Schrader Cellars
While there is no shortage of Cabernet experts in Napa Valley, very few have narrowed their focus as far as Schrader Cellars. A single grape variety, a single valley, and a handful of rows within a single Oakville vineyard, To Kalon. Schrader does not own any grapevines at all. The grapes are sourced through long-term contracts, and grapes from each plot are managed separately in the cellar. That is why a single harvest can result not in a single blend, but in six or seven distinct To Kalon bottled wines.
Fred Schrader, whose primary profession is as an art and antiques dealer, founded this brand, and Thomas Rivers Brown has been crafting the wines since the 2000 vintage. Constellation Brands acquired the brand in 2017 but retained the same winemaker and winemaking methods.
The history
This story begins with something other than wine. In 1988, Fred Schrader was a successful art and antique dealer when his friend, the Christie's auctioneer Brian Cole, invited him to Napa Valley Wine Auction. He went there, enjoyed some delicious wine, and spent time with the pioneers who had cultivated that valley.
In 1998, Schrader Cellars was founded, and its first wine came from that same vintage. Then came a barrel sample that the winery considers to have changed everything: Cabernet. The fruit aromas of this wine, which possessed exceptional depth, were found to originate from Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville. Fred Schrader went directly to the office of grower Andy Beckstoffer to select a small number of grapevines.
Thomas Rivers Brown joined in 2000 and produced that year's wines, including the first release of Beckstoffer To Kalon. He has served as winemaker ever since.
In 2017, Constellation Brands acquired the brand and its long-term vineyard contracts. Schraders had no children or heirs, and Fred described this sale as part of his legacy. Under the terms of the agreement, the new owners agreed not to interfere with operations. Fred and Carol Schrader remained the public faces of the company, and Brown continued to work at the winery, and the couple excluded their two Pinot Noir labels, Boars' View and Aston Estate, from this transaction.
Recently, Schrader Cellars moved to a new wine cellar and changed the source vineyards for To Kalon.
A winery with no vines
Schrader Cellars owns no vines of its own. Everything depends on long-term grape contracts, a riskier approach to building the Napa brand than purchasing the land outright, but that was precisely the point. This is because what Fred Schrader wanted was not the land itself, but specific plots within specific vineyards.
To Kalon, located in Oakville, is at the heart of this. Ownership of this vineyard is divided, and Schrader has built its reputation on the Beckstoffer section, bottling wines under its own label without blending grapes selected from individual plots and rows. Monastery Block is one of the parcel names listed on the bottle.
Beyond Oakville, this winery has also worked with Beckstoffer Georges III, located in Rutherford, and Las Piedras Vineyard in St. Helena. Although the soils differ and their locations within the valley floor vary, the concept of single-varietal wines remains the same.
Tastings are currently held at To Kalon Collective, located within Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville, allowing visitors to stand right in the middle of the vineyard mentioned on the label.
Cabernet Sauvignon
There is no white wine, no rosé, and no second grape variety. Schrader Cellars is a Cabernet Sauvignon house in Napa Valley, and it has been that way ever since the first bottling.
Although Fred and Carol Schrader produce Pinot Noir under the names Boars' View and Aston Estate, those labels are their personal products and have no connection to the Schrader Cellars winery or its ownership.
The winemaking
Most of what makes Schrader Cellars special is determined before the fermentation process even begins. It is the decision not to blend. Grapes harvested from each row in the vineyard are picked separately, vinified separately, and kept separate all the way through bottling. Depending on the vintage, a single harvest can yield as many as 6 to 7 different Beckstoffer To Kalon wines.
Production volumes are kept small. Annual Cabernet production ranges from 2,500 to 4,000 cases, while some labels are produced in much smaller quantities, as few as 80 cases, and are bottled exclusively in magnum bottles.
As the winemaker who has led Thomas Rivers Brown's, he has remained at the helm through changes in ownership, the relocation of the winery, and shifts in the origin of the grapes. Following the sale in 2017, production continued at Outpost, located in Howell Mountain. The move to the new wine cellar took place later and coincided with a change in the specific section of To Kalon from which the grapes are sourced.
The wines: reading the labels
The Schrader product line becomes much easier to understand once you realize that its name refers to a vineyard area rather than a style of wine. There are several cuvées produced from the Beckstoffer To Kalon vineyard within the Oakville range: the Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard and T6, the RBS Selection, and the Old Sparky.
The second group uses the name To Kalon Vineyard without the Beckstoffer prefix, reflecting the new fruit source within that vineyard. This group includes the To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, the Heritage Clone bottled wine, and the MB Monastery Block.
Schrader Cellars has also been bottling wines under other labels for many years, including CCS, the magnum-only wine named after Carol Colesworthy Schrader, as well as Cabernets from Rutherford and St. Helena. Which wines are released each year depends on the quality of the grapes harvested from each vineyard.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Schrader Cellars?
Constellation Brands, which bought the label and its vineyard contracts in 2017. Fred and Carol Schrader stayed on as the public faces of the brand afterwards.
Why is one of the wines called Old Sparky?
Old Sparky was Fred Schrader's nickname. Carol Colesworthy Schrader designed the label, and the wine is made in tiny quantities, in magnum only.
Does Schrader Cellars own its vineyards?
No. The house works entirely on long-term contracts with growers, most famously with Andy Beckstoffer for rows in the To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville.
Can you visit?
Yes, at the To Kalon Collective inside the Robert Mondavi Winery, 7801 St Helena Hwy in Oakville, by reservation. List members in good standing get one complimentary tasting a year, with up to three guests.
