2007-11-23
RAYMOND VINEYARD & CELLARS
Lot of History Behind These Doors
by Charles Neave
How many people in any business are members of the third generation? How about the fourth? Okay then, five generations. Anybody come to mind? A few perhaps, but very few in the wine business in Northern California and even fewer in the Napa Valley. However the Raymond family, of Raymond Vineyard & Winery certainly qualifies, no question about it. And they are justifiably proud of it, if in an understated, low-key manner typical of the family.
But there is more to it than that: the grandfather-in-law of Roy Raymond, Sr. was no less a Valley person of note than Jacob Beringer, founder (with his brother Frederick) in 1876 of the famous St. Helena winery that bears his family name. Roy Raymond, Sr. arrived in the Napa Valley in 1933, hiring on as a cellar worker at Beringer Brothers Winery in
St. Helena, at the time a sleepy little farm town. A fortuitous move on many fronts, as it turned out, since it was there that he met Martha Jane Beringer. They were married in 1936, just three years after he arrived at the winery.
Eventually, in 1971, after Beringer was sold, Roy Sr. and his two sons, Roy Jr., and Walter, bought 90 acres of prime vineyard land just south of St. Helena and founded Raymond Vineyard & Cellar. Together, this team of father and sons worked to plant and build the winery with their name over the door and on the label. Their first harvest was in 1974. Today, Roy Jr. is partially retired and Walter still works side-by-side with his daughter, Krisi, and nephew, Craig, running the winery and producing some of the Napa Valley’s most famous wines. Today’s total output is more than 100,000 cases and the production facility is far removed from the metal farm building, pitchforks and shovels that defined the earliest years of the winery.
But if you think a trip to the tasting room at Raymond might be a little too formal, you could be excused for your thoughts. But you would be completely wrong; if anything it is the exact opposite.
At Raymond the staff seems to make it a personal quest to set visitors at ease. They are friendly and informed, especially when you take into consideration the fact that they are pouring tastes of some of the finest wines in the country. Yet they don’t take on airs about it. They’re just around to make sure you leave Raymond a little (or a lot) happier than when you walked in.
Though the tasting room could certainly be considered spacious it is not overly large. A light wood ceiling, a U-shaped wood tasting bar at one end of the room, all help to give it a casual feeling of intimacy. On display are such carefully considered retail items as Raymond-labeled grape seed oils, mustards and chocolate sauces. An expanse of windows looks out onto manicured lawns and vineyards and frames a view of the Mayacamas Mountains beyond.
In the tasting room, the wines are divided up into a choice of two flights. Flight Number One consists of a Chardonnay, a Merlot Rosé (sold only at the winery when it is available), Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, a Cabernet and a dessert wine. With both flights you pick your four favorites to sample.
The Second Flight is made up of more limited-production wines, such as the Rutherford Merlot, a Rutherford and a St. Helena Cabernet (and a wine called “Generations” if they have it) and an older wine from their library, plus the “Eloquence” Late Harvest Chardonnay. Each and every one of them is exceptional and each is notable for its elegance, balance and finesse.
But in the end, what it really comes down to is that no matter which wines you choose, the feeling after a visit to Raymond remains the same. The wines are always first rate and the location, down a long drive off of one of the Napa Valley’s more scenic roadways, makes a visit to their tasting room an eagerly anticipated part of any journey to this part of the Napa Valley.
As winery president Walter Raymond sums it up so well, “It has been incredible having the opportunity to work with our family over the years at a business we love. My brother and I are pleased that our children have chosen to stay involved in the family business. It would be great to see the sixth generation at the helm someday.”
Wine lovers everywhere could not agree more.
Raymond Vineyard & Winery tasting room is open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. They are located at 849 Zinfandel Lane right between Route 29 and the Silverado Trail, south of St. Helena and north of Rutherford. For more information contact them at 1-800-525-2659 or at www.raymondvineyards.com.
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