Farella Vineyard

Farella Vineyard is located about 4 miles east of downtown Napa. The roots for this family-owned winery begin with Frank Farella; he purchased land here in the mid 1970s. His son Tom Farella was head winemaker from 1991 through 2018. Frank was one of the founding partners of the San Francisco based legal firm, Farella Braun + Martel. And he was Robert Mondavi’s personal attorney for about 30 years.

Tom studied at UC Davis ultimately graduating in 1983 with a degree in Viticulture and Enology. His first winery stint after college was for Lou Preston at Preston Vineyards in the Dry Creek Valley in neighboring Sonoma County. While Lou is getting up in age, we sometimes see him at local farmers’ markets from Cloverdale to Santa Rosa in the past few years. Tom also gained valuable international perspective on wine making from time working in Burgundy, France.

The total estate is planted to 26 vine-acres nestled against the hillsides of the southern Vaca mountains. The property ranges in elevation from about 300 to 500 feet and was originally planted in 1979, primarily to white varieties. Vines have since been replaced over the years and now the vineyard is planted to a much higher percentage of red varieties. The property is farmed sustainably with little to no tillage practices. Fruit from various blocks in much of the vineyard is sold to mainly small premium Napa Valley based producers (including approximately 2/3 of the vineyard as a long-term lease to Realm Cellars), while Tom holds back about 25% for his own wines. Wineries who purchase fruit sometimes bottle these wines as a vineyard designate.

The winery itself is not the original winery where production began, rather the early vintages were produced in a small winery next to Frank’s main house in the city of Napa (their first vintage was 1985). The winery next to their vineyards was built some years later. Today it is home to the Farella Wines and also at times houses smaller producers that Tom or his winemaker are associated with in some capacity.

Tom was directly responsible for creating what is still Napa valley’s most recent sub appellation – Coombsville although Crystal Springs may receive its approval by the end of 2023. The formation of this geographic region has been of interest to him for many years. During some down time in 2008/2009 when the economy was faltering and after a previous attempt to create a sub appellation in this part of Napa (under a different name) Tom drafted a proposal and then told several vineyard neighbors his plans. Coombsville was granted AVA status in late 2011. And Tom also introduced an updated more modern look to his wine labels (created by label designer Michael McDermott), timed around when Coombsville received its status approval.

It was also during this slowdown in the economy that Tom referenced his years in the industry and realized that the wine business is cyclical, and the economy would improve at some point and so to would wine sales. When many others were cutting back on their production Tom did not; he actually increased production. When the economy turned around his decision (albeit perhaps somewhat risky at the time) has benefited greatly. He has been able to satisfy increased demand for his wines as the wine market strengthened in the ensuing years.

Farella produces wines we often categorize as ‘brightly lit’, fresh, savory and very age worthy. Individual attention is given to every wine barreled and bottled. The price to quality ratio is quite good. One of the wines we tried had a production of merely one barrel. All their wines are meant to be enjoyed with food and they are styled with that in mind. These wines are not the super extracted California wines that can often overwhelm aromatically as well as on the palate. Balance is a key component to Tom’s wine making philosophy and is an element that is apparent throughout these wines.

Select Wines
Whites
Farella makes a refreshing Sauvignon Blanc that is consistent in its flavor and aromatic profile each year. This is their only white and is one of the nicer Sauvignon Blanc’s we’ve tried from Napa Valley. It is also the first wine he and his father made under the Farella label. It is made without the use of oak. We have recently been tasting Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, ranging between 14% to low 15% alcohol range which showcases an entirely different set of aromatics than this more mineral laden restrained bottling of 13% alcohol.

The 2022 Farella La Luce Sauvignon Blanc is pale to medium yellow in color; the aromatics are an open-book and a three-pronged union of both tropical, stone fruits and floral notes. These include pineapple, peach, apricot, honeysuckle and star jasmine. There is a also a light herbal note at work here similar to kaffir lime leaf. The palate is balanced and bright with lively but not bracing acidity (always an important distinction when describing Sauvignon Blanc). This wine reveals flavors of Gravenstein apple, pear, peach, lemon and lime juice. Shows plenty of energy on the finish. It is California grown and clearly not a typical New Zealand styled wine of this variety, its cadence falls somewhere in the middle of the two.

The 2020 Farella La Luce Sauvignon Blanc is deep straw in color; the aromatics are bit shy initially and the bouquet needs time to open. It offers elegant aromas of grapefruit, pomelo peel, chamomile, lemongrass and lemon juice. This wine is balanced and seamless across the palate with a complementary verve of acidity but without any overt grassiness or tart tones. It shows a supple texture and a varietal foxiness which persists on the finish. Very shellfish friendly. This wine was fermented entirely in stainless steel tanks.

The Farella Vineyard 2014 “La Luce” (the 30th anniversary wine); this wine has aromas of honeysuckle and lime and flavors of gooseberry and green apple. It is crisp and clean across the palate. The finish shows enough acidity to cause a mouthwatering sensation for some time afterwards. Very balanced. Nicely done.

Reds
The 2018 Farella Syrah is deep ruby in color; if wine bouquets had specific actor personalities, this one would be Alfred Hitchcock meets Jennifer Lawrence. The nose is character driven yet sultry at the same time. It offers darker aromatics including a gamey/meaty nuance including bacon fat, mushroom, damp earth, rusting iron, dried herbs, crushed dark pepper and plenty of fruit forward expressive aromatic curves including dark plum, blackberry and black cherry. The fruit starts to show the more this wine has time to breathe. The lively palate offers flavors of red plum, red cherry and cranberry. The tannins are rounded, resolved and fine grained, lingering with a remarkably gentle texture, juicy red fruits, bright acidity and a subtle but persistent warmth from the alcohol. This wine was fermented 25% whole cluster.

The 2018 Farella Malbec is deep ruby in the glass; the bouquet offers a diversity of appealing mostly red fruited aromatics including of plum, currant, dark raspberry and assorted Alaska red bush berries along with a note of soy sauce, chocolate, dark olive and dried sage. The bouquet is consistent over time – we sat with this wine for about an hour. Savory, fresh and still very youthful across the palate this wine offers flavors of red plum, sour cherry, currant and cranberry. Crunchy on the finish, this wine lingers with a bright and long lasting red fruited tartness. The grainy but rounded tannins parallel the fruit and showcase a light drying character. Definitely a food wine, we would see pairing this with roasted duck with the lively acidity cutting through the resulting fat. Winemaker Ryan Pass told us they treat this wine more like a Pinot Noir rather than a heavier red in the cellar utilizing a gentler approach. The first vintage of the Farella Malbec was in 2009. A number of years ago we tried their 2010 bottling which was already superbly balanced in its youth.

The 2018 Farella Merlot has been made since their first vintage in 1985. Grapes for this wine are generally harvested a bit earlier than the “Napa norm’, trying to ensure more of a savory/earthy profile. The process of making this wine is gentle, it is fermented cool and slow with the intent of minimizing and not building tannins. This wine is medium to dark ruby in color; the bouquet offers aromas of red plum, cherry, grilled meats and dried herbs. One would not be incorrect in calling its aromatic profile, savory. And this savory character is also echoed on the palate. This wine reveals flavors of plums and red berries accompanied by darker spices including a light pepper nuance along with sage and other dried herbs most noticeable on the finish. The tannins exert a light and gentle grip with a lingering dusty character showing more on the front of the palate than the back. This wine shows plenty of freshness 5 years post vintage at the time of our tasting – and it has plenty of life ahead of it with proper cellaring.

The 2012 Farella Merlot shows appealing aromatics including red plum and raspberry with a palate that offers plenty of flavor along with a lighter textural feel. It is a very young wine still; the tannins were showing a bit tight at the time of our tasting but is a wine that certainly has plenty of life ahead of it. The Farella Merlots are noted for being able to age very well.

The 2019 Farella Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal. Different lots for this wine are harvested and fermented separately from one another, typically producing 1 to 6 barrels of wine a year. The final lots are blended prior to bottling. This wine is deep ruby; the bouquet reveals aromas of violets, blackberry, sage and other dried herbs, dark plum and an almost sanguine, blood/iron nuance. The palate is lively and very youthful, 4 years post vintage date. It offers flavors of red cherry, plum, cherry and cranberry with accompanied notes of dark pepper and dried herbs. You can’t get much more fresh than this bottling. The finish is savory, mouth watering and lingers with a red fruited tartness, a drying character and a lingering light astringency.

The 2014 Farella Cabernet Sauvignon. For reference, we tasted this wine 9 years post vintage. It is deep ruby with a purplish rim in the glass; the bouquet is focused on its varietal purity including a light herbal note, scents of plum, violets, cherry and a hint of dried walnut skin. Give this wine time to breathe, the fruit will become more expressive. And like the bouquet the palate is focused on the fruit rather than other characteristic from barrel aging. It is dark fruited including flavors of plum, blackberry and boysenberry. There is so much fruit still. Its texture is creamy with polished and well-integrated tannins. This wine lingers with a light red-fruited tartness. It has loads of life still ahead of it.

Farella also produces a very limited production of a red blend called Alta, named in homage to Tom’s love of skiing and in particular at Alta in Utah. This wine is always a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Both varieties are picked simultaneously and then co-fermented. This wine is not always produced as several vintages have been skipped over for various reasons. The 2017 Alta is a blend of 2/3 Cabernet Sauvignon and 1/3 Merlot – the Merlot is harvested a bit riper and is combined with a ‘leaner’ Cabernet Sauvignon, in part for its resulting structure. This wine is deep ruby in the glass; the bouquet initially is brooding and as its opens it offers dark fruited aromas including plum, and blackberry, sage and other dried herbs but not overly herbaceous, a hint of chocolate and a sweet tobacco spice. Juicy and savory across the palate it sports flavors of cherry, plum and crushed pink peppercorn. The mouth watering and drying finish offers gravelly, earthy and very long lasting tannins. We noted that this wine tastes younger than its actual vintage. For reference we tasted 6 years post vintage. Tasting this wine made us immediately want to reach for a medium rare ribeye straight from the BBQ.

A unique feature of Farella are older vintages that are still available for purchase. For many years Tom would hold back a significant part of each vintage (until approximately the 2001 vintage) and then sell these after they had some age. Today he has a number of older wines – selling these both direct to consumer during onsite visits as well as to select restaurants who have an interest in presenting aged wines to their own customers.

Farella used to make Pinot Noir under the Farella-Park label. The 1995 Farella Elke Vineyard Pinot Noir for being twenty years old at the time of our tasting still shows plenty of life. An underlying acidity has been the key to this wine holding up so well. Aromatically it shows notes of raspberry, cola, white pepper a woodsy smokiness and notes of brown chocolate. On the palate the wine is balanced; the tannins are smooth yet still noticeable showing more so on the sides and back of the palate than on the front. Their delicate grip lingers softly for some time. This bottling offers flavors of cranberry and red cherry. If somehow you have the patience to not drink all of the wine immediately after you open it, it is even better on day two.

Nevada Vineyard
Starting in 2020 Tom began development of a vineyard near the tiny community of Sheridan, NV in the sagebrush covered high dessert. This vineyard is located not far from the California state line southeast of South Lake Tahoe. The soils here are granitic; the vineyard is located in soils that were deposited from erosion from the nearby mountains. And the site is located far enough away from the shadow of the mountains to ensure longer hours of sunshine during the growing season.

The vineyard is planted to Blaufränkisch, a traditional Austrian variety and several hybrids including Itasca and Marquette. The first grapes harvested were 54 pounds of Marquette in 2023 and were brought to Farella Winery for fermentation and aging.

We will visit this site in 2024 or 2025 and provide an update to our notes here.

Hospitality
The winery is located just off of 3rd Avenue (not to be confused with 3rd Street in Napa) and is situated on a hillside under many oak trees. A visit and tasting are very personal experiences. Visits are appointment only for serious wine enthusiasts and are arranged around Tom or his winemaker’s schedule. Since Tom is responsible for most aspects of this winery and is also involved in other winery projects – when you request an appointment, it will help if you mentioned a few suggested times.

This is a unique opportunity to meet with a long time Napa Valley winemaker, someone who has seen a lot of changes in the valley and worked numerous harvests and is extremely well versed on a number of wine topics. If you have a love of the outdoors…bonus points given.

Visitors to the property will typically taste several wines in the ‘fireplace’ room with a number of older now empty wine bottles above the fireplace. And usually a sample of an older vintage so one can see how well the Farella wines age. Farella houses a large variety of various wines at any one time in barrel and part a visit may include sampling select wines in various stages of their development.

NOTE: In February 2017 the Outland collective wine salon opened, of which Farella was one of three partner wineries represented on Franklin Street in downtown Napa along with Samantha Sheehan of Poe Wines (Poe makes wine in Napa but from mainly Sonoma & Mendocino wines) and originally Forlorn Hope wines, and for a very brief time, T. Berkley Wines. This tasting space closed in mid 2023 and transitioned into another tasting room. We keep our notes for historical reference. The Farella wines are no longer available for tastings or purchase here and limited visits for tastings are again hosted at the winery.

This tasting room was very central and was within easy walking distance of a number of hotels and restaurants including two of the most prominent hotels downtown, Andaz and the Archer.

Despite being in a ‘fishbowl’ a tasting here was very personalized; the tiny space was surrounded by large windows letting you easily see passerby’s and allowing them to see in. A map on the wall was lit with colored lights representing vineyard locations. Visitors who made appointments were able to request private tastings with any of the partner winemakers (subject to availability and their schedules).

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Farella produces about 1,500 cases each year. Tom maintained a popular wine related blog for some time (no longer updated but still a good read) – visit: http://farella.typepad.com. For the main website and to join the mailing list, or one of three levels within the wine club called New Growth, visit: www.farella.com