Press

The Balance of Power

Harpers Supplement CA

2004

Can winemakers who buy in grapes have total control over their quality? Stephen Brook looks at the all-important relationship between the winegrower and the winemaker.

The Trefethen estate in Napa claims that of the 243 wineries in Napa County, just 22 vinify only the grapes they grow themselves. I suspect the figure is an under-estimate, but the general principle remains true: most American wine producers rely, to a greater or lesser degree, on purchased grapes. In Napa, roughly half of...