California dominates the story of American winemaking in many ways, both by producing far more wine than any other state, and by creating and entrenching many of the trends and styles that echo out, not just to the rest of the U.S., but to the broader world of wine.
While California’s history of winemaking stretches back well over 300 years, it’s largely been in the post-Prohibition era, and over the last 50 years more specifically, that the impact has been felt, and no grape has been more synonymous with the state than Cabernet Sauvignon.
In an attempt to get our arms around this incredible legacy and history, VinePair asked a range of wine experts to pick their “Mount Rushmore” of California Cabernet Sauvignons – not necessarily their favorite bottles of all time, but the wines that have had the biggest impact on the industry, on consumers, and even on the world.
David Ramey
Winemaker, Ramey Wine Cellars, Healdsburg, Calif.
@davidramey
1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars “Stag’s Leap Vineyard” Estate Cabernet Sauvignon: The wine that won the Paris tasting of 1976 and really put Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon on the map with wine drinkers.
1992 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon: Robert Parker of Wine Advocate gave it a huge score, which really started the cult wine trend in Napa Valley Cabernets.
Opus One: The collaboration between Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton Rothschild cemented the Bordelais blessing on Napa Valley.
Caymus Vineyards “Special Selection” Cabernet Sauvignon: Critics (and consumers) loved the sugar! These wines set a style which has transformed Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, if not for the better.
Kathryn House McClaskey
Founder, House of Wine, Boise, Idaho
@howofwine
Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon: This is an icon in Napa Valley and the California wine industry as a whole. As one of the first wineries in Napa to gain organic certification with an eye on sustainability, for over four decades Spottswoode has proven that quality comes from the marriage of winegrowing and winemaking. Their wines consistently reflect a sense of freshness, elegance, and balance even during times when California Cabernets were seemingly in a race to showcase intense power over grace.
Corison Winery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: A standout wine that is consistently beautiful and age-worthy. As an industry leader, Cathy Corison’s commitment to wines that showcase a sense of place and varietal expression which is palpable in her winemaking style and commitment to sustainability. Intense but not overbearing, the wines over-deliver on quality for value.
Ridge Vineyards “Monte Bello” Cabernet Sauvignon: A tried-and-true favorite. Year after year Ridge produces Cabernet Sauvignon that showcases the elegance and brightness of the variety. As one of the first to use clear ingredient labeling highlighting their straightforward approach to winemaking, they are experts at the marrying of tradition and innovation.
Jordan Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: Since the 1970s, this has been a classic example of high-quality Cabernet Sauvignon. With a dedicated intent to produce Cabernet Sauvignon as their key red wine, each vintage tells a story of focus and precision. Plus, the Jordan team are experts at creating memorable hospitality experiences that make their wines truly shine.
Morgan Harris MS
Head sommelier, Prelude, San Francisco
@morganwharris
Ridge Vineyards “Monte Bello” Cabernet Sauvignon: Paul Draper’s stewardship of Ridge is arguably one of the most important constants in 20th century American viticulture. From the middle 1960s to today, Ridge Monte Bello has proved that balance, elegance, and uncompromising quality will always triumph over chasing any styles, trends or vogues: Farm well, and let the site do the talking with a gentle hand in the winery. Every vintage of Monte Bello is spectacular, if differentiated, and I’m sure they will be for years to come.
Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon: While the vineyard has changed hands over the years, the site remains one of California’s most long-standing vineyard sites of exemplary quality. I have a soft spot in particular for the wines that were made at Phelps in the very late ‘70s and mid-‘80s, and arguably the most truly covetable California wine of all time came out of this vineyard: Paul Draper at Ridge made a singular vintage of the vineyard in 1971. I’ve only had it once, but it was magnificent, and it’s probably the only California Cabernet I would personally consider spending more than $1,000 on, besides maybe ’74 Heitz Martha’s, or the legendary bottlings from Inglenook just post-World War II.
Diamond Creek Vineyards “Gravelly Meadow” Cabernet Sauvignon: Al and Boots Brounstein made some insane wines at Diamond Creek through the ’70s and ’80s and ‘90s, some of which are still drinking too young to tell what their long-term aging potential will be. Very rarely do I feel a wine so totally encapsulates place along with variety, and these wines are just the absolute epitome of Diamond Mountain specifically. While all the wines are great, Gravelly has always been my favorite as it’s the most structure-forward and savory of the bottlings. But you really can’t go wrong. No doubt, the best vintages from this site are century wines that will outlive most people who put them in their cellars. While pleasurable to drink at most stages in their life, they are imposing and massively structured in a way that’s often claimed on marketing materials, but rarely delivered in the glass. I am confident that the Maison Marques et Domaines team will continue the legacy of this historic property, given all the great farming work they do at Roederer, as well as their other properties.
Corison Winery “Kronos Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon: Cathy Corison’s wines are, to me, the picture of what hard work, determination, and steadfast conviction can lead to. Kronos is her top vineyard site, and she recently celebrated her 25th vintage working with the vineyard, which was planted in 1971 right in the heart of the Napa Valley floor. There’s a certain finesse and elegance that her wines have that’s often talked about and reached for, but rarely realized in Napa.
Jill Zimorski MS
Adjunct Professor, DePaul University, Chicago
@jillzimorski
Ridge Vineyards “Monte Bello” Cabernet Sauvignon: So much to say: history, longevity, location, style. The focus on site specificity — location, elevation, and soil — and consistency in the winemaking are key to the longevity and affection for this wine. It has a place in the storied history of California wines, specifically the Judgement of Paris in 1976, which it didn’t win, but came in fourth, and then won the whole damn thing at the 30-year anniversary in 2006. I also think the philosophy of Paul Draper — of organic viticulture and low-intervention winemaking — is important, because while it’s more common or trendy today, this is a winery that’s been doing it for 60 years. They are also a pioneer of transparency and have had ingredient labels on their wines for years.
Grace Family Cabernet Sauvignon: In 2005, when I wasn’t even working as a sommelier yet, I took my first trip to California wine country with my friend and co-worker Nadine Brown, the sommelier at Charlie Palmer Steak in D.C. where we both worked. She planned all the visits for that trip to Napa and Sonoma and one of them was to Grace Family Vineyards; we stayed in Dick and Ann Grace’s guesthouse and got to spend a couple amazing days with them. I didn’t realize at the time how lucky I was and how rare this opportunity was. I’ve included them because, in addition to being great people and the wine being delicious, it is representative of some key firsts that are now common in Napa: They were the first winery to use “family” in their name, and they’ve always been small and exclusive, but have garnered demand, accolades, and cult status long before other, perhaps more well-known “cult Cabs.”
Corison Winery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: Cathy Corison graduated from UC Davis the year that Dick and Ann Grace pulled in their first harvest, and not quite 10 years later, she became the first woman winemaker/proprietor in Napa Valley. She’s a pioneer. She has a distinct style of winemaking — balancing power and elegance in a wine that can sometimes, in this region, be more about power and opulence or excess — which she has stayed true to throughout the years and has been an important trailblazer and inspiration for women in wine.
Brown Estate Cabernet Sauvignon: The Brown Estate story is a little younger than some of the other wineries listed, but no less significant. They are the first Black-owned winery in Napa Valley, established in 1996, and they released their estate Cabernet Sauvignon for the first time in 2000. I first became familiar with this winery through their Zinfandel, which I love. There are some common themes among the wines I’ve chosen: family-owned and organically farmed, which are things I place a lot of value and importance on. But if we are recognizing historical significance, then they must be included. They, like Cathy Corison, are very important to the wine community and consuming population in diversifying what is typically a white, male industry, but also for the fantastic wine that they produce.
Jordan Mackay
Author, “The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste”
@therealjordanmackay
Beaulieu Vineyards “Georges de Latour Private Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon: The Maestro. Under André Tchelistcheff — modern Napa’s foundational winemaking figure — BV brought Bordeaux-style refinement and technical precision to California. Thanks to Tchelistcheff’s insistence on cellar hygiene, French oak aging, and meticulous farming, this wine led Napa out from decades of clunky post-Prohibition rusticity. Tchelistcheff’s mentorship and generous spirit would go on to elevate the entire region.
Opus One: The birth of Napa bling. With the Mondavi-Rothschild partnership, Opus fused Old World pedigree with New World ambition and ushered Napa into an era of glamour — architectural grandeur, luxury branding, and global cachet — that laid the groundwork for the cult wine explosion of the 1990s. Without Opus, there might be no Screaming Eagle.
Ridge Vineyards “Monte Bello” Cabernet Sauvignon: The countercultural stalwart. From the rugged Santa Cruz Mountains, Monte Bello has always been aloof. Its very existence serves as a reminder that California as a whole is home to extraordinary terroir, and that world-class Cabernet Sauvignon can emerge from far beyond Napa’s slopes — be it Mendocino, the Sierra Foothills, or Los Angeles. Humble, monastic, and resolute, Monte Bello plays a quiet counterpoint to the California hype train, while being always itself.
Corison Winery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: The quiet resistance. In the era of “more is more,” Cathy Corison stuck to her style — favoring elegance, structure, and vineyard expression over excess and opulence. Her wines reflect her steadfast belief in restraint and longevity, and in the value of the vigneron in Napa’s increasingly corporatized world. Recently, her integrity and devotion became a touchstone for a new generation of wine lovers — many of them openly hostile to Napa culture — seeking something more personal, idiosyncratic, and true.
Cara De Lavallade
Wine Director, Cataloochee Ranch, Maggie Valley, N.C.
@cdelavallad
Corison Winery “Kronos Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon: When Cathy Corison established her winery in the late ‘80s, she was one of the first independent female winemakers in Napa Valley. She created a unique style of Cabernet that was focused on elegance, lift, and terroir, and her style has never wavered from this. She paved a path for future generations of female winemakers by being uncompromising in her vision and wholly dedicated to her work.
1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars “Stag’s Leap Vineyard” Estate Cabernet Sauvignon: In the famed 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting, this Cabernet ranked No. 1, above some of the most renowned French houses at the time, like Château Mouton-Rothschild and Château Haut-Brion. The results of this tasting rocked the international wine world and introduced California as a true premium wine region. The 1973 is somewhat difficult to come by these days, but current vintages of Stag’s Leap Cabernet are always satisfying and maintain the house style.
Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon: Founded in the mid-’80s, Screaming Eagle is heavily responsible for pioneering the cult wine movement in Napa. Produced in minuscule quantities and sold at a premium price point, this brand created a market for “unicorn wines” and its success demonstrated that consumers were willing to pay outrageous prices for wines that were considered to be exceptional and exclusive. A string of near-perfect and perfect scores bestowed by top wine critics helped create a fervor for the wines. Today, Napa is full of cult producers who follow a very similar model of ultra-pricey wines that are practically impossible to obtain.
Heitz Cellar “Martha’s Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon: This is regarded to have been the first “single-vineyard” Cabernet made in Napa in 1966. By directly linking the wine to the piece of land, Heitz introduced the concept of terroir to many consumers. This set a precedent for other Napa producers to make wines that highlight a specific vineyard or even section of vineyard — something that we see commonly on Napa bottlings today. Martha’s Vineyard is surrounded by eucalyptus trees and the wines always show a minty eucalyptus note, a hallmark of this historic vineyard.
Juan Pablo Trillo Molina
Wine director, Tasting House, Los Gatos, Calif.
@vinophilosopher
Robert Mondavi Reserve “To Kalon Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon: One of the most historic and influential people and businessmen in California wines, Robert Mondavi helped bring European techniques to Napa Valley, and was a pioneer in quality Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. I also want to highlight his collaborations with other wine regions, like Chile, Australia, and Italy, which helped grow the global reputation of Napa Valley.
Heitz Cellar “Martha’s Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon: Heitz created the idea of single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa Valley, and helped popularize wines made from the western side of Napa Valley on the alluvial soils that develop quality Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as being longstanding champions of sustainable practices.
Ridge Vineyards “Monte Bello” Cabernet Sauvignon: Another advocate of natural practices, small fermentations, and highlighting the microclimate of the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA. Ridge Vineyards also helped put California wines on the world map at the Judgment of Paris, and later proved that these cool-climate Cabernet Sauvignons are extremely ageable.
Corison Winery “Kronos Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon: Cathy Corison defines herself as farmer first, and as a winegrower and winemaker second. Her wines are spectacular, delicate, and powerful at the same time. In a job and industry that has been dominated by men, she is a living legend, and is now passing that legacy on to her daughter.
Keith Beavers
VinePair tastings director
@vinepairkeith
Beaulieu Vineyards “Georges de Latour Private Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon: Georges de Latour founded Beaulieu Vineyards at the beginning of the 20th century and was a major contributor to Napa Valley’s phoenix-rising post-Prohibition. His work with famed regional winemaker and consultant André Tchelistcheff brought about what is today considered the first cult Cabernet Sauvignon (a term Heidi Barrett would later claim in the ‘90s). Tchelistcheff tasted the 1936 vintage and said it was so good it should be bottled and sold out of the winery; this vintage made history.
Heitz Cellar “Martha’s Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon: Joe and Alice Heitz founded Heitz Cellars in 1961. They formed a relationship with vineyard owners Tom and Martha May who owned a vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon in Oakville named Martha’s Vineyard. The couples became fast friends and Joe eventually purchased all of the vineyard’s fruit, making what is today recognized as the first single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa Valley, a tradition that saw a big uptick in the ‘90s.
1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars “Stag’s Leap Vineyard” Estate Cabernet Sauvignon: Warren Winiarski established Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in 1970 with the purchase of the now famed S.L.V Vineyard. His 1973 vintage would go on to receive the highest scores at a comparative wine tasting outside Paris, known today as the Judgment of Paris. It was a watershed moment in American wine history, showing the U.S. could produce complex, age-worthy wines.
Robert Mondavi Reserve “To Kalon Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon: The legacy of Robert Mondavi in Napa Valley is part of the fabric of the evolution of the region. His focus on marketing and perception, seeking to elevate the image of wine in the region with finesse and a technological embrace, carried American wine into the future. One of the first in a long time to build a winery on the valley floor among the now famous To Kalon Vineyard, he would eventually own the vineyard in its entirety and release a single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon in 1997.
Zach Geballe
Writer, co-host “The VinePair Podcast”
@zgeballe
While I think my esteemed colleagues have done a tremendous job highlighting the impactful and important Cabernet Sauvignons throughout California’s history, I wanted to pick four additional wines, just to broaden the conversation a bit.
Chappellet “Pritchard Hill” Cabernet Sauvignon: Donn Chappellet, to me, represents a very specific kind of dreamer that has been drawn to California, the wine industry, and Napa Valley in particular. The kind of person who can look at a scrubby hillside in a quiet farming community and say to themselves, “I can make a world class wine here.” Maybe Donn was just super lucky, but dang it, that’s exactly what he did.
Dominus Estate: What a bundle of history there is in this wine. Produced from the iconic Napanook Vineyard, where in 1838 George Yount planted the first grapevines in Napa Valley, and created by Christian Moueix, scion of one of French wine’s most highly regarded wine families, it remains one of the benchmark examples of the (mostly) successful marriage of France and Napa Valley.
Joseph Phelps Vineyards “Insignia”: While 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon remains a benchmark style for many producers, Joe Phelps took things in a totally different direction when it came to his signature wine. Sure, it’s a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant blend, but it put the emphasis on the winery, and even more on the proprietary name, something that the Bordelais have done forever but was still relatively unusual in the New World until Phelps set the template.
Eberle Winery Estate Cabernet Sauvignon: While Napa Valley (justifiably, mostly) dominates this list, I wanted to give a special shoutout to Gary Eberle, a pioneer in Paso Robles and another example of the kind of California dreamer that has helped make this industry what it is. Inspired by tasting some of the great Bordeaux, Eberle sought to make wines that could rival these historic successes, and in doing so, proved that Cabernet Sauvignon belonged to all of California.
