Book Excerpt: Cabernet Sauvignon: The Love Affair that Built the Napa Valley
The following excerpt explores the moment when Cabernet Sauvignon was still a risky and unproven choice in Napa Valley. In the late nineteenth century, a small number of vintners believed that the valley’s soils and climate could support wines equal to those of Europe’s great regions. Among them were Gustave Niebaum, founder of Inglenook, and H.W. Crabb of To Kalon, two figures whose conviction, experimentation, and ambition helped establish Cabernet Sauvignon as a serious expression of Napa Valley long before the region’s international recognition.
From Chapter Five, “True Believers”
Niebaum had the money, the mindset, and the motivation to produce a Napa Valley wine to rival the First Growths of the Médoc, which were officially recognized in the 1855 Classement des Grand Crus Classés (1855 Classification). His Cabernet Sauvignon vines were imported from nurseries in southern France and were planted with higher densities, mimicking Bordeaux, rather than the wider spacing common in California. Former Niebaum-Coppola winemaker Scott McLeod stated that the original block was the source of all subsequent plantings on the estate.
Inglenook’s 1886 Cabernet Sauvignon is in a display case at the winery, now owned by Francis Ford Coppola. Inglenook also made a vintage 1882 “Red Wine, Extra Claret, Red Label, Médoc type,” which cost $4.50 per case of one dozen quarts. I surmise that both the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Claret were made predominantly from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes because there was a separate Inglenook “Red Wine, Table Claret, Zinfandel wine” from the 1884 vintage on the same price list, offered at $4.00 per case of one dozen quarts.
The other producer of noteworthy Cabernet Sauvignon in that era was H.W. Crabb. Born in Ohio, Crabb came to California during the Gold Rush in search of fortune in the Sierra Nevada, but by 1868 had settled in Oakville, where he began assembling what would become a landmark vineyard and winery estate. Initially called Hermosa (Spanish for “beautiful”), the property was later renamed To Kalon (“highest beauty” in Greek).
Crabb was an ardent collector of grapevines. In 1878, his experimental vineyard included over 250 varieties, and by 1888 that number had grown to nearly 400. Beginning with the 1882 vintage, Crabb supplied grapes to the UC Berkeley Viticultural Laboratory. Eugene Hilgard, Chair of the College of Agriculture at UC Berkeley, was impressed. After tasting Crabb’s 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, Hilgard remarked that it “promises very well.”
Two years later, Crabb’s Cabernet Sauvignon drew wider public acclaim. Federico Pohndorff, a respected wine writer, praised the inaugural 1884 vintage from Crabb’s To Kalon vineyard, predicting that the wine “will be historical.” Pohndorff noted that several well-connected enthusiasts already had secured most of the limited stock and were eager to purchase the 1885 and 1886 vintages for their cellars.
Crabb himself was confident in his Cabernet Sauvignon, calling its quality “first class.” He also sold cuttings of Cabernet Sauvignon and other vinifera varieties from To Kalon, further cementing the vineyard’s reputation not only as a source of fine wine but as a nursery for high-quality plant material.
This moment preceded Napa Valley’s emergence on the world stage and reflects a time when Cabernet Sauvignon was a matter of belief rather than certainty. The choices made by these early pioneers would shape the trajectory of Napa Valley wine for generations to come, laying the groundwork for the region’s later recognition and enduring commitment to quality.
