Far Niente prospered until the onset of Prohibition in 1919, when it was abandoned and left to fall into disrepair. Sixty years later, in 1979, Gil Nickel purchased the winery and adjacent vineyard and began a three-year restoration of the property. During restoration, the original name, Far Niente, from an Italian

phrase that romantically translated means "without a care," was found carved in stone on the front of the building where it remains to this day. We felt an obligation to preserve the name with the hope that we could recapture a bygone era when life was indeed without a care.

Nineteen eighty-two marked the return of winemaking to Far Niente, with the harvest of the winery’s first Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay was also produced at the winery for the first time that year; the 1979, ’80 and ’81 vintage wines were made at an offsite location. Today, the winery continues to focus on producing only the two varietal wines.

California’s Oldest Bottle of Wine

Far Niente’s past and present were reunited in 1998, when a bottle of Far Niente Sweet Muscat, vintage 1886, was discovered in a private cellar in Marin County, CA. The bottle exhibits the original label, cork and capsule, and is believed to be the oldest intact bottle of California wine in existence today.

The label, featuring a sepia-tone line drawing of a hammock laden with grape clusters, is thought to have been designed by Benson’s nephew, artist Winslow Homer. Historians of the artist liken the style of the hammock on the label to the same technique employed in Homer’s other works. Eric Rudd, a historian and expert on Homer, has explained that while Homer created very little commercial art, he was known to have supplied his work to friends and relations for commercial use, including his cousin, Virginia Johnson. This was the same Virginia Johnson who inherited Far Niente in the early 1900s, from her uncle, John Benson.

Today, Far Niente wines carry an intricate art nouveau-style parchment label, which was designed by artist Tom Rodrigues in 1979. Rodrigues also designed the labels for Far Niente’s sister wineries Dolce, producer of a late harvest wine, and Nickel & Nickel, a new winery devoted exclusively to producing small-lot, single vineyard wines.

The Far Niente winery is surrounded by 13 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens, thought by many to be among the most stunning landscapes in the Napa Valley. Described as "southern" in style, with an emphasis on texture and foliage, the highlight of the Far Niente gardens is the more than 8,000 southern azaleas that bloom every spring, carpeting the estate in brilliant hues of bright red and deep pink. They are the largest single planting of this particular variety of azalea in California, and possibly throughout all of the west coast. At the height of bloom, colorful patches of azaleas are visible from nearly a mile away on Highway 29.

Far Niente Proprietor Gil Nickel began developing the gardens in 1982, after completing a three-year restoration of the historic winery building. Designing and implementing the gardens was a natural for Gil, who with his brother, John, successfully ran the family’s Greenleaf Nursery in Oklahoma, growing the business to become the third largest privately held commercial nursery in the United States today. Gil and John remain actively involved with Greenleaf, serving as co-chairman of the board of directors.

The gardens were designed like a three-act play, building the drama with each sequence. Acacia Drive, which is the road leading to the winery gates, sets the scene. The gently curved alley, bordered on either side with more than 100 Autumn Gold ginkgo trees, offers serene views of the Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards of western Oakville.

Acacia Drive ends at the Woodland Garden, which begins near the winery gates. Groves of towering redwoods, acacias, dogwoods and century-old cork oak trees create an enclosed canopy around the gates and along the front driveway. After passing through the gates, the drama builds along the shaded road.

Stately and resplendent, the historic stone winery emerges like a mirage at the end of the drive through the Woodland Garden, reaching the crescendo of the play. Lined with olive trees along the front drive and cloaked in colorful Virginia Creeper, the winery stands unguarded, its beauty appreciable from every angle.

The gardens surrounding the winery offer many intricate details. Hand-shaped and fitted flagstone stairs and pathways traverse the winery grounds, and quaint stone bridges cross over the ponds, adding

dimension to the estate. A retaining wall that supports the olive trees in front of the winery was built more than a century ago by Chinese laborers. Today, delicate ferns and fragrant alyssum grow from the nooks between the stones. The gardens are also home to a number of specimen trees, including Japanese maple, Japanese snowbell, lion’s head maple, Chinese fringe and saucer magnolia.

1995, and a third phase, bringing the total cave area to 40,000 square feet, was completed in 2001.

“Caves have qualities beneficial to wine aging that are impossible to capture in an above-ground building,” says Dirk Hampson, director of winemaking at Far Niente. Much attention and concern have been devoted to the aesthetics in the integral design of the caves, which consist of recessed lighting, back-lit niches, a large octagonal wine library, and a number of 45-degree tunnels.

In addition to the wonders of aging wine in beautiful surroundings, much can be attributed to the practical benefits of storing and aging wine underground. A constant temperature of 58-60 degrees Fahrenheit, accompanied by natural humidity, contribute to low evaporation in a consistent environment. Far Niente's caves currently house approximately 2,500 French oak barrels.

Cabernet Sauvignon

Far Niente's Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon combines our noble vineyards in Oakville with our passion and commitment to making the very best wine possible. It is these natural and human factors in our winemaking process which define the quality of a fine wine, resulting in the recognizable Far Niente style.

Each vintage is unique. Our winemaker observes and tastes while attempting to extract the best from nature. Skill, experience, and an intituitive understanding of the year are crucial. After extensive tasting of the fruit, each vineyard block is separately hand harvested. The fruit is again hand sorted at the winery. The determining weeks of fermentation and maceration dominate the winery as they reveal the potential of the vintage. After pressing, the blend is carefully assembled - each lot is tasted on its own, and its role is analyzed in forming the final blend.

The young wine will age for 18-20 months in 75% to 100% new French oak barrels. During this time, rackings are carried out every three months to remove the clear wine from its sediment.

Chardonnay

It is not one detail, but a thousand details, that converge to create the recognized Far Niente "house style." Founded with a passion to make exceptional wines, and built on ownership of the finest vineyards, Far Niente makes Chardonnays that are rich in aroma, flavor, and texture, yet balanced with a graceful finesse. Each vintage brings fresh challenges. Through our experience, skill, and conscientious attention to detail, the wine expresses the magic of each vintage.

Far Niente blends wines from its various estate Chardonnay vineyards to create its distinctive style. When young, these wines offer fresh fruit and a marvelous finish; with time, they slowly reveal the wine's complex nature through added texture, richness, weight, and depth. Far Niente Chardonnay has earned its reputation as one of the great white wines worthy of aging.

While modern analysis is invaluable in winemaking, there is no substitute for tasting. Our winemaker walks and tastes each vineyard block to determine when to harvest. The feel for the year is critical. The grapes are hand picked and then hand sorted at the winery. Shortly

The Far Niente partners believe in the value of vineyard ownership as a means of producing wines of exceptional quality, distinctive character and consistency year after year. The ability to make autonomous decisions about the vineyards provides the winemaking team with a great amount of control and flexibility, while ensuring the high quality care of the vines. Far Niente owns 250 vineyard acres located in some of the most coveted regions of the Napa Valley, including:

The Stelling Vineyard (Oakville)
100 acres
Far Niente's largest vineyard is located behind the winery against the west hills of Oakville, in the heart of an area known as the Oakville Bench. The vineyard is named for Martin Stelling, the previous owner of the land, who presided over what was reputed to be the largest fine wine vineyard in the world, comprising over 5000 acres in the Napa Valley. Unfortunately, Mr. Stelling died before he was able to make wine from his holdings, and it fell to his son, Doug, to plant the vineyard in 1978. Today, the Stelling Vineyard is planted to Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petite Verdot on some of the most beautiful, gravelly loam soil in the Napa Valley. Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon is the only wine that has ever been produced from the Stelling Vineyard. The site borders other notable Oakville vineyards, including Martha's Vineyard, the Mondavi Reserve vineyards, and Harlan Estate.

John C. Sullenger Vineyard (Oakville)
42 acres
Acquired in 1998, this Oakville vineyard is located on the east side of Highway 29, directly north of Opus One, and across the road from the Robert Mondavi To-Kalon vineyard. While this vineyard estate is the home of the Nickel & Nickel winery, it also supplies some of the fruit for the Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon. The vineyard produces wines with a delicate grace, structure and elegance typical of the area.

Barrow Lane Vineyard (Coombsville)
18 acres
In pursuit of distinctive Chardonnay vineyards, the Far Niente partners discovered two wonderful parcels in a little-known area of the cooler, southern Napa Valley known as Coombsville. This 18-acre vineyard, located at the base of the hills east of the city of Napa, offers the characteristic climate of Carneros, with a few key differences. It enjoys the cool influence from the San Pablo Bay, but claims deeper, well-drained, volcanic soils and less wind. This gently sloping vineyard with its Western exposure produces wines with a tighter fruit structure than the rich, full-bodied wines from the Stelling Vineyard. The wines have proven to be an ideal blending component, providing the desired backbone and length.

John's Creek Vineyard (Coombsville)
50 acres
Located less than a half-mile north of Barrow Lane Vineyard in Coombsville, on a slight incline at the base of the eastern hills, the 50-acre John's Creek Vineyard is key to the Far Niente Chardonnay blend. The deep, gravelly loam soil and the vineyard's southwestern exposure, account for the fruit ripening a full two weeks earlier than Barrow Lane. The resulting aromas and flavors add wonderful components of richness and subtle tropical fruit nuances that have long been associated with Far Niente Chardonnay.

Carpenter Vineyard (Coombsville)
25 acres
This Coombsville vineyard, adjacent to John's Creek and situated at the base of the Vaca mountain range, supplied some of the Cabernet Sauvignon that went into the Far Niente Cabernet blend until 2001, when Far Niente became 100% Oakville Estate. The vineyard now exclusively supplies Cabernet Sauvignon to Nickel & Nickel, as one of its single vineyard Cabernet bottlings. In 2003, Carpenter will begin contributing Chardonnay to the Far Niente Chardonnay blend. The soils are composed of deep, volcanic, gravelly loam, with good drainage. Cool growing conditions, fog which hangs over the vineyard until mid-morning, and a generally temperate climate allow for the grapes' slow ripening and long hang time. The growing conditions help to produce wines of wonderful depth and cool character.