The Victorian house on the Schramsberg property with surrounding landscaping.
1400 Schramsberg Road, Calistoga, CA 94515
Website: http://www.schramsberg.com/
Out of all of the wineries I have visited in Napa Valley, if I were to make a recommendation of one place to visit that is most symbolic of the true history of this wine region it would absolutely be Schramsberg. When reading about this winery and visiting the historical landmark, I got a feeling of being taken back in time to the 1800s when Napa was becoming a booming wine industry. Not only does this winery exemplify the true history of Napa Valley, today it is recognized as a United States premium sparkling wine producer. Their claim to fame is that President Nixon served their Blanc de Blancs at the 1972 “Toast to Peace” with China’s Premier Zhou Enlai. Schramsberg’s sparkling wines have been served at the White House by every U.S. Presidential administration since then.
Schramsberg was founded by German immigrant Jacob Schram in 1862. Schram came from a winemaking family but spent the early part of his career as a barber. He immigrated to the United States at the age of 16. Yet his homeland and roots were always in his thoughts. After purchasing the property on Diamond Mountain to create a winery, Schram hired Chinese laborers to build an underground cellar that would allow him to store his wines at cooler temperatures. These were some of the first wine caves dug in Napa Valley used for wine storage. He also built a stately Victorian home for himself and his wife that still remains on the property today. Robert Louis Stevenson visited Schramsberg in 1880 and dedicated a chapter in his book Silverado Squatters to the winery. Schram’s wines won awards both domestically and internationally. After Schram died in 1905 his son Herman tried to carry on the winery, but a vine destroying pest called phylloxera and the onset of Prohibition ended production at the winery. The winery then changed owners several times. In 1957, the winery was declared a historical landmark by the state of California.
Jack and his wife Jamie Davies started a new era of winemaking when they purchased the winery in 1965 with a vision to create world class sparkling wine. According to the Schramsberg website, the Davies sought to create “America’s most prestigious, select and admired sparkling wine; chosen for special guests, special gifts, pampering one’s self and expressing one’s taste in unique products.” Based on the number of awards they have won over the years and the fact that every Presidential administration since Nixon has served their sparkling wines at the White House, I would say that the Davies have been successful in their mission. The Davies restored the original Victorian home, winery, and caves. Jack Davies passed away in 1998 and his wife carried on the winery with the support of her family and staff until her death 10 years later. Their youngest son Hugh Davies now carries on his parents’ legacy.
The tour at Schramsberg lives up to its reputation. An important thing to note is that the winery is not open for public tastings. Anyone is welcome to visit the property and purchase wine, but the only way to get to sample the wine is to sign up for the tour and tasting. The tour focuses on the history of the winery and takes a walk through the historic caves, followed by a seated tasting of several wines. There are several tours each day and advance reservations are required.
Schramsberg Winery founded in 1862
I’ll describe my visit from the very beginning as my husband and I pulled off of highway 29 onto Schramsberg road. This is where the beauty of Schramsberg begins. We drove up a narrow road to the winery that was surrounded by trees on both sides. It felt like we were on a camping adventure. It was so pretty to see in February. I imagine it is even more amazing in spring or summer when everything is in full bloom. At the top of the drive we arrived at a parking area. Off to our left were an old grape press, old vines, and Jacob Schram’s Victorian home up on a hill. I was excited to get out of the car and walk around.
Riddler’s Night Out
Our tour began outside the entrance to the winery in front of a pond with the iconic frog statue called “Riddler’s Night Out”. The tour guide who has worked for the winery for 20 years started by telling us a brief history from when Jacob Schram started the winery to modern times. He talked about the Victorian home that sits on top of the hill that was in front of where we were standing. The home has a huge wrap-around porch and beautiful landscaping out in front down to the pond where we were standing. I can image there have been many gatherings hosted in that home over the last century. After the history lesson, our tour guide led us into the visitor’s center lobby where there are pictures of Jacob Schram and the Davies family throughout the room.
Schramsberg wine cave
The next part of the tour led us into the wine caves. The caves today encompass 34,000 feet of space and hold more than 2.5 million bottles. It was amazing to see the rows of wine bottles stacked from ceiling to floor as far back as the eye can see. The caves are dimly lit with lichen (a gray, moss-like substance) hanging from the ceilings. It’s eerie and certainly not a place I’d want to be wondering around on my own. We made a stop somewhere toward the middle of the cave to see a demonstration of how the sparkling wine is riddled by hand using riddling racks. Our final destination on the tour was back to the visitor’s center where we could taste some of the wines.
Our tour group was ushered into a room surrounded by windows with a long table set up in the center. The table was made of old riddling racks with a glass top and there were some flowers and candles in the center of the table to add some ambiance. We were able to sample 5 wines that included Blanc de Blancs, Brut Rosé, Blanc de Noir, Reserve sparkling wine and Nobles Pinot Noir. Our tour guide even handed out chocolate covered strawberries that his wife made to try with the wines. I thought all of the wines were great and would purchase any one of them for a special occasion. Upon my request our tour guide also poured the Crémant Demi-Sec which is a half sweet, half dry sparkling wine as the name implies. I ended up taking two bottles home with me and I left elated about visiting this place. Everything about it was superb!
Wine tasting at Schramsberg