Whitehall Lane Winery
by Denise Johnson
Most customers of the Napa Valley Winery Exchange know there is some relationship between our store and Whitehall Lane Winery, but I think many wonder what that exact relationship is. This Spotlight on the Small Producer will answer all of your questions on this subject AND will give you the opportunity to order some first-class red wine with Free Shipping, too.
Owner Tom Leonardini
The owner of the Napa Valley Winery Exchange is Thomas Leonardini, a San Francisco native. More years ago than I care to admit, I began working for Mr. Leonardini in a completely unrelated business: car rental. He sold that business in the mid 1980s and the NVWE was opened in 1988, at its current downtown location in a building that Thomas Leonardini owns. This property is the former site of the car rental company and its location two blocks from Union Square has made it an ideal site for the wine shop. Tom's oldest daughter, Kristen, and I opened the store and we hired Don Gillette shortly thereafter.
History
In 1992, Tom told me of his desire to purchase a winery. He looked around for a while and then in 1993 purchased Whitehall Lane Winery in St. Helena. We were delighted! Whitehall Lane (WLW) was already producing some very good wines, but Tom had plans to produce great wines. In the beginning, there was replanting (due to phylloxera), equipment upgrades and vineyard acquisitions. A decision was made to focus on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc and stop producing a number of other varietals that were made previously. Over time, in addition to the WLW estate vineyard, the winery has acquired five additional Napa Valley vineyards, totaling some 120 prime acres of valley floor wine grapes. As the winery grew from less than 2,000 cases to more than 45,000, Tom needed a larger workforce and hired his other four adult children. They are all now employed at WLW in a variety of positions.
Winemaker and Vineyard Manager
Winemaker Dean Sylvester and Vineyard Manager Paul Garvey share in the fame and good fortune of Whitehall Lane Winery. Both are extremely talented men at the top of their field. Of course they both will humbly claim, "It's all in the vineyard." Without taking anything away from the talents of the winemaking staff, owner Tom Leonardini shares this philosophy. Careful attention to the unique characteristics of each vineyard and the acquisition of prime Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards in the Napa Valley have been the main focus of this winery.
The Vineyards
Whitehall Lane Winery owns a total of six vineyards. They are the WLW Estate Vineyard (Rutherford AVA) where the winery sits, the Rutherford West Vineyard (Rutherford AVA), the Bommarito Vineyard (Rutherford AVA), the Oak Knoll Vineyard (Oak Knoll District AVA), the Leonardini Vineyard (St. Helena AVA) and the most recently purchased Fawn Park Vineyard (St. Helena AVA).
Oak Knoll Vineyard
The Oak Knoll Vineyard on the Silverado Trail is a picturesque piece of land. There is a seasonal creek on the property, a nice two acre grove of oak trees with lots of Cabernet Sauvignon, and a little Sauvignon Blanc. Future plans include the establishment of a new winery on this site, most likely to be called the Leonardini Family Winery. Exactly what type of wine will be produced on the site is not fully decided. Stay tuned for more information about this exciting project in future emails and newsletters from our store!
Fawn Park Vineyard
The Fawn Park Vineyard is located on the corner of Deer Park Road and the Silverado Trail. Planted to primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, the east-facing vineyard has a little hillside slope to it, and sits in the sun nearly all day long. The soil is very rocky, and contains large amounts of black obsidian. This fabulous piece of land came with a large country home in great shape, and a barn in not-so-great shape. The barn, which was originally built in 1905, was the dairy barn for the St. Helena Sanitarium, now the modern St. Helena Hospital. The barn is being fully restored with a 100-year modern retrofit. The magnificent house and barn will be rented out for parties. (Did I mention earlier that this large family likes to throw large parties? Its true!)
Cabernet Reserve Program
Since the Leonardini's acquisition of Whitehall Lane Winery in 1993, all of the Cabernets in the reserve program (with the exception of the "off" year 1998) have scored between 91-97 points in the Wine Spectator. That is an amazing statistic! Additionally, WLW is the only winery in the world, ever, to place #5 or higher in the Wine Spectators Top 100 three separate times! I am telling you these facts and figures to encourage you to act on our Summer Whitehall Lane Offer, which includes Free Shipping.
We are the first store to offer the outstanding 2002 Whitehall Lane Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, perhaps the winery's best bottling ever. Don Gillette's full tasting notes are on our website, only a click away, but I can tell you now that this wine is a knockout. It is loaded with layers of deep berry fruit with a nice chocolate tone that adds complexity. Don't miss the opportunity to have all you want of this elegant 2002 Cabernet shipped to you free of charge.
Summer Whitehall Lane Offer
Free Air Shipping on full cases of 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve and any other Whitehall Lane red wines ordered through the end of July! And yes, there is still a 10% discount on all case orders! If you feel it is too hot to ship to your area in July, we can hold your shipping until September. Merlot, Cabernet, library wines, half-bottles with the screwcap - they all count! But your best buy will be the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - it is simply a wine that is not to be missed.
Remember
You can call, email or place your order online to qualify for this offer, but because of automated software your online orders will show a shipping charge. Never fear... when your credit card is actually charged, there will be free shipping. We promise! Order the 2002 Whitehall Lane Reserve Cabernet or see our online store for a full listing of all Whitehall Lane Red Wines.