Julien Fayard Wines

To experience the wines of Julien Fayard is to put yourself in the hands of an acclaimed vintner—and one of Napa Valley’s master craftsmen. In the vineyard and the cellar, Julien’s practices as a winemaker are informed by a belief that the act of putting wine in the bottle should be as natural as possible. To achieve this, he employs traditional, low-manipulation winemaking methods—always preceded by carefully considered viticultural decisions...

There’s a dependable flow of communication between Julien and the select group of growers who supply him grapes for the Julien Fayard wines. “I trust them to be good farmers and stewards of the land who are able to bring out the best fruit,” the winemaker says, “and they trust me to make good wine that's going to reflect the quality of their vineyard.”

With each site Julien sources for his wines, his goal is a long-term collaboration based ...

It should be no surprise that for a vintner so closely attuned to the aspects of winemaking driven by nature, the process for Julien starts in the vineyard. The cellar work of fermentation and aging are, as he describes them, “big steps that have to be done right.” But they’re steps preceded by everything that happens at the all-important vineyard level. Out among the vines is, to Julien, where the essence of winemaking takes place.

“I like...