Our 37-acre estate vineyard is located just a few miles north of Calistoga in northern Napa Valley. The vineyard is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot, divided into four distinct vineyard blocks that provide the fruit for our flagship Kara's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. NEWS FLASH! Click here.

Soils in our estate vineyard are rocky, alluvial and relatively infertile, perfectly suited for wine grape growing. While daytime temperatures during the growing season are quite warm, the influence of the Pacific Ocean and its coastal hills results in cool, crisp evenings, producing the greatest day-to-night temperature differentials of any region in Napa Valley. These conditions ensure that our grapes both ripen fully and retain the healthy levels of acidity essential to balanced wines.

As a Napa Valley grape grower for nearly 30 years, Robert Pecota understands the importance of careful vineyard management. Techniques employed to maximize grape quality include exposing leaves and grape clusters to more sunlight in order to increase flavor and color, and thinning the crop to reduce yields.

In caring for our estate vines, we also employ the latest research and technology to ensure our grapes develop intense, balanced flavors. When replanting vines, we utilize only the rootstocks, bud wood and trellising systems best-suited to our estate vineyard’s soils and microclimates.

Our goal is also to maximize the quality and character of our wines by fully capturing the unique attributes of each variety and vineyard site – the singularity of place the French call terroir. For our estate-grown wines, we pick, vinify and barrel-age each vineyard block separately. After the fruit from each parcel is fermented, we conduct blending trials to determine the final cepage for each vintage of Kara’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. In some vintages, when not all the Merlot, Cabernet Franc or Petite Verdot is used in the blend, we may bottle small quantities of one or more to offer to our wine club members.