underlying framework, and the tannin grip provides the scaffolding for several years of additional complexity.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
The Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is the right first bottle. It is a Bordeaux blend from Knights Valley, where Beringer planted before the appellation existed, grown on volcanic ash, clay, and cobbled alluvial soils that give the wine its characteristic combination of dark-fruit ripeness and tannin grip. Fifteen months in French oak at 30 percent new keeps the oak subordinate to the site. The nose delivers boysenberry, cassis, and graphite; the palate is medium-bodied, vibrant in acidity, with dusty extended tannins and a long dry finish. It is Beringer at its most specific: one appellation, one style, one clearly readable result.