Girard Winery

Girard Winery. In the years since its founding vintage (1975) Girard has somehow survived the decades and undergone a remarkable transformation both in various site locations, wines produced and ownership. Its roots are with Steve Girard (died in 2004), an integral member of Kaiser Corporation who served as president and executive of several Kaiser companies and his son Steve Jr. The Girard family decided to purchase land in Oakville (Steve Girard was getting ready to retire from Kaiser); they acquired land bordering the Silverado Trail and Oakville Cross Road in 1974. At the time, they also owned property in Yountville near Domain Chandon. Ultimately Steve Jr ran the operations and built a winery in 1980.

Steve Jr. eventually sold the winery in 1996 to Leslie Rudd, the current site of Rudd Winery. Steve and Carol Girard then moved to Oregon to focus on Pinot Noir and built and operated Benton-Lane Winery located northwest of Eugene before selling in early 2018 to Napa Valley based Huneeus Vintners (owners of Quintessa Winery). Steve Girard and Augustin Huneeus Sr. were longtime friends. We have visited Benton-Lane Winery; for more information see our notes and photographs filed at the bottom of our profile on Quintessa Winery on this website.

Girard Winery stopped producing wines for several years until vintner Pat Roney, a founding partner of Vintage Wine Estates based in Santa Rosa (along with Leslie Rudd of Rudd Winery – died in May 2018), Michael Stewart and Chuck Sweeney, one of the founders of Napa’s Vine Cliff Winery, purchased the Girard Winery name in 2000. Vintage Wine Estates became a significant player in the wine worlds of Napa and Sonoma and beyond- with the acquisition of a number of winery properties and vineyards in both counties. Pat was past President of several Sonoma Valley wineries & the iconic wine shop, Dean & Deluca. He is also a former partner in the sizable custom crush facility south of the city of Napa, Bin to Bottle.

As of 2024, Girard Winery is owned by Jayson Adair. See our notes towards the end of this review for more information as well as visits to all of the California wineries under his ownership.

And the wines have been made in a number of locations over the years, including at a small winery on Pritchard Hill above Oakville where we first visited Girard many years ago. That property is currently owned by Napa Valley vintner Dave Del Dotto.

Calistoga Winery
After breaking ground in May 2017 by early fall 2018 construction was completed on a 32,000 square foot solar powered winery – located almost across from Clos Pegase at 1077 Dunaweal Lane (just south of Calistoga). The location is certainly convenient as the parent company, Adair Wine Estates also owns Clos Pegase. Up until the winery opened, for a number of years, Girard was technically a Sonoma County winery as the wines were made in a warehouse location near the town of Sonoma.

The hospitality center opened in mid-October 2018 and the first harvest in the winery was also this same year. The property was planted to approximately 5 acres of vines in 2019 (varieties used in their Artistry Blend) plus two blocks in the front of the winery – both head pruned, one for mixed whites and one for mixed blacks/reds. All of these vines are not trellised, rather are head-pruned, a tribute to how vines in the valley used to be managed. Acreage in the back (on the south side of the winery) is planted to several Bordeaux varieties.

Visits are available by appointment; wines available for tastings tend to be more limited production wines focusing on wines from vineyards in Calistoga. Girard sources grapes from vineyards in numerous appellations within Napa Valley, primarily from hillside locations. And some of their wines are rare finds for Napa Valley including an old vine Gamay and a Mourvèdre. Some of their neighboring vineyards are quite historic – an old vine head-pruned Zinfandel block borders the western part of their property (which they source grapes from) and the old vines of Tofanelli Vineyard (planted in the 1920s) borders the western side of their property.

Weather permitting, guests can enjoy wines outside on their patio overlooking vineyards. This is a quiet part of the valley located about halfway between the two major north-south roads in the valley; visits are always relaxed and casual, but educational experiences. The interior is spacious with seated tastings in one of their private rooms adjoining the main entrance.

Select Wines
Girard’s motto could easily be “high quality wines at affordable prices”. In general, their wines have appealing mouth feels (even in their youth), big aromatics and are reasonably priced. While Girard sources grapes for many of their wines, they also own several vineyard parcels in the Napa Valley. One is 5 acres surrounding the winery in Calistoga and the other is a small piece of land planted to Sauvignon Blanc located several miles north of St. Helena.

Whites
The 2022 Girard Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley was fermented entirely in stainless steel tanks using indigenous yeast. And it did not go through any malolactic fermentation. This wine is medium gold in color; the bouquet offers a citrusy herbal scent but is in no way green. Its aromatics include lemon zest, citrus blossom, freshly cut grass, kumquat, pineapple, passion fruit and a hint of sweet tarragon. Its aromatics are a wee bit tangy. On the palate there are flavors of pineapple, Golden delicious apple, white peach, white nectarine, honeydew melon, papaya and lychee, lingering with a lightly herbal note to remind you of the variety. Fully ripe and hangs out on the tropical side of the spectrum, but balanced nicely with a bright but never bracing acidity. The mouth feel is lightly rounded; lingers with a light drying character that we notice sometimes in white wines.

The 2022 Girard Viognier, North Coast is pale yellow in color; sweetly orchard fruited and highly aromatic immediately upon opening, the bouquet offers aromas of peach, nectarine and apricot with accompanying notes of pineapple, vanilla, peach blossoms (reminded us of our youth standing in our grandparents fruit orchard, years ago during blossoming time in spring), and honeysuckle. Some of the aromas are mirrored as flavors including white peach along with bosc pear, apricot, mango, papaya, tangerine, ripe crenshaw melon and pineapple guava, a flavor we are intimately familiar with having harvested this variety of guava from the Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery every year since 1992 when we randomly overheard a fellow classmate in our Spanish class mention the rows of guavas growing here. Soft across the palate with medium acidity. Finishes with plenty of lingering flavor. We would love to pair this with our favorite Thai BBQ chicken recipe (oyster sauce, palm sugar, salt, black pepper, garlic, soy sauce and crushed cilantro root).

The 2017 Girard Mixed Whites, North Coast is a blend of Viognier, Riesling, Grenache Blanc and Albariño. Straw yellow in the glass, initially smells sweet – very tropical in its aromatic presentation with aromas of guava, passion fruit and ripe peach. Rounded and very soft – almost oily in feel, this wine is like velvet on the palate. Finishes clean with a slight tang of citrus. Two takeaways from this wine are its lovely aromatics and its very supple texture across the palate.

Under the impression that a 100% malolactic fermented Chardonnay always produces a wine that is buttery. Not so. The Girard Chardonnay uses a type of yeast that doesn’t create huge amounts of diacetyl, the byproduct of fermentation which commonly contributes a “buttery” characteristic to Chardonnay. As a result, the 2007 Girard Russian River Chardonnay is crisper than one would expect, with lively fruit anchored by a long-lasting finish with a generous helping of toasted almond and other nut-driven nuances. This vintage delivers an impressive amount of fruit both on the bouquet and the palate.

Reds
The 2019 Girard Grenache, Napa Valley is also blended with Mourvèdre and a skosh of Syrah. This wine is pale ruby in color; the bouquet immediatley offers aromas of raspberry and milk chocolate, accompanied by notes of cherry pie, stewed strawberries, blood orange, Graham cracker, cinnamon and mocha. On the palate there are flavors of raspberry, red cherry, currant, pomegranate and cranberry. Tart but not overly so. Lingers with a savory and earthy character including notes of dried sage, bay leaf and a light dusting of pepper. Light on its feet in terms of texture, the finely polished gravelly tannins are part of a seamless and red-fruited finish. Medium acidity. Lingers with a dusty character felt more on the front of the palate than the back and a light warmth of alcohol; this wine is a listed 14.9% alcohol. The Grenache and Mourvèdre are both from Pope Valley while the Syrah is from Yountville.

The 2021 Girard Old Vine Zinfandel Napa Valley is from vines averaging more than 35 years old. This wine is medium to deep ruby in color; the bouquet offers notes of toast, dark raspberry, red plum, blackberry, blueberry, boysenberry jam, white pepper, old cedar box, dried sage, cinnamon stick, cardamom and cloves. The palate is fairly brightly lit considering the alcohol is a listed 15%. On the palate there are flavors of raspberry, Santa Rosa plum, blueberry, red cherry, red licorice and a ‘zin’ spice including of white pepper and assorted dried herbs. The tannins are lightly grainy and persist in tandem with the fruit on the lively and juicy finish. This wine was aged in a combination of both American and Hungarian oak barrels. We could see pairing this with the Wisconsin Burger available at any of the Gott’s Roadside locations within the greater San Jose Bay Area.

The 2021 Girard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, 5% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Merlot. This wine is deep ruby in color; the bouquet is a union of both ripe fruit and barrel influences. These scents include dark plum, cherry, blackberry, boysenberry and mulberry complemented with notes of sage, mocha, toffee, cocoa powder, vanilla and toasted oak. From the aromatics alone, this wine already overdelivers in regard to its far under the Napa Valley average per bottle price of wine from this variety. On the palate there are flavors of dark plum, cherry, boysenberry and blackberry. Both oak and grape tannins showcase a grainy light to moderate texture with a lasting drying character. The oak shows through even more on the palate than the bouquet, lasting with a noticeable woodsy spice, dried herbs and notes of dried tobacco leaf and crushed peppercorns. This would pair well with a tri-tip on the BBQ covered in a dry rub of assorted savory spices.

The 2022 Girard Petite Sirah, Napa Valley is deep purple, dark, inky and amaranthine in color. This variety summed up in a few words: teeth staining liquid. Floral, the bouquet reveals scents of lavender, violets and lilacs. Also dark fruited, it offers aromas of plum, blackberry and boysenberry. The nose is fully ripe, but not over ripe, always an important distinction. And its barrel influence is also noticeable with aromas of espresso, toasted oak and old cedar. The palate is boldly flavored, going where lesser varieties would never tread. Its flavors include dark cherry, plum at the peak of ripeness, blackberry, boysenberry, Persian mulberry, dark chocolate and espresso. The varietal characteristics of this grape hold up to oak very well. The tannins are grainy and gritty at this age sporting a light to moderate texture (only two years post vintage). They persist with a drying character and notes of dried herbs for some time on the finish. This wine far overdelivers for the price point.

The 2016 Girard Mourvèdre, Napa Valley was sourced from the Juliana Vineyard in Pope Valley. Originally all of this variety was going to be a component included in a GSM blend, but their winemaker decided it was too good on its own and made a separate 100% varietal Mourvèdre bottling. The wine spends 16 months in oak before being bottled. Offers a pretty bouquet that is fruit forward and slightly savory. Layered but very balanced, the wine focuses on the depth of flavor rather than structure. Fresh, lively with plenty of red fruit flavors the wine shows excellent acidity. A clean finish lingers with fruit rather than tannin (this is a variety that sometimes is known for its tannic nature) along with a hint of mocha. Very approachable.

A wine of note is the 2006 Girard Old Vine Zinfandel. This is 77% Zinfandel (some vines up to 100 years old) with 23% being a mix of Rhone varieties. We’ve long wondered which vineyard is the highest one in Napa County. Look no further; the Harris Blue Ridge Vineyard which provides some of the Zinfandel for this wine is Napa County’s highest vineyard at about 2700 feet in a remote part of the county on the slopes of Mt. Vaca next to the Solano County line. For reference, other high vineyards in the Napa Valley are on Howell Mountain (Black Sears), Atlas Peak (Kongsgaard) and Mt. Veeder (Merryvale owned Altezia, formerly Lampyridae), but certainly none as high as this one. The style of this wine is more refined and elegant rather than being dominated by ripeness and high alcohol with overly spicy notes that we’ve tried in Zinfandel from other Napa Valley producers.

Harris Blue Ridge Vineyard

Girard is best known for their Artistry blend which incorporates five primary Bordeaux varieties. Aside from the great aromatics and appealing fruit characteristics on the palate, the price of this wine has always been attractive. Their Petite Sirah tends to be a muscular styled wine from a small berry clone sourced from a fairly warm weather location (Calistoga) – as a result produces very rich concentrated flavors.

Their Limited Release wines are generally under 1000 cases and are not sold online or distributed.

The 2005 Girard Diamond Mountain was their first vintage using Diamond Mountain fruit; their winemaker had past experience with grapes from this appellation; this is a very appealing wine. Smooth and soft with juicy fruit this wine sees extended maceration; texturally the tannins are well managed. The Girard Cabernet Franc is only bottled as its own variety during “high quality” years and when produced is only available in limited quantities.

—

Girard has a history of wines being served at state functions including a state visit to China by President Reagan. And in 2017 a 2014 Girard Cabernet Sauvignon was served at a US State dinner in which US President Donald Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping.

For more information, to schedule a tasting, to purchase wines and or to join one of their three wine club offerings, visit: www.girardwinery.com

Winemaking

Hospitality

Winery Construction

Adair Family Ownership
Vintage Wine Estates went public in mid 2021 and was traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol, VWE before being delisted in 2024. Vintage Wine Estates declared bankruptcy in July 2024 and was sold in U.S. bankruptcy court in late 2024 to Jayson Adair, CEO of the car car salvage company Copart that his father-in-law, Willis Johnson founded in 1982. The company offers online vehicle auctions and other services to a variety of automotive resellers and maintains nearly 250 locations worldwide and over 10,000 vehicles in inventory. Their headquarters are in the Copart Tower in Dallas, Texas. Adair also founded Dallas based Adair Winery in 2023. And in Napa Valley, Adair also owns Clos Pegase Winery.

In addition to owning Clos Pegas and Girard wineries in Napa Valley, the company owns several other wineries outside of Napa Valley including Kunde in Kenwood, B.R. Cohn in Glen Ellen, Viansa in Sonoma and Adair Winery on Mankas Corner Road in Suisun Valley.

We will update our notes here once we have additional intel. For more information, visit: www.adairfamilywines.com

Adair Family Wines

B.R. Cohn Winery

Kunde Winery

Viansa Sonoma

CLOSED SPACES
Yountville Tasting Room
This space closed permanently on May 31, 2021. For many years, Girard operated a beautiful tasting room open to the public, located right next to Kelly’s Filling Station & Wine Shop in north Yountville (called NoYo if you are a local, a Yountie). This tasting room is in Washington Square, a collection of small shops and tourism related businesses within walking distance of a number of hotels, restaurants and other tasting rooms. Yountville is small enough that if you are up for a walk, you can make this tasting room and this part of town a a morning or afternoon destination. The tasting room is modern with both a tasting bar and tables for seated tastings. A sandpapered effect on the white paint on the walls provides a nice touch in the main room.

Girard used to offer two private by appointment sit down tastings in their Yountville VIP lounge. Both tastings included current releases as well as select limited release and library wines – one tasting is paired with a variety of cheeses and charcuterie items. As with the town of Napa, Yountville has seen a significant increase in premium tasting spaces.

During the summer, Girard’s Yountville tasting room was regularly open later than most tasting venues – usually until 7 or 8pm. They were also setup to host private events from several to 100 people including receptions or full-service sit downs. As they say at Girard, there is “always something happening at the tasting room”. Special days included chocolate and wine and cheese pairings, a library wine day and more.

The Flight Deck, Santa Rosa
Also under ownership of Vintage Wine Estates was The Flight Deck tasting room. It was originally located in downtown Healdsburg (neighboring Sonoma County) on the east side of the downtown plaza (see our photos below) but for a short while moved to Santa Rosa Airport (STS). It was located outside of the actual airport terminal and was open to all visitors – not just those who have boarding passes. Unfortunately, it closed before we even had a chance to visit.

This tasting room offered a number of wines from the wineries within the Vintage Wine Estates Portfolio, including from Girard Winery and others based in Napa Valley. Visitors were able to order wines by the glass or opt for one of their tasting flights. This tasting room also included a wine shop.

The site was also used to host private events such as dinners or lunches. And The Flight Deck offered their own wine club called Kitchen & Vine.