PERFECT PALATE

Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday, 8:00am – 4:30pm Tour and Tastings by Appointment: Monday – Sunday, 10:00am – 3:00pm www.farniente.com

Far Niente

Far Niente, renowned for its production of estate bottled Napa Valley Chardonnay and Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, was one of Napa Valley’s original stone wineries at the time of its construction in the late 19th century. The winery stands today as a stunning example of the region’s early winemaking heritage. Far Niente was founded in 1885 by John Benson, an original forty-niner of the California gold rush and uncle of the artist Winslow Homer. Benson hired architect Hamden McIntyre, creator of the former Christian Brothers winery (now the Culinary Institute of America) and the Gustav Niebaum winery (today’s Inglenook winery), to design the building. Constructed against a hillside in western Oakville,

Far Niente functioned as a gravity flow winery, gently moving the grapes through each stage of production. Benson named the winery “Far Niente,” taken from the Italian phrase “Dolce Far Niente,” meaning, “sweet to do nothing.” Far Niente prospered until its abandonment in

1919 with the onset of the Prohibition. It was left untouched for sixty years until 1979, when Gil Nickel purchased the winery and adjacent vineyard. Nickel, a physicist by education with a background in agriculture through his family’s nursery business, relocated to California with a quest to create a world-class Napa Valley wine estate. He found his charge in the then-fragile Far Niente. Beginning in 1979, Nickel undertook a three-year restoration of the winery, while simultaneously taking courses in the enology and viticulture program at the University of California at Davis. Although Nickel made Far Niente Chardonnay in 1979, 1980 and 1981, the wines were made at a warehouse in Sausalito. The year 1982 marked the return of winemaking to Far Niente, with the harvest of the winery’s first Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay was also produced at the winery for the first time that year. Today, the winery continues to focus on producing only the two varietal wines.

Wine

Far Niente

1350 Acacia Drive Oakville, CA 94562 (707) 944-2861

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Photo Credit: Far Niente

OFF THE EASEL MAGAZINE – SPRING 2015