Continuum Estate

The history

The story of Continuum begins far away from Napa. In 1906, Cesare and Rosa Mondavi left Sassoferrato, located in Italy's Marche, and headed for Hibbing, an iron mining town in Minnesota. Wine came later, as did California.

In 1943, Cesare acquired the Charles Krug winery in St. Helena, which had been struggling financially since the days of Prohibition. His sons, Robert and Peter, used this winery as a base to focus on producing premium table wines. In 1962, Robert and his wife, Marjorie, toured Europe's wine regions, and he returned brimming with ideas he wanted to implement at Krug. However, these ideas were not well-received by the more conservative members of the family business.

After working at Robert Mondavi Winery every summer for several years, Tim Mondavi officially joined the company in 1974 and eventually became the head winemaker. During his tenure, he planned and developed wines, vineyards, and wineries for Opus One, a joint venture with Baron Philippe de Rothschild.

After Robert Mondavi Winery was sold, Tim and Marcia began exploring future directions. Founded in 2005, Continuum initially used grapes from the To Kalon vineyard, located in the Oakville district, rather than its own land.

Then, in the summer of 2008, the family purchased the Pritchard Hill property, which has since become the heart of the winery. This property was created by combining two existing vineyard plots: Versant, started by former architect Richard Martin, and Cloudview, started by former marine biologist Leighton Taylor. The winery building, designed by the architectural firm Backen, Gillam & Kroeger, was completed in time for the 2013 harvest.

The vineyards

Tim Mondavi spent years searching before he found this land. His reasoning was quite simple. Since the world's most highly regarded wines are typically grown on slopes, Continuum Estate's vineyard also had to be located on a high-altitude hillside where drainage, temperature fluctuations, and sunlight all favour fine wine production.

The place he found was a rugged piece of land located in the Pritchard Hill highlands. The total area of this property is approximately 70 hectares, of which about 15 hectares are planted with grapevines. Consequently, most of the land consists of mountain slopes, forests, and rocks rather than vineyards.

The vineyard area is situated at an elevation of approximately 400 to 490 meters above sea level. Reaching this location requires considerable determination. The winery is located about 3 miles inland from Sage Canyon Road, and it takes about 25 to 30 minutes to reach it from the town of St. Helena via a narrow, steep, and winding uphill road.

From there, you can take in the entire family's land at a glance, from St. Helena, where Charles Krug is located, all the way to Oakville, home to Robert Mondavi Winery and Opus One. For this family, whose identity has been forged on the soil at the bottom of a deep valley, the rugged mountainous terrain represented a true break from the past.

Volcanic rock, and a hill without an AVA

Pritchard Hill is not an official sub-region of Napa Valley. This is because Chappellet holds the trademark rights to that name. Consequently, wines produced here are labeled as Napa Valley, which does not fully reflect the region's unique characteristics. Italian American winemakers have been cultivating grapevines here since the late 1880s.

The soil in the Continuum Estate region is volcanic and has characteristics that are completely different from the deep, fertile soil found at the bottom of the valley. The thin, rocky, and well-drained soil inhibits vine growth and results in smaller berries, which is the primary reason why Cabernet wines from the mountainous areas are more concentrated and flavorful than those from the valley.

Altitude plays the rest of the role. On the slopes of the Vaca mountain range, temperature fluctuations and sunlight exposure differ from those at the valley floor, and the winery attributes the savoury mineral notes that run through its wines to the unique characteristics of these vineyards themselves.

The surrounding areas also play an important role. Bryant Family, Colgin, Ovid, and David Arthur all grow grapes on these same hillsides.

Four classic Bordeaux varieties

Continuum Estate plants four varieties of Bordeaux in Pritchard Hill:

• Cabernet Sauvignon: The main variety
• Cabernet Franc: Here, it serves a purpose beyond that of a mere blending component
• Merlot
• Petit Verdot: Used in small quantities

The proportions vary significantly from year to year depending on the harvest conditions during the growing season. In 2023, the estate wine was blended in the following proportions: 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot, and 6% Petit Verdot. It is unusual for Cabernet Franc to account for nearly an equal proportion in a Napa Cabernet blend, and this is one of the characteristics that defines this winery's unique style.

The winemaking

Tim Mondavi describes grape growing as a series of balancing acts. It involves balancing the grapevines with the vineyard, the grapes with the vines, winemaking with the grapes, and finally, the wine with the dining table, and the essence of this entire process is to make the dining experience even more enriching. This is not merely a slogan but an actual way of working, and it explains why Continuum Estate dedicates itself to a single signature wine rather than producing a dozen different varieties.

Farming is conducted in a sustainable manner, and the vineyards are managed directly on-site. The wine cellar was built on a hillside and takes the form of a cave excavated inward from a small entrance next to the tank room. Barrels from two vintages rest in separate rooms, so the wine is never rushed to market.

The year 2023 marked Tim Mondavi's 50th vintage as a winemaker. More than 50 vintages in, he is still learning.

The wines

Continuum is this winery's signature wine, a blend of grape varieties from the Cabernet family grown exclusively in hillside vineyards; it is sometimes simply labeled as a Proprietary Red Wine. One wine, one vineyard, released once a year. Focusing on this single goal is the winery's overarching philosophy.

Novicium is the estate's other Cabernet alongside Continuum. Continuum Estate also produces a wine called Sentium and presses olive oil on-site.

Most wines are distributed through a subscription system. Tastings at the winery are by reservation only; as is usual for the hill's wineries, it's best to be aware of this before visiting.