Teaderman Vineyards

Teaderman Vineyards is owned by Stan and Patti Teaderman. While born in Berkeley, Stan has been a resident of Napa Valley since 1947. In 1961, Stan helped launch the first Miss Napa County Pageant and was involved with subsequent pageants. Stan was also a member of the Napa Bottom Gropers, a group of diving enthusiasts. For a time, Stan was one of their instructors.

His father Herbert (raised in Sebastopol) was initially involved in the plastering business but then transitioned to propane services in 1943. We never met Herb, but we like one of his quotes that he passed on to his family, “The harder you work, the luckier you get”. He operated Empire Gas in Napa Valley from 1948 when he purchased the Napa branch with a business partner until retiring in 1967. They delivered propane to parts of Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Lake counties. For many years the business was located at 3219 Jefferson Street in Napa. The Herbert Teaderman Building or today known as the Teaderman Business Park was constructed on this site in 1986; it is still standing and houses several businesses.

In 1964 Empire Gas opened a showroom at 6774 Washington Street (with a large neon sign advertising their business) focusing on numerous gas related appliances. This space is where Redd Wood Restaurant is currently located. And the prior year Empire Gas installed a 30,000-gallon propane tank in Yountville, which was the largest propane tank in all of Napa County at that time. A mention in the August 11, 1966, edition of the St. Helena Star mentions that Stan had an ‘arresting exhibit’ from Empire Gas at that year’s Napa Town & Country Fair with propane powering a large flame above a pool of water.

In 1967 Stan founded Allied Propane Service in Richmond with the help of his brother and father; today this propane gas business continues to maintain a location in Richmond, another one located south of the city of Napa and a third location in Dixon. Their core business involves delivering propane for residential, commercial, agriculture and construction uses with a coverage area spanning the greater San Francisco Bay area as well as parts of the Sacramento Valley. Stan developed the Allied Clean Fuels Plaza (south of the city of Napa) which opened in 2017. And in 1983 Stan was elected president of the Western Liquid Gas Assocation.

Stan also owns Napa Vintage Storage, one of Napa’s smaller but premier barrel storage facilities for premium wineries. This building is located directly next to his Allied Clean Fuels Plaza. Many of Napa Valley’s wine storage and fulfillment centers are located just south of here.

Stan has been exposed to viticulture and the wine industry for most of his life. In the early 1990s, he served on the board of directors for the Napa Valley Grape Growers Association. In order to continue to pursue their passion for wine, in 1978 he and Patti purchased a 14-acre vineyard located in the heart of Oakville; this is prime Napa Valley vineyard terroir. Today producers in Oakville are known for producing some of Napa Valley’s most sought after and expensive red wines. Their nearby neighbors are Silver Oak, Groth and Screaming Eagle. This land was never planted to vine; initially Robert Mondavi helped them develop the vineyard and plant it entirely to Sauvignon Blanc; Mondavi purchased the grapes for his well-known Fumé Blanc.

However, since they are in the heart of Oakville, they are in prime Cabernet Sauvignon country. Furthermore, consider the fact that they have the same gravelly soils and similar terroir to nearby Groth winery who under the wine making skills of Nils Venge produced the first 100 point rated Cabernet Sauvignon from Robert Parker. Also, in the late 1980s and early 1990s a nasty little pest called phylloxera infested the soil of a number of Napa Valley’s vineyards and damaged and ultimately killed numerous grape vines that were grafted onto the non-phylloxera resistant AXR rootstock. In 1993, they converted over half of their vineyard to Cabernet Sauvignon and sold these grapes for a number of years to a nearby winery.

Then in 2001 under the tutelage of the late winemaker Justin Meyer and co-founder of Silver Oak Cellars, Teaderman Vineyards produced their first vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon bottled under Teaderman Vineyards. Today Teaderman employs two well-known Napa winemakers. Nearby Silver Oak’s philosophy regarding aging has rubbed off on Teaderman. Their wines are aged much longer than most Napa wineries and typically receive at least 2 years in the bottle before being released. The Teaderman’s and their winemakers taste the wines over a period of time to determine when they are ready to be released based on aromas, flavor, balance and the wine’s overall integration. Not many wineries are able to have this type of lengthy aging program, but this is certainly not a bad thing from a consumer point of view.

As a long time, Napa grower and vintner, Stan’s enthusiasm and energy regarding his own wine is clearly evident, almost as if he was just starting out in the industry. We suspect these are the same traits he has for life in general.

And continuing to keep family businesses in the family, Stan’s grandson Dustin also works both in their propane business and with their vineyard and wines.

Select Wines
In the same philosophy as their Cabernet Sauvignon, their Sauvignon Blanc sees extended aging; at the time of our visit and tasting with Stan, their current release was four years old. Oakville is not known for producing Sauvignon Blanc, especially since the land prices don’t economically make sense for this variety. This very limited production bottling is well worth seeking out.

The 2004 Teaderman Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc is a golden straw color with nice mineral notes on the bouquet which open up to more honeysuckle and tropical aromas as the wine breathes in the glass. The palate is slightly creamy but not too much so. This wine sits on the lees for 4 months which helps contribute a certain amount of creaminess. This bottling offers pleasing flavors of citrus and tropical fruit overtones. There is just a touch of vanilla on the finish; the wine is certainly not over oaked and is extremely well balanced. A yeast commonly used for Champagne wines is used for primary fermentation; the wine was transferred into the barrels (usually around 20% new oak) still somewhat sweet where it finished its fermentation. And then its aged on its lees with battonage occurring for a few months.

We started our tasting of the Cabernet Sauvignon with the 2001 vintage which was their first commercial release. Time in the bottle has treated this wine very well. The 2001 Teaderman Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon has an elegant fruit driven nose with notes of dill; the core of the palate contains rich fruit including blackberries and blueberries with supporting layers of tobacco and leather. The mouth feel is wonderfully balanced with tannins that are well integrated, smooth and silky.

One will see some sediment in their Cabernet Sauvignons and the reason for this is they are minimally filtered which helps maintain maximum flavor. The 2002 Teaderman Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon offers a bouquet showing slightly less fruit driven aromatics than the 2001 vintage. It contains scents of mint and other herbs. The palate is slightly tart with lively acidity. In our opinion, this is the nicest of the three vintages for pairing with food.

The 2003 Teaderman Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, while young by Teaderman’s standards, is drinking extremely well and we tried it before it had even been released. A rich concentration of fruit shows both on the nose and on the palate. Very earthy aromas representative of their particular terroir graces the bouquet along with notes of tobacco and vanilla. The smooth soft palate is well layered with flavors of blackberry and black cherry. The tannins, while delicate, are well integrated into the wine and help support the lengthy finish.

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Teaderman produces only a total of about 1,000 cases annually. As a result, they are extremely selectively distributed through specific national markets. As of our latest update to this review, they are distributed internationally in Japan, mostly in Tokyo. We should also mention for the type of inherent quality in these wines the prices are very reasonable. Their wines have been well received at a number of premium restaurants throughout the USA.

Those interested in receiving vintage and other update may sign up for their mailing list. For more information, visit: www.teadermanvineyards.com

Note: Stan is also responsible for the Allied Clean Fuels Plaza located at 231 Devlin Road (just south of the city of Napa) and highly visible from Highway 12. This plaza features 8 Tesla supercharger stations where Tesla owners can park and charge their vehicles free of charge. Many Napa wineries have already installed Tesla chargers but those charge the vehicles much slower than these super chargers.

Several other electric charging stations are available for non-Tesla vehicles. The plaza also sells clean-burning fuels including propane Autogas, biodiesel, liquid natural gas and compressed natural gas. And customers driving gasoline powered vehicles can fill up at the Chevron on site. Teaderman’s Pacific Pride gas station also sells renewable diesel. A well-stocked convenience store is located within a short walk of the pumps.