Joseph Phelps Vineyards

200 Taplin Rd, St. Helena, CA 94574
Phone. : 1 (800) 707 5789

info@josephphelps.com

www.josephphelps.com

Joseph Phelps Vineyards, the Californian wine that shook up Bordeaux's grands crus.

Learn all about the iconic Joseph Phelps Vineyards in St. Helena, Napa Valley.

The story of Joseph Phelps Vineyards is that of an American engineer, Joe Phelps, who fell in love with wine and began an adventure like no other on March 1, 1973. In that year, he bought a ranch in Napa, just as the region was beginning its viticultural metamorphosis, a 242-hectare cattle farm, and transformed it into a 40-hectare vineyard in the heart of Napa Valley, with the aim of producing wines of excellence to rival Bordeaux's finest. And to achieve this, the model for the type of wines he wants is that of blended wines. In this sense, Joe Phelps is one of the pioneers of blended wines in the USA, in an Anglo-Saxon wine culture that tends towards single varietal wines. Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Viognier... are just some of the grape varieties that Joe Phelps will exploit. By dint of hard work and knowing how to surround himself with the right people, the charismatic “neo-vigneron” made a name for himself and propelled his estate to worldwide renown with exceptional wines. The growing worldwide interest in California wines can be traced back to the 1976 “Judgment of Paris”, a daring tasting that pitted the finest Bordeaux and Burgundy wines against a number of American vintages. Although Domaine Phelps, with its legendary “Insignia” cuvée, a blended wine from the best vintages, was not present at this tasting, it was another famous estate, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, whose 1973 vintage outshone the greatest Bordeaux reds, which created interest and a burgeoning craze for other American wineries. The Insignia cuvée quickly positioned Joseph Phelps Vineyards as a leading Napa Valley producer, and on a global scale. In 2015, Joe Phelps passed away, and in 2022, the LVMH group bought this great name in Californian viticulture.