The Spottswoode Estate Vineyard

 St.Helena, USA

In a nutshell: Situated on the western bench of St. Helena at the foot of the Mayacamas Mountains, the 45-acre Spottswoode Estate was established in 1882. Owned by the Novak family since 1972, Spottswoode is committed to environmentally progressive farming, and to producing wines that faithfully reflect their sense of place. Spottswoode’s wines are known for their refined elegance, balance, and classic structure.

Their goal is to create truly living soils, soils that are alive, healthy, and teeming with microbial and bacterial life, soils that can build upon themselves and nourish healthy and resilient grapevines. We have farmed our grapes organically since 1985 and biodynamically since 2008. The Spottswoode Estate vineyard was certified organic (CCOF) in 1992, Demeter Certified Biodynamic in 2020, and most recently Regenerative Organic Certified in 2023. Achieving Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC) is a significant effort they take very seriously. As one of only twenty wineries worldwide with ROC, they proudly support this rigorous farming standard, which emphasizes an ongoing commitment to moving away from a transactional system to a symbiotic system that can reach true equilibrium and self-generation.

As Gold Members of International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA), they are committed to annually reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which for a winery of our size requires diligence, yet which we view as a vital part of our responsibility. Also, Spottswoode became the first Napa Valley winery to achieve B Corp certification.

The terroir: Located on the western edge of St. Helena at the foot of the Mayacamas mountains, the Spottswoode terroir is ideal for growing fine wine grapes. The alluvial clay loam from the Sulphur Creek fan provides superb drainage while cool maritime breezes passing through the gap between Spring Mountain and the Mayacamas range, allow the fruit to ripen slowly. Our forty-two acres are planted primarily to Cabernet Sauvignon, with small blocks of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Sauvignon Blanc.

The Spottswoode Estate vineyard personality’: Grounded in Stewardship, we effect and inspire meaningful change by nurturing our vineyards, communities, and planet. Every day, our many environmental initiatives – among them organics, biodynamics, regenerative organics, solar, and minimizing resource use – prove not only compatible, but desirable in creating the highest quality wine. Spottswoode, the wine and the people, are built on core values that are even better when shared.