Napa Valley Wineries : Mayacamas Winery and Chateau Potelle

Near the summit of Mount Veeder, Mayacamas Winery was founded in 1889 by John Henry Fisher, a German immigrant and former pickle merchant. Fisher loaded his barrels of wine onto horse drawn wagons and drove them fifteen miles down the mountain to the Napa River where the barrels were transported by ferry to San Francisco. At elevations between 1,800 and 2,400 feet, vines on steep rocky slopes struggle through a growing season of summer heat spikes, abundant winter rains––as many as sixty inches in some years––and even occasional snowfalls, resulting in small crops of tiny Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes.

At the north end of Mount Veeder Road, a mile-long, wooded road leads to Chateau Potelle, in a quaint, clapboard cottage framed by a majestic 360-degree view of mountains, valley and vineyards. Although most of the Potelle wines are sold in retail shops, only here can you purchase their signature wines, Zinie de Potelle, a velvety, late-harvest, port-style wine; and Riviera, a dry, southern-French-style rosé made from a saignee of Syrah and Zinfandel. Under sunny skies, a glass of Riviera and a picnic lunch at Chateau Potelle can be an uplifting experience.

Winery owners, Marketta and Jean-Noël Fourmeaux, came to California in 1980 as official wine tasters for the French government. "We came to spy," jokes Marketta. After tasting more than 2,000 American wines, and coming upon an isolated aerie of rolling hills and forests, 1,200 feet above the valley, they fell in love with the place and decided to stay.

Continue the Oakville Grade and Mount Veeder Winery
Tour with a Visit to Far Niente Winery

The article on this page is adapted from the book, Backroads of the California Wine Country by Karen Misuraca (www.karenmisuraca.com), published by Voyageur Press.