Why Napa Valley Chenin Blanc Is Ready for Stardom

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Although Napa Valley is often associated with top-tier Cabernet Sauvignon, buttery Chardonnay, and now crisp Sauvignon Blanc, it is home to more than 40 different varieties, including nearly 21 acres of Chenin Blanc. Compare that to Cabernet Sauvignon, which grows here on more than 25,000 acres, or even more Sauvignon Blanc, whose acreage in the valley totals around 2,500. While some of the Chenin vineyards here are mature enough to qualify for “old vine” status, one winery recently had a research block of the variety planted on its property, proving it’s more than a vestige of the past. Straddling styles somewhere between those made in the Loire Valley and South Africa, Napa Chenin Blanc – which is by no means a cheap pour. As tastes have turned to more light-bodied, refreshing whites in the last couple of years, Sauvignon Blanc has largely taken the limelight, so it’s nice to see another Loire Valley hometown start to pay its dues.

“The Chenin Blanc from Napa Valley is bright, textured and subtle. It tastes like orchard fruit and soft flowers and has a bit of that waxy charm that we talk about in Lower Valley wines that sneak up on you,” says Tyler Potts, director of Michelin Start Press and Understudy in Study. “It’s a very inviting style of white that people are surprised to find here.” With a Northern California-based wine list offering nearly 6,500 different wines, the press features between 25 and 50 different versions of Napa Chenin Blanc at any given time, depending on availability. Potts couldn’t be more specific because many of these small production gems sell out quickly, and when they’re gone, they’re gone. Clients are often surprised to see Chenin Blanc or other aromatic whites like Gewurztraminer from Napa on the list, he says, but they soon learn that “the white wines made here are just as compelling as the reds.”

A quarter of Chenin in Napa Valley, a little more than five acres, belongs to Ballantine Vineyards in St. Helena. Winemaker and general manager Bruce Devlin told Rob Report that before 2002, the Ballentines, which focused on red wines, were selling Chenin Blanc from their Pokey grapes at a fraction of the price. After working in Germany and South Africa before landing at Ballantyne in 1999, Devlin had an appreciation for white wine. “I asked the owners if we could bring in the fruit and make some. I knew we could make a great white wine out of it,” he says. Although the Pocky vineyard was transplanted to the Reeds, the Devlin and Ballantyne families, who were then in generational transition, recognized that the Batty vineyard had the potential to be an excellent site for white varietals. “We could have taken it in the red and brought in a lot more revenue for the winery based on the fruit sales,” Devlin says. However, the winery already had a small following for its Chenin Blanc, and they “pushed to champion” the variety.

Much of the credit for keeping Chenin Blanc alive seems to go to individual families who committed to the grape despite the growing demand for Cabernet Sauvignon. “Molly Chaplett’s personal insistence on maintaining the Chenin program at Chaplett in 2007 is responsible for keeping Napa Valley’s reference Chenin Blanc alive and has inspired many others who carry on the tradition today,” says Rye Richards, Chaplett’s winemaker. “Chapellett’s Pritchard Hill Estate Vineyard was already producing Chenin Blanc when Don and Molly bought the property in the late 1960s, and it was later re-vinified in 2007.” Richards keeps half of his Chenin in stainless steel and the other half in neutral oak barrels to keep the style fresh and fruity, which is why wine directors like Union Square Hospitality Group master sommelier Vincent Mower are on his list.

A wine director at Press before moving to the East Coast, Mower is extremely familiar with Napa Valley Chenin Blanc in all its forms and flavors. “The Napa Valley Chenin Blancs today are nothing like what was produced here 40 years ago,” he says. “At the time, Charles Krug was producing about 100,000 cases of a dessert-style Chenin Blanc until 1995 or 1996, and no one expected that to ever run out, but the locks change.” Because many people are familiar with the sweeter style of Chenin Blanc produced in the Loire Valley, as well as bottles like Charles Krug, Devlin says that when Ballentine first started making his own version of the variety, people asked if it was going to be sweet. “We purposefully went very dry that we were doing something new and taking it very seriously,” he explained. “People seem more open to choice and think it’s a world-class variable.”

The Solari family, owners of Larkmead Vineyards in Calistoga, planted Chenin Blanc in their research block, a three-acre, organically farmed vineyard established in 2020 to study climate-related varietals in Napa Valley. The site was designed for experimentation, with eight different varieties planted to assess how non-traditional Napa grapes might thrive in changing climate conditions. “Chain Blanc immediately distinguished itself by delivering vibrant acidity, freshness, and aromatic lift even in our warm Calistoga climate,” says winemaker Avery Hylan, who produced his first small-batch vintage in 2023. Napa Valley for generations to come.

These three winemakers are not alone. Other Napa wineries that make great examples of Chenin Blanc include Aloft, Frog’s Leap, Palisades Valley, Newfound Wines, Lang & Red, and Kindly. “I wish more people realized that the Napa Valley, despite its reputation for Cabernet Sauvignon, can produce exceptional, acid-driven, ageable Chenin Blanc,” says Hylan. We couldn’t be more pleased.

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