Smith-Madrone Vineyards and Winery is a Napa Valley winery founded in 1971 by Stuart Smith. The name Smith-Madrone comes from the madrone trees among the estate. Vineyards Smith-Madrone is located in the Spring Mountain District in the Napa Valley Appellation. The estate is a 200-acre (81 ha) ranch, planted partly as vineyards over a century ago. It sits at 1,600 to 1,800 ft (550 m). elevation at the top of Spring Mountain amid fir and madrona. Some of the vines are planted on slopes angling over 30 degrees. There are 6.25 acres (2.53 ha) of Riesling, 10.25 acres (4.15 ha) of Chardonnay, 13 acres (5.3 ha) of Cabernet Sauvignon, 1-acre (0.40 ha) of Cabernet Franc and 3.75 acres (1.52 ha) of Merlot. Wines Smith-Madrone's current varietals are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Riesling and Cook's Flat Reserve. Stuart's brother Charles Smith is the winemaker. Charles joined the winery in 1973. Production of the first vintage was in 1977. There are less than 5,000 cases released each year. Smith-Madrone is most known for its benchmark Riesling, "one of the most coveted California Rieslings", and was voted "The Best Riesling in the World" by the Gault-Millau International Wine Championships in Europe in 1979. The Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay have also won several gold medals at various wine fairs across California such as the San Francisco International Wine Fair and Critic’s Challenge. References ^ Bonne', Jon. "Napa Off the Map", Napa Valley Register, 7 September 2007 2. Food & Wine Magazine, October 2013, http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/worlds-best-riesling-wine-regions?utm_content=bufferf48d9&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer; 3. Napa Valley Register, September 2013, http://napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/wine/two-brothers-discovered-wine-and-never-looked-back/article_dbf2be42-1699-11e3-b18c-0019bb2963f4.html External links http://smithmadrone.com/ http://cooksflatreserve.com/