Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
Since the inaugural vintage of our Decoy Napa Valley Red Wine more than a quarter century ago, Decoy has taken an important place in the Duckhorn Portfolio of wines. With a reputation for delivering great quality at a remarkable price, Decoy has established a loyal following for its distinctive style, which emphasizes ready-upon-release wines that are capable of expressing their full charm and complexity in their youth. Building on this foundation, Decoy has evolved from being a single wine that supported the Duckhorn Vineyards brand to being a renowned winery in its own right.
The Decoy lineup now includes a Sonoma County appellation-designated Red Blend, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as a California Rosé, Pinot Noir and Sparkling Wine, all of which highlight Decoy’s commitment to producing attractively priced wines from exceptional vineyard sources.
Fruit for the Decoy program comes from a mix of Estate vineyards and top grower vineyards. From the wealth of viticultural and winemaking talent we can draw from, to our world-class cooperage program and more, Decoy benefits greatly from the remarkable resources of the Duckhorn Portfolio.
California is a winemaking colossus; by itself it is the fourth largest producer in the world. Red wine accounts for 56% of the total by volume, and red grapes 63% of total acres planted. In addition, a number of California red wines are heralded as being among the most prestigious and sought-after wines in the world.
While the state’s incredibly diverse geography, soils and microclimates allow for a wide array of styles, the key factor unifying California red wine is the abundance of sunshine and a long, consistent growing season. This leads to well-developed fruit marked both by impressive ripeness and balancing acidity.
The state’s most famous red wine region, of course, is Napa Valley, where Cabernet Sauvignon reigns as king. But California boasts a wealth of other impressive appellations. The much larger and climatically varied Sonoma County also produces world class California Cabernet, along with wonderful examples of California Pinot Noir and Zinfandel.
Fine versions of Cabernet and Zinfandel hail from Paso Robles as well, which is also gaining fame with Rhone varietals like Syrah and Grenache. As for Pinot Noir, terrific examples can be found from AVA’s such as Anderson Valley, Carneros, Santa Lucia Highlands and Sta. Rita Hills. Wineries in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties are making wonderful Syrahs, and the Sierra Foothill appellations are proving to be an experimental hotbed, with Italian and Spanish varietals employed to great effect.
This of course is a mere sketch. The subject of California red wine is as deep and broad as an ocean, and absolutely a joy to explore!