Chenin Blanc
1.5 Acres
Chenin has high levels of malic acid, making it ideally suited for the warmer north end of Napa Valley. This natural trait, combined with significant differences between the day and night temperatures in our canyon—up to 50°F —allows our Chenin grapes to develop sugar and flavor during the warm days while preserving acidity during the cooler nights. Chenin’s thick skin, together with the canopy on our head-trained vines, protects our grapes from sunburn and dehydration, allowing us to harvest at optimal levels of ripeness.
Because of its high acidity, Chenin has excellent aging potential. Over time, our Chenin Blanc will develop complex secondary and tertiary flavors while still retaining its freshness.
Chenin Blanc has a long history in Napa Valley, winning a gold medal for Peter Mondavi, Krug’s winemaker, at the 1955 California State Fair. The fruit for Krug’s wines came from the family vineyard of our winemaker Graeme MacDonald.
During the 1950s and 1960s, plantings of Chenin Blanc in Napa Valley steadily rose. By 1969, Chenin Blanc was the dominant white variety in the Valley with 749 planted acres, eclipsing both Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. During the 1970s and 1980s, the preferences of American consumers, however, shifted towards red wines. By 2017, when we planted our first block of Chenin Blanc, only 16 acres of Chenin vines remained in the Valley.