How To Stand Apart As A Winery

Seven Apart Wines

Wine expert Gosia Young chats with Seven Apart founder Don Dady to get the low-down on extreme mountain-grown Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Check out her latest file on why Seven Apart’s Cabernet Sauvignon is making waves (that is - if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on some).

Learn more about Seven Apart’s Allocation and purchase the introductory offer of their 2019 Seven Apart Expedition here: https://sevenapart.com/

You say Napa; I say Cabernet Sauvignon. While Cabernet Sauvignon is easy to spot in a line-up, Napa Valley’s remarkable combination of climate, soil, and terrain makes the unique expressions of this grape endless. From the warmer temperatures of the Valley Floor, which set the scene for iconic wines such as Mondavi’s Napa’s Grand Cru, to those cooled by the Pacific breezes like Chappellet, there’s always a Napa Cabernet to suit your style (but maybe not your budget, yikes!). At the moment, my sight is set a little higher - mountain height, to be exact.

Extreme Mountain-Grown Cabernet

Like most, what I look for in a Cabernet is that it is beautifully structured and can last beyond the decade. Some of my all-time favorite Napa Cabernets originate from mountain AVAs such as Diamond Mountain, Mount Veeder, Howell Mountain, and most recently, Atlas Peak.

It was one fresh fall day when I came across a burgeoning winery called ‘Seven Apart.’ Located where Soda Canyon Road meets Silverado Trail, a quick Google search revealed a flurry of facts:

1,475 ft. in elevation!
Volcanic rocky soils!
Extreme mountain-grown Cabernet!

While all exciting, it was particularly the winery name that caught my attention. True, there is a story behind every name. Yet, Seven Apart feels like more than just a generational familial surname or critter-inspired moniker. With my interest piqued, I dug into my Vintner Files and touched base with Seven Apart founder Don Dady to get the whole story.

A Fruitful Investment

Don Dady is an investor. An investor in good ideas, good people, and good land.

“I love my day job in financial services,” opens Don. “I’ve been doing this for about 25 years now, and my team and I are constantly figuring out how to ensure the best possible return on investments. I aim to do that with wine as well. That’s where Seven Apart comes in.”

After driving up to the top of Atlas Peak to visit Stags Ridge for the first time in 2017, Don saw potential. Seven Apart was established soon after that in 2018. With Stags Ridge located at an impressive 1,475 feet above the valley floor, the boutique winery focuses on making extreme mountain-grown Cabernet Sauvignon on an allocation-only basis.

But as far as I understand, most vineyards in these AVAs are planted at extremely high elevations, above the fog that rolls into the valley from the San Francisco Bay. They all have superb water drainage, as the slope promotes density in the wine while maintaining firm tannins and refreshing acidity. So what I wanted to hear is exactly what Don was so ‘impressed’ by.

Seven Points of Difference

According to Don, the answer takes me right to the crux of my investigation - the winery name:

“To create the finest wine possible, I followed the sage advice of my treasured college professor, Professor Nye. He always used to say that ‘there is nothing worth doing in life if you cannot find seven things to set it apart.’”

The concept of finding these seven advantages that set something apart, which Don later shortened to seven apart, became a guidepost for him from that moment on.

“At Seven Apart, we found so much more than seven reasons, so we knew it was the perfect location for a worthy investment,” he shares.

Now that I’ve seen the list, I can concur. It’s pretty impressive. Here are the seven elements that set Seven Apart apart:

Incredible complexity and elegance: The vines are grown in dense, volcanic rock soils providing exceptional terroir.
Nuanced flavors: At 1,475 feet above the valley floor, the vineyard sits above the fog line and enjoys the morning sun to produce perfectly ripe fruit.
Higher quality grapes: The vineyards face the Pritchard Gap, which captures a breeze directly off the San Francisco Bay every afternoon. This cooling effect results in higher-quality fruit.
Increased ageability: The vineyard is perfectly positioned to channel the afternoon breeze to help lower sugar and acidity to desired levels.
Meticulous attention to detail: The cellar team has complete control over every step of the winemaking process. From hand-harvesting in the vineyard to selecting barrels for aging, no stone is left unturned.
State-of-the-art equipment: The team has all the tools to select and delicately nurture the fruit throughout the fermentation process to achieve the best possible results. Trust me, Don has seen to this.
World-class winemaking: With no attention to detail spared, the winemaker is the artist who combines the science of fermentation with the magic of blending.

“I’ve found a team of perfectionists,” explains Don. “It hasn’t always been an easy journey, but when you taste the sublime final product and see how the vineyard runs so seamlessly, it’s all worth it”.

There are more than 375 wineries (give or take) in Napa Valley at present. It’s hard to stand out. Yet, here comes a hot new small-lot winery that is taking Napa Cabernet to the next level. And that’s not just because of their dedication to their craft, but because of what’s in the bottle.

A No-Lose Bet

I’ve had a chance to try the Seven Apart Expedition. I’ll admit, I was swooned by its dark, brooding fruit characteristics, smoky minerality, earthy savoriness, and elegant tannins. It’s precisely what I’ve come to expect of a solid Napa mountain Cabernet. Atlas Peak is Napa Valley’s underdog. Give it a few years, and you’ll be glad you made a bet.

For those on the hunt for the next great Napa Cabernet Sauvignon that will age beyond the decade, Seven Apart’s Expedition is a great place to start. But you don’t need to take my word for it. Somm Review recently scored the wine 98 points, saying that “this wine is certainly on another level.”

As with all good things, Seven Apart’s Expedition is very limited. The Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with grapes from the Base Camp Vineyard and a touch of mountaintop fruit from Stags Ridge Vineyard. According to Don, while it is already drinking beautifully, the Seven Apart Expedition will truly showcase its full potential over the next five to ten years.