4 Winds Winery (not to be confused with Four Winds Cellars in Murphys, CA) was founded by the mother-son team, Jane (passed in early 2023) and Roy Chapin; incidentally based on their name, until more recently, this was the first listing in our database of nearly 1,100 Napa producers (reference 001 Vintners). Jane purchased 109 acres in the Stags Leap District in 1998. The Chapins have some intriguing history relating to some of the early automobiles commercially manufactured in the United States. Roy’s great grandfather Roy D. Chapin Sr., along with Joseph Hudson (founder of Hudson’s Department stores in 1881) and Abraham Barit co-founded Hudson Motor Company in 1908 in Detroit. Their early efforts were located inside the still standing Aerocar/Hudson brick building at 6501 Mack Avenue before they very quickly outgrew this space and moved into a much larger building.
This building was constructed in 1905/1906 by Alexander Malcomson, a local coal dealer and an early investor in Henry Ford’s fledgling company. His Aerocar company was not successful and was soon bankrupt. We visited this old building – its most recent use was as a metal foundry (Falcon Foundry); we briefly met the previous owner of the building Gregory Jurzak who was still running his business here at the time of our visit.
Hudson would go on to produce cars from 1909 until 1957 at which point the brand was discontinued. Roy Sr. also served for a short while as United States Secretary of Commerce under President Herbert Hoover.
Aerocar/Hudson Building
Both Roy Chapin Sr and Joseph Hudson are interred in section 10 in the Woodlawn Cemetery, located about a 20-minute drive from downtown Detroit. Remarkably the mausoleums of both men and their families are located within almost a stone’s throw of each other, near the picturesque Willow Lake. This cemetery is well known as being the final resting place of both Aretha Franklin and her family and Rosa Parks.
Roy D Chapin Mausoleum
Joseph Hudson Mausoleum
Hudson Memorabilia
The family has been involved in real estate for many years including grapefruit groves and lettuce operations in Florida. When Jane was ready to purchase the Stags Leap District property, Roy recalls her unconventional strategy involving the previous owner – encouraging her not to sell – which in a timely twist of fate ultimately worked, as the prior owner ultimately decided she only wanted to sell to Jane.
Most of the property is steep and rather rugged. The western side of their property is in the shadows of the rocky Palisades – impressive as seen from parts of the Silverado Trail but even more so when seen up close. Ten acres are ‘hidden’ in the back of the Palisades – accessible only by a steep dirt trail. The views overlooking the southern part of the valley are quite special and on a clear day one can see all the way down to the San Pablo Bay.
An old house came with the property. In a unique proposition, Jane invited numerous personnel from fire stations both in Napa and neighboring counties to use the house as a training site for fire fighters.
Roy lived in Thailand for some 25 years (he can speak some Thai) – initially for education (studying in Chiang Mai), later to work for Abercrombie & Kent – helping organize and lead premium tours in remote parts of China. Ultimately, he built his own app-based production and video game company, MovieSeer Limited and was based in Bangkok. After Roy sold his company – he began to think about returning to live in the USA.
In 2011 when Roy was considering leaving Thailand Jane spoke to him about a new venture she was interested in – starting a small wine label. The timing was ideal as Roy moved back to California in 2013 and started a new career in the wine business. He began taking extension wine business courses from UC Davis and more hands-on wine making and viticulture classes from Napa College. When he and Jane were ready to start producing wine, Roy began cold calling a variety of notable winemakers in the valley; ultimately his persistence and the uniqueness of their site in part helped convince Thomas Brown to become their winemaker. It was also helpful that Jane already enjoyed wines made by Thomas.
Not yet having vineyards on site but wanting to begin production using Stags Leap District sourced grapes, they turned to their neighbors. Jane had known the Steltzners (long time wine producing family in the Stags Leap District) for many years and decided to purchase grapes from them. Later Thomas connected the Chapins with nearby Regusci Vineyards. The first 4 Winds vintage was from 2012; this was an ideal year to start with and the beginning of a number of very well-regarded vintages in Napa Valley. Thomas has been their winemaker since day one. From 2012 through 2019, 4 Winds sourced grapes from both the Steltzners’ and the Reguscis’, and from 2013 – 2019, always from the same blocks.
In 2017 a small section of their property was prepared for planting a new vineyard; this was the first time the property has ever been planted to vines. Three separate blocks were planted in the spring of 2018 for a total of 3.5 acres entirely to several clones of Cabernet Sauvignon including 7, 35.1 and 169. The amount of rocks removed from the vineyard footprint was remarkable. These were used to layer parts of the slope directly below sections of the vineyard. Block three is especially rocky. Additional plans are under way to develop approximately 4 more acres of vines. The first harvest was going to be 2020, but due to the resulting smoke issues from the Glass Fire the grapes were not harvested. The first commercial vintage from the estate was from 2021.
The amount of technology used to monitor and maintain this small vineyard is truly impressive. Every vine is assigned its own GPS coordinate and is tracked using an impressive app provided by Chilean based WiseConn. This allows the vineyard management team to reference historical and real time data including individual vine crop estimates and final yields, moisture levels in the soil, vine health, vigor levels, temperature and disease pressures, i.e. spore counts. Monitors are also installed on their wells and springs with real time data showing, allowing them to more efficiently use water based on refill rates. And they are able to control watering schedules and amounts of water given, for individual vines. After the sustained heat spike around Labor Day weekend in 2022, misters and shade clothes were installed. They now collect valuable data resulting from these temperature mitigation measures.
Having full control and precision over their vineyard has been extremely rewarding; collecting all this data allows them to fine tune their operations each year. However, there is still no substitute as Roy told us for walking the vineyard on a regular basis, having this contact with both land and the vines. He is actively involved in the management and upkeep of the property; after the wildfires of 2017 he earned his Firefighter Type 2 Certification (FFT2) from Cal Fire. He also is studying to become a falconer (a useful skill for when the grapes ripen and attract other bird predators).
Through grants from the USDS, a tribe of goats rotationally graze all year long. And sometimes cows from their neighbors, Robinson Family Vineyards are allowed to graze on certain parts of the property.
4 Winds produces one estate wine each year, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The estate wine spends about 20 months in 75% new French oak barrels. Approximately 300 to 500 cases are produced each year. Starting in 2023, 4 Winds began producing a Chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast. The 4 Winds wines are built to showcase the fruit with oak providing a complementary supporting role both on the bouquet and the palate. Their wines showcase a Napa Valley ripeness which flirts with a style that is both opulent and hedonistic at times. They drink exceptionally well in their youth but also have the characteristics for aging.
Select Wines
The 2021 4 Winds Cabernet Sauvignon is their inaugural vintage from the estate. This wine is deep ruby and opaque with an amaranthine rim; similar to previous non-estate bottlings, the core here is built upon its opulent fruit and in part showcasing Brown’s winemaking style. The seductive, ripe and highly attractive aromas are primarily darkly fruited including scents of blackberry, boysenberry, cherry, Santa Rosa plum and melting brown chocolate. Some additional spice layers are at play here including toasted oak, old cedar, an initial meaty/gamey character and pipe tobacco. The plush palate offers layers of ripe fruit flavors including of Pakistani mulberry, blackberry, boysenberry preserve, dark cherry, chocolate and Graham cracker. We tasted this bottling before it was officially released; for a young wine from a rocky, hillside and low yielding site, its texture features remarkably resolved and supple tannins. Their polished and smooth feel lingers gently on the seamless finish. This wine was made primarily with grapes from Blocks 1 and 2. Only 255 cases were produced.
The 2019 4 Winds Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby and opaque; the bouquet is a bit riper expression than the 2018. It beautiful aromatics are open knitted immediately offering scents of boysenberry, blackberry, and Santa Rosa plum. Smells like biting into a fresh plum right off of the tree at peak of it’s ripeness. Also notes of blackberry pie and dark berry preserves. And there is an underlying aromatic layer of a wintergreen/mint type nuance. This wine is ripe on the palate with long lasting fruit flavors including of dark plum, blackberry, boysenberry and mulberry, with some chocolate notes on the finish. The tannins are rounded and polished. Drinks easily. The finish is persistent with its fruit character dominating supported by lightly grainy textured tannins and a lingering woodsy spice. A plushness is especially noticeably on this vintage.
The 2018 4 Winds Cabernet Sauvignon is dark ruby and opaque with purplish tinges on the rim. The is open with widely spread arms and immediately expressive of ripe but also bright fruited aromatics including dark plum as the most dominant scent. But there are also notes of blueberry, some darker florals including violets, dust/dry earth and blackberry. Both the bouquet and palate are focused on the fruit characteristics with the oak a complementary character. This wine reveals darkly fruited flavors of plum and bramble with a light note of dried tobacco leaf on the finish. Intensely flavored, the tannins are well-integrated featuring a rounded lightly gravelly texture on the seamless finish.
The 2014 4 Winds Cabernet Sauvignon shows equally dark in the glass as the prior vintage but is more approachable than the 2013 vintage in its youth. On the bouquet it reveals aromas of spicy plum, ripe blackberry along with a dessert spice component. This wine continues to change dramatically as it breathes – it shows a bit more oak than the previous vintage (toasted cedar) along with dessert spices, brown sugar and a sweetness of fruit. Rounded and rich, the palate showcases ripe fruit with lingering notes of mocha and very well integrated polished tannins.
The 2013 4 Winds Cabernet Sauvignon is dark in the glass and equally dark on the bouquet. This wine sports aromas of blackberry and cassis and dust nuances; with ripe and fairly intense aromatics, the bouquet simply smells attractive. Bursting with flavor including notes of blackberry, there is a subtle sweetness of oak with hints of chocolate. And these characteristics are framed by dusty, somewhat chalky and slightly chewy tannins. This wine drinks very well by itself. This was a robust vintage in general in Napa Valley, producing wines that needed some time to ‘settle’ down after release. This bottling in particular shows the tannins respective of the vintage, but they are already integrated nicely at the time of our tasting.
Beginning in 2022, 4 Winds began producing an accompanying label called Tiercel using grapes from both the estate and also grapes from other vineyards in the Stags Leap District. The attractive label features a falconer’s hat; the name Tiercel refers to a male hawk.
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The property was not spared during the fires of 2017. A small guest cottage was destroyed, but fortunately the main house survived intact. It is possible the bare land that had been previously cleared in anticipation of planting the vineyard, helped as a fire break.
The hillsides in the Vaca range are much more open as compared to the Mayacamas mountains on the other side of the valley and contain a mixture of grassland, chaparral and some oaks. As a result, they did not have to clear out many trees in prepping for their vineyard. In walking the site, one quickly notices the number of rocks but then looking closer one also sees the fineness of the soil between the rocks.
Their property is in an acclaimed vineyard neighborhood; while there are no immediate adjacent vineyards to their small vineyard site, their property borders the famed Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars FAY Vineyard and other nearby neighbors include the Robinson Family, the Steltzners, Cavus and Malk Vineyards.
Most estate properties plant grapes first and then may build a winery – however when the Steltzners were doing some renovation on their cave, Dick Steltzner called Jane and asked her if she wanted a cave to be built on site (as he had all the equipment already). She agreed and a small cave for their personal use was drilled into their hillside which is used for storing empty barrels and their own wines.
The name 4 Winds has a number of meanings to the Chapins’ – Roy is one of four siblings, their property is located in a part of the Stags Leap District that is often breezy, and with Roy’s connection to Asia, 4 is an auspicious number and wind is often used in Feng shui.
And the label is unique – it was created from a watercolor painting of their French styled gardens that grow in front of the main house on the property. Rather than taking a traditional perspective of the gardens from the ground level, the label depicts what the gardens look like from above separated into multiple garden blocks. And in an homage to their Florida roots and Jane’s prior involvement in the citrus industry, the label contains two small citrus trees. Those who spend some time studying this label in detail will spot a tiny rabbit on the front.
The wines are primarily sold direct to consumer through their website and mailing list. A limited number of library wines are available. Roy used to work with a handful of distributors but now works with Total Wine & More for select distribution nationally. Locally one might be able to find the wine at the K. Laz Collection in Yountville, ACME Fine Wines in St. Helena and select outlets in San Francisco and Los Angeles. A very limited number of bottles reaches certain markets in Asia including South Korea and Taiwan. For more information and to join their mailing list for notification of releases, visit: www.4windswinery.com
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