Welcome to SchoolHouseVineyard.com
On the left are links that take you to the various sections of information, an order form, an eMail link to contact us,
and a map with directions to the vineyard.
Below we start with our story.
We hope you enjoy the web site and call for an appointment to visit us in person.
Story - School House Vineyard, Spring Mountain, Napa Valley, California
The School House Vineyard is nestled among the cool, lush forested slopes of
Spring Mountain above St. Helena, where Langtry and Spring Mountain Roads intersect,
at an elevation of approximately 1500 feet. The vineyard takes its name from
the 1890s one-room school house which graced the property until it was consumed by
fire in the mid 1980s. The School House has lent its name to this fascinating
and unique vineyard property which has quietly produced very small quantities of
some of the most sought after Napa Valley wines since the mid-1950s. Steeped
in Napa Valley history, School House is the ultimate cult wine producer,
cult before cult was cool!
History - The Vineyard and the Wines
The original vines of which a few still produce red wine were planted in 1890s.
This block was the classic mixed-black field blend, a very common vineyard planting
technique of the times. Interplanted were Zinfandel, Carignane, Petite Sirah,
Alicante Bouchet and Grand Noir, and several other varieties which were picked
together and vinified into deep dark red table wine. Today, a few of the
120-year-old vines commingle with younger vines as the field blend has been
re-propagated to produce School House Mescolanza Mescolanza being a
Spanish term for medley or harmony.
In the 1940s, Andre Tchelistcheff made one of his most significant contributions
to the California wine industry when he encouraged local growers to propagate
the Cabernet Sauvignon variety. He instructed John Daniel, owner of the
famous Inglenook Estate, to replace his Pinot Noir vineyard in Rutherford with
Cabernet which he felt was better suited to that growing region. Having
brought the Pinot Noir bud wood from Burgundy’s Domaine de Romanee Conti,
Daniel gave his close friend, John O. Gantner Pinot Noir bud wood which was
used to propagate Gantner’s Pinot Noir Vineyard and planted in 1953. Thus,
in 1957, the noble Pinot Noir variety from its most regal heritage began a its
history of small production of very high quality wines, the School House
Pinot Noir.
The
Chardonnay grape
was introduced to the School House vineyard in the late 1960s. Fred McCrea
of Stony Hill vineyard, provided bud wood for John Gantner in 1968 and extremely
tiny production of tightly knit wine has been produced in the years that followed,
many vintages producing only a few cases.
The People
Today, the second generation, John M. Gantner and
Nancy Walker tackle all of the vineyard operations
at the School House Vineyard where they make their home. John and Nancy
continue the dry-farming technique in order to intensify the character of the
wines sacrificing quantity in order to maximize quality. Their passion
for the grapes they nurture coupled with their strong connection with the land
is beautifully revealed in the expressions of the wines produced from the
vineyard. Each of the School House wines is vinified in the caves
of neighboring Pride Mountain Vineyards.
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The 2006 Vintage
Our rainy season generally runs from October through March. For this 2006 vintage the season
continued well into June, and we received a whopping of 72 inches of rain. It was the year parts
of Spring Mountain Road washed out. 2006 is clearly illustrative of the direct relationship
between rainfall and production in dry-farmed (unirrigated) vineyards. One-third more rain in
a season, double the crop. Extremely evident in the Pinot Noir.
When we took over the vineyards from John’s father, John O. Gantner, in 1991. All three
major varietal blocks were in a terrible state of disrepair and neglect. Over the years we
worked to restore all the vineyards, beginning with the Pinot Noir, then the Mescolanza and
finally the Chardonnay terraces.
By 2002 we had most vine positions occupied with healthy vines (in 1991 barely 10% of the
Pinot vineyard was viable and/or productive), and we are beginning to realize the fruits of
those years of care and hard field work. Now two additional 1 acre Pinot Noir blocks are
becoming fully productive.
With dry-farmed vineyards it is 5-7 years from the time root-stock is planted until a mature
crop can be expected.
Bud-break, flowering, and set were on a similar schedule to previous years. Harvest however,
was earlier than in 2005. We harvested over 6 Tons of Pinot Noir in late September, at 25° Brix.
We picked almost 4 Tons, of Mescolanza at 29° Brix, on November 5th.
On September 19, 2007 we brought in one and a half Tons of Chardonnay fruit at 25.5° Brix.
The fruit was almost perfect. School House Chardonnay is not exposed to new oak either during
fermentation or aging. The fruit, being dry-farmed and on mountain soil, comes in with good
total acidity, so can achieve aging stability by going through the secondary malolactic
fermentation without becoming buttery or creamy.
As is usually the case, we believe the Pinot Noir and the Mescolanza will age well; the intensity
of the flavors and well-balanced acid promise good drinking for many years. We do encourage
you to set aside some portion of your order for aging at least, 4 to 10 years. If you have the
patience and proper storage area you will be more than pleasantly surprised. School House
wines are neither filtered nor fined.
We also want to repeat our now standard disclaimer: We are aware of the absurdity of saying
every vintage “this is the best yet.” Each is different, and we have never released a wine that
we did not ourselves find delicious. Each vintage though, as you know, reflects the vineyard’s
soils, weather, and general environment. We consider ourselves very fortunate that each
vintage contains the consistent attributes of the School House terroir. So, we can say with
confidence and pride: You will love these wines.
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2006 School House Pinot Noir
Since the first vintage of School House Pinot Noir was produced in 1957, our feminine, Burgundian
style wine has proved that the combination of the 1500 foot vineyard elevation, the cooler microclimate
of the School House Vineyard, our fertile and well drained mountain soils, along with our decision to
continue dry-farming (not irrigating) the vineyards combines to provide ideal growing conditions for
the evolution of these noble Pinot Noir vines. This small crop (under a ton per acre) was fermented in
open-top bins after a light pressing to separate the stems from the fruit. The dry, young wine matured
in new French Oak cooperage, and after 18 months was hand-bottled.
This vintage manifests the characteristics which have made School House Pinot Noir unique among
North American Pinots. We find the
wonderful dried fruit flavors of cherries and
plums, the earthy—almost mushroomy
—aromas and tastes produce a classic French
style Pinot Noir. The wine does benefit from
the cork being removed a bit before drinking
to allow the wonderful, very special Pinot
Noir ‘nose’ to develop and gratify your
senses. The wine enters your mouth softly,
develops full Pinot richness and lingers on
your pallet. This 2006 Vintage is illustrative
of the fine partnership between School House
Vineyard and Pride Mountain Vineyard.
Eighteen barrels were produced
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2007 School House Chardonnay
This Burgundian style Chardonnay comes from the terraced area of our School House Vineyard.
The Chardonnay, like our Pinot Noir and Mescolanza is dry-farmed (not irrigated). The vines were
propagated from the Wente “small berry clone” which came to us originally from Stony Hill Vineyard.
This 2007 Chardonnay is an excellent
example of our elegant, clean wine and is
unlike most California Chardonnays. The
press was applied immediately following
harvest, and the resulting ‘must’ was carried
to seasoned French oak barrels to ferment and
age for about 18 months. When the wine was
‘ready’ it was hand-bottled. It is not filtered.
Three barrels were produced.
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2006 Mescolanza
Mescolanza is a Spanish word for “medley”. This venerable—some of the vines are well over 100
years old—mixed black field-blend derives its character from mountain-grown Zinfandel (76%), Petite
Sirah (17%) and Carignane (7%) varieties. The unirrigated vineyard block bears a fraction of the
amount of fruit, which its irrigated cousins produce. Thus the elegant, spicy wine from this fruit is
more intense and concentrated. It is a ‘big’ wine with balanced acidity which makes a robust wine
that is a perfect pairing with rich, well-flavored foods.
This 2006 Mescolanza was fermented in open bins and matured through its secondary
malolactic fermentation in older, seasoned barrels providing an ever so subtle kiss of oak.
We have chosen to show the Vallejo Family Crest on the Mescolanza label, because John is the
great great grandson of Salvador Vallejo, the first European resident of the Napa Valley. John
cautions, “Excessive consumption of this wine may cause Zinfomania”.
Ten barrels were produced.
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