Honig Vineyard & Winery

You have to hunt a little to find Honig, but the reward is worth the effort — and then some. The light-gray wood-sided winery is set in a grove of trees with a pleasant and spacious patio out in front. Inside is a very up-to-date, smart and comfortable tasting room. There are tables and chairs for hosted, sit-down, directed wine tasting. The experience at Honig is a very personal one, with a family member frequently leading the tasting. There are five wines to sample: Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Single-Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Late-Harvest Sauvignon Blanc.

The Honig family first came to Napa Valley in 1964 and planted a vineyard to Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon, providing fruit for local wineries. Today Honig grandchildren are at the helm and have become influential in the area’s wine industry. Michael Honig is a leader in sustainable farming and chaired the first California initiative to develop a "Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Practices." He is also involved in an innovative pilot program that trains yellow lab puppies to detect vine mealybugs in the vineyard. In addition, he serves on the board of a number of organizations, including the Wine Institute.

The winemaking is lead by Kristin Belair, who uses a number of techniques to create the stylish, multi-layered wines that she produces. For the Napa Sauvignon Blanc, two methods are used: whole-cluster pressing and cold soaking. Whole-cluster pressing is used to preserve the delicate tropical fruit flavors, and the majority of the fruit goes directly into the press as whole clusters. In the cold-soak process, selected grape lots are crushed in a tank and the juice is left in contact with the skins for several hours before processing. This enhances the grapefruit/citrus components of the juice. For the late-harvest Sauvignon Blanc, the juice is fermented in 100 percent French oak barrels.