We have been visiting Napa Valley wineries for some years – decades, in fact – before we even heard of Viader. A colleague at work who also enjoys wine tasting put us on to it, with the warnings that it was difficult to find and difficult to get a reservation. Perhaps we hadn’t heard of Viader because we had never passed it on Route 29, the Silverado Trail or the roads between them. That’s because Viader is perched 1,400 feet above the valley floor on Howell Mountain. You have to want to go there to go there; you won’t just be passing by.
The view from Viader Winery.
As to the difficulty of finding the winery, our colleague overstated the case. You simply have to turn off the Silverado Trail at Deer Park Road and then keep climbing until you’re there. It’s a bit tricky recognizing that you are there, as the winery tells you to “look for the rust-iron gate before the sharp, 15 MPH, hairpin turn”. It’s worth the journey.
Power Tasting doesn’t review wines but rather the experience of visiting wineries. So suffice it to say that Viader makes excellent wines from red grapes. They don’t make a lot, so their wines are rather exclusive. If you are a lover of big California reds, you’ll be happy with what you get to taste there.
However, what we remember most from visiting Viader is the ambiance and in particular the view. For your tasting, you sit on a terrace overlooking the valley below, with vines in front of you and forest on the sides. A server appears from time to time with another wine for you to try but you are left pretty much alone to soak it all in, feeling very happy to be left alone sipping the wine and admiring the view. The prospect before you doesn’t overwhelm the wines. Rather, the wine only enhances the experience.
Viader has an interesting back story. Delia Viader founded the winery in the 1980’s, when female winemakers were virtually unheard of. She saw the potential for wines made from grapes grown on Howell Mountain and took advantage of it. She is still very much involved in the winery, but today her son Alan is the winemaker. They suffered a tragedy in 2005 when an arsonist destroyed their entire 2003 production. Fortunately, Viader bounced back and are very much in business today.
Viader doesn’t make very many wines. Their annual production is around 4,000 cases and it consists of red wines made from Bordeaux grapes, in particular Cabernet Sauvignon. (It is Napa Valley, after all.) Cabernet Franc is also included in their flagship wine, known simply as Viader Proprietary Blend. Other wines also feature blends of those grapes with Syrah and Malbec.
It is true that reservations are needed for a visit, as is the case these days at nearly every Napa Valley winery. However, we have found that a same-day phone call can result in a tour of the vineyards, a tasting and that marvelous view.