Among California sparkling wine houses, perhaps the most venerable is Schramsberg Vineyards. “[It’s been] an honor to have grown up on this property,” said proprietor Hugh Davies at the first of the 2024 Wine Experience seminars.
Davies’ parents, Jack and Jamie Davies, established Schramsberg in 1965 in Napa Valley, on a Diamond Mountain property where German immigrant Jacob Schram had begun a winery in the 1860s. His parents “were the first in California to use Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes [for] traditional sparkling wine,” he explained.
Davies brought Schramsberg’s J. Schram North Coast 2003 (92 points), kicking off the day with bubbles, in Wine Experience tradition. “There’s brightness, there’s vitality to this 21-year-old bottle that we thought would be fun to present to you,” he observed.
As attendees tasted, Davies highlighted Schramsberg’s winemaking techniques, vineyard sites and team, as well as another distinctive feature: “We have 35,000 square feet of caves … [Many] were dug by hand with picks and shovels.” After touching briefly on his family’s Davies Vineyards, which makes Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir reds, he looked ahead to the future of Schramsberg, now that a nephew and a niece are working in the wine industry.
Sparkling Wine with Presidential History
Davies also explained Schramsberg’s historic role in the “Toast to Peace” during President Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to China. “Toasting with presidents and Schramsberg has continued [for] 10 administrations in a row,” he commented, noting some recent toasts with world leaders and the diplomatic challenges that will face the next U.S. president. “If they serve a little Schramsberg, that will probably help out.”
