Shed Creek Cellars

Shed Creek Cellars. William and Barbara Morgan purchased property in the southeast corner of Napa County in 1977; at the time they lived in the San Francisco Bay area and were looking for a more rural getaway; both William and Barbara currently live on the property. William spotted an advertisement for this property in the classified section of the Contra Costa Times – visited and soon decided to purchase the land. The ranch was being used for growing walnuts; later William had irrigation installed creating pastureland and raised cattle; today the property is known as the Morgan Ranch.

William founded Morgan’s Aluminum Products in 1962 and in 2001 created Morgan Fence & Awning. It is need to see some of their products used by their Napa Valley vineyard neighbors, Stanley and Helen Cheng, the proprietors of Hestan Vineyards. William’s son Bob purchased the business in 2008 and renamed the operations to Morgan’s Outdoor Living. Bob operates two stores, Morgan’s Outdoor Living in Fairfield and Morgan’s Fence & Awning in Concord. Both stores sell a variety of fencing and awning products both for residential and commercial use.

The property is 288 acres of which 40 acres are planted to vines with three varieties growing including Sauvignon Blanc, Primitivo (budded over on what were Pinot Grigio vines) and Cabernet Sauvignon. Hillsides surround much of their property, but all their vineyards are planted on flat land. Their Sauvignon Blanc is old for Napa Valley – planted in the early to mid 1980s. William decided to plant grapes after Kendall Jackson approached him about putting in a vineyard; Jackson was supposed to purchase the grapes but ultimately, they never did. So, the Morgan’s became growers and still sell the majority of their grapes to Napa Valley producers including Peju, Honig and Cliff Lede.

Due to their location, most visitors to the Napa Valley unfortunately will never discover the Shed Creek Cellars tasting room and vineyard and this other ‘side’ of Napa Valley. Gordon Valley is located in Napa County’s southeast corner directly next to the Solano County line. As a result, logistically it is easiest to visit Shed Creek Cellars from Solano County (Suisun Valley). Their tasting room is about a 20-minute drive from Fairfield and 35 minutes from the city of Napa or a 10-minute drive from Mankas Corner, a cute little gathering place in Suisun Valley, an American Viticultural Area established in 1982, slightly after the first AVA was established in Napa Valley.

The tasting room is in an old walnut shed which the family converted into a more hospitable interior. Bob located parts of a floor from a bowling alley that was for sale in Concord; he purchased one piece and has re-purposed it into a bar table. The bathroom is a port-a-potty, but it is an ‘amped up’ space including a sign referring to its more luxurious environs which reads, “customer rated, best porta potty in Napa County” with images of #1 Rated and 5 Star rating.

Keeping the name of the winery simple, it honors this shed and Gordon Creek which runs directly behind the building. And it is this simplicity that aligns with the feel of the property. Despite the tasting room having a Napa address, this is still ‘old’ Napa Valley – less of everything including cars, vineyards, wineries and people. It is quiet here, rural and about as far from the “wine strip” of parts of heavily traveled Highway 29 as one can find in Napa County. No flash or fancy, just down to earth good people and good wines.

Very welcoming, this gracious family enjoys hosting visitors. The old house next to their vineyards dates from 1864 and was supposedly near the site of a stagecoach stop years ago – well before the town of Monticello was submerged by the waters of Lake Berryessa. It still feels very remote in this part of the county; imagine how remote it must have been in the 1860s. Tastings occur at the bar, seated inside in the converted old barn or outside under the oaks next to the fire pit. Some weekends Shed Creek Cellars hosts live music and a food truck.

The family made home wine for several years; in 2016 Bob and his wife Lisa decided to hold back tiny amounts of grapes to make their own wine for Shed Creek Cellars – overseen by Bob who works with a winemaker in the city of Napa where their wines are made. Production is extremely small; they harvest about 1 ton of grapes from each of their varieties with a total annual production of around 200 cases. 2016 was the inaugural vintage of Shed Creek Cellars; all wines are predominately estate grown although they may blend in small percentages of non-estate varieties. For the first few vintages Shed Creek Cellars produced Sauvignon Blanc, Primitivo and Cabernet Sauvignon, but the portfolio has since expanded to also include a rosé, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Select Wines
Whites
The 2023 Shed Creek Cellars Sauvignon Blanc is pale yellow; the bouquet offers classic aromas associated with this variety including of lemon and lime, orange blossom, grapefruit and green apple. In addition there are scents of freshly cut grass, passion fruit, pineapple and pineapple guava. With wines in general, we often talk about balance on the palate, but not as often on the bouquet. With this variety in particular, we love the balanced scents straddling the aromatic profile between more herbal and more tropical. This wine is perfectly saddled in that regard. On the palate there are flavors of Meyer lemon, lime, grapefruit, pomelo, kiwi, Sierra gooseberry, honeydew melon, herbal notes including of thyme and a lingering but light chalky character. Fresh and vibrant, with a rounded and creamy texture, the palate showcases the typicity of the variety rather than the characteristics that are expressed when it is over ripe. We would love to take a bottle of this to Bodega Bay in Sonoma County to enjoy the sunset on a warm fall day with a plate of fresh oysters and tangy mignonette sauce in front of us.

The 2016 Shed Creek Cellars Sauvignon Blanc is straw yellow in color; this wine was fermented and aged in stainless steel and only 20% of its total production went through malolactic fermentation. The bouquet shows appealing aromatics which tend to be tropical including pineapple, a lemon zest and citrus blossom. It is rich in flavor with a pleasing depth uncharacteristic for the variety; the texture is rounded and slightly creamy. It is very balanced with some minerality notes on the palate; the extended finish sports flavors of tangerine with no tartness. Features a brightness across the palate but is not made in a grassy or greener style that this variety sometimes expresses from cooler climate regions.

Reds
Primitivo and Zinfandel are genetically identical. The name Primitivo refers to this variety when it is grown in Italy, while Zinfandel is the more commonly used name in California. From the research done by Dr. Carole Meredith, former UC Davis professor and proprietor of Napa Valley’s Lagier Meredith, this variety originated in Croatia. In that country it is known as Crljenak Kaštelanski or Tribidrag.

The 2023 Shed Creek Cellars Hazelle’s Rosé of Primitivo is named in homage of the family matriarch, Hazelle. This wine is pale to medium copper in color; the elegant and diverse bouquet offers aromas of strawberry, strawberry guava, raspberries, a hint of watermelon jolly rancher candy, rose petals, ruby grapefruit, cucumber infused water and as it evolves a kiss of vanilla. Balanced between flavor, acidity and texture, this wine overdelivers. On the palate the flavors somewhat mimic the bouquet including of wild strawberry, raspberry, tart cherry, grapefruit pith, and tropical guava on the less ripe side. Finishes with a note of white pepper. Its texture is rounded and creamy while being lifted high by its vibrant and refreshing acidity. A crowd pleaser. After trying this, we wish more Napa Valley producers would make rosé from this variety. In terms of pairing, we could see enjoying this with a spicy red or green Thai curry.

The 2022 Shed Creek Cellars Primitivo is pale ruby; the attractive and ripe but not overripe nose offers aromas of raspberry, cherry cola, blueberry, Santa Rosa plum, licorice, anise, clove, vanilla, mocha, dried earth and old cedar box. On the palate there are flavors of ripe cherry, plum, strawberry, red licorice and prune (but not pruny if that makes sense). Not overly spice as the fruit is the star of the show here. Lingers with a light presence of vanilla, chocolate and toasted oak. The plush, pillowy and polished tannins are seamlessly integrated on the supple finish. Easy to drink, and well put together, this balanced beauty would pair well with the Gott’s Roadside Western Bacon Blue Ring hamburger or better yet the tri-tip at Copper Top BBQ in Big Pine, CA.

The 2016 Shed Creek Cellars Primitivo was blended with 21% Petite Sirah and a slight dollop of Merlot. The nose immediately offers bright fruit aromatics along with initial notes of sage and as the wine breathes, hints of cedar, red licorice and a subtle thread of mocha. Drinks very well in its youth featuring mostly red fruit including cherry and not overly ripe plum. The tannins are lightly felt, smooth and rounded. This is a character of the Shed Creek Cellars Primitivo, regardless of vintage.

The 2021 Shed Creek Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon is medium ruby; the bouquet is a ripe but not overripe expression of this variety. It offers aromas of strawberry, dark raspberry, cherry, blackberry, blueberry and plum. Its oak profile is a complementary character, not a dominating one with layers of vanilla, mocha, clove and a touch of cedar, all of which become more expressive as the wine evolves in the glass. On the palate there are flavors of blackberry, dark cherry, blueberry and plum. This is one of the more approachable 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon’s we have tried from Napa Valley; this vintage tended to produce muscular and dense wines which need time to soften. Instead this bottling offers already well-rounded and comfortably textured tannins. Their broadly distributed presence parallels the fruit on the finish for some time. This lighter but flavorful wine would pair well with pork shoulder or lamb chops.

The 2016 Shed Creek Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon is 91% varietal, blended with small amounts of Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Shows an elegant nose with a sweetness of fruit including red cherry and red currant. Cherry cola-esque with some darker spices. A bit briary. Looking for a big grippy tannic finish? This wine is not one of those wines – rather it is seamless with a lovely balance across the palate showing fine-grained slightly earthy tannins and hints of tobacco leaf and white pepper on the finish.

Note: this review has been identified as needing a major update including additional tasting notes for current release wines (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir).

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The only distribution they currently have is at the Suisun Valley Filling Station at Mankas Corner; the station features only local wines and is located about a 10-minute drive from Shed Creek Cellars. And this ‘corner’ is a fun place to hang out, especially on the weekends when there is sometimes live music. And Shed Creek Cellars showcases their wines at Suisun Valley PASSPORT, an annual hosted on one Sunday in April overseen by the Suisun Valley Vintners and Growers Association.

The wines are sold direct through visits; initially they were only open the second weekend of every month (no appointment needed) but at the time of our latest update to this review, they are open every weekend. Groups of 6 to 8 may request a private appointment Friday through Sunday during the rest of the month. Call to setup an appointment; if it is the weekend it is always a good idea to call to verify they are open. Guests may bring a picnic lunch. For more information or to join their wine club with 3, 6, or 12 bottles shipped quarterly, visit their website: www.shedcreekcellars.com

Tasting Room