Terra Valentine

Sam Baxter

Winemaker Sam Baxter, has always had a keen focus on the grapes in the vineyard to achieve ideal ripeness and flavor development, leading to a winemaking style marked by minimal intervention. The yield of this approach is evident in our Terra Valentine wines that reflect a sense of place while showing the intensity of mountain grown fruit and balanced elegance.

Sam Baxter stands tall among an esteemed few, of the next generation of Napa Valley winemakers. Baxter literally grew up in the grapevines, trailing father Phil, whose winemaking made a legendary mark in the late '60s when the Napa Valley first experienced international notoriety as a respected winegrowing region.

After graduating from University of California, Davis with a degree in fermentation science in 1998, Sam extended his experience with a pivotal internship position at Sterling Vineyards and stints abroad in Australia. His first encounters with Terra Valentine were cultivated during the early years at the winery, dubbed the "cowboy" era (1999-2001) due to the rough-and-tumble condition of the winery and its vineyard land, which allowed for barely enough energy to run the lights, but no hot water. Working under these off-the-grid conditions went a long way in building Baxter's strong winemaking foundation.

Terra Valentine Estate Yverdon Vineyard

Terra Valentine sources all the fruit for their Estate Riesling on at the Yverdon Vineyard at an elevation of almost 2,000 feet. Two separate German clones were planted on two-acres in 2006, in six separate blocks. The vines are grown in the coolest microclimates, which receive very little afternoon sun, protecting the acidity of this noble grape.

A warm, dry spring brought early bud break, helped with canopy vigor and berry size and created ideal
conditions for flowering and fruit set under sunny skies. With the exception of one heat spike in late June/early July, temperatures were consistently in the zone for optimal vine activity, resulting in notably healthy vines as fruit went through veraison and started ripening. e cooler, sunny weather throughout October allowed the final grapes still on the vine to linger longer, developing more phenolic
and flavor maturities with sugar levels remaining steady.

Vinification:
Pressed into small stainless steel tanks and neutral 60 gallon barrels
Aged sur lie for 5 months in neutral French Oak Puncheons