A “Rightful Place” for Pinot

Napa Valley doesn’t exactly advertise itself as Pinot Noir country. Cabernet Sauvignon is the grape most people picture when they think of the region—the one that built its reputation and commands its highest prices. But Napa Valley Quilt’s new Pinot Noir, which launched in March, is a reminder that there’s more to Napa’s story.

Compared to Cabernet, Pinot Noir is a thinner-skinned, moodier grape that performs well in cooler climates. It’s no wonder, then, that most people don’t associate it with Napa. “When it comes to telling the story of Napa Valley, it has so much to do with Cabernet becoming the crown jewel,” says Joe Wagner, a fifth-generation winemaker and the founder of Copper Cane Wines & Spirits, which produces the Napa Valley Quilt label. Yet insofar as this is “a world-class growing region for grapes, Pinot Noir has a rightful place there.” He believes that, in the right pockets of terroir, it not only works—it thrives.