Appellation · United States
Mount Veeder
Steep, cool, sedimentary slopes on Napa’s western ridge, and the coolest of the valley’s mountain AVAs.
Full-bodied but firm Cabernet Sauvignon with dark fruit, herbs and gripping tannin. Less lush and more angular than valley-floor Napa.
About Mount Veeder
Mount Veeder rises on the Mayacamas range on Napa’s western edge, facing the cooling influence of San Pablo Bay.
Unusually for Napa’s mountains, its soils are marine sedimentary rather than volcanic — this was ocean floor — and they are thin and poor.
The wines are firm, structured and comparatively restrained, with more acidity and less overt ripeness than the valley floor.
What the name means
- Legal name
- Mount Veeder AVA
- Type
- American Viticultural Area (AVA)
- Set by
- Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)
- Recognised
- 1990
- Regulates
- Origin only. It sets no rules about varieties, yields, ageing or winemaking.
Only where the grapes were grown, plus the percentage that must come from the named area. An AVA sets no varietal, yield, ageing or winemaking rules whatsoever — the single most commonly misunderstood fact about US wine labels.
Grapes
Wines from here
What to eat, and how to serve it
Derived from this region’s signature styles. Each is listed separately, because a region does not have one serving temperature.
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Serve at 16–18°C (cool room temperature).
Try with steak, ribeye steak or roast chicken.
Where to go next
Places worth trying if you like this one — neighbours, rivals, and the obvious step across.
- Spring Mountain District — A cool, wet, wooded stretch of the Mayacamas above St Helena, and the wettest AVA in Napa.
- Howell Mountain — Napa’s first sub-AVA, above the fog line on the eastern ridge, making the valley’s most tannic Cabernet.
- Carneros — The cool, windy flatland at the southern end of Napa and Sonoma, straddling both counties, and California’s best-established site for Pinot Noir and sparkling wine.
Sources
Sources consulted
- American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) — Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), US Department of the Treasury
- Napa Valley Vintners — Napa Valley Vintners