Gold in the Fields- The Very Reserved Napa Valley Reserve
Filed under Wine
The Very Reserved Napa Valley Reserve
Photography by Colin Michael
Welcome to the Reserve...
Gazing wistfully over a field of wine vines basking in the warm sun of Napa Valley, you can’t help imagining yourself as a wine baron overlooking your fields of gold clad in dusty but custom-crafted work boots, tastefully wrinkled chinos with a rugged plaid shirt and maybe a neck bandana to catch the sweat. An Indiana Jones fedora, a faithful Labrador retriever and a goblet glowing from the ruby red of a succulent Napa Cabernet completes the picture.
Of course, this dream conveniently skips a few minor details:
- You’ve spent a lifetime perfecting the craft of wine production.
- You’ve spent lots of money to do that.
- You’ve amassed your own source of capital when things go awry from time to time — as they often do.
Poof, there goes that dream. Might as well settle down and buy that bottle of Napa wine you’ve been coddling and move on to the next tasting room.
But hold that thought. A real winemaker and millionaire, H. William Harlan, has created a way for the mere mortal to participate in this envied occupation without millions of dollars of investment and a lifetime of battling Mother Nature, regulatory agencies and ever-changing growing techniques.
Harlan has paid the price, literally and figuratively, to garner global acclaim for his winemaking prowess. His Harlan Estate reds have been rated as perhaps the most perfect wines in the world.
His answer? Deceptively simple: Share the experience without all the investment. The Napa Valley Reserve is an invitation-only private winery – and talk about reserved! Members pay a six-figure membership fee (at the time this article was written $165,000) and they must agree to purchase a certain allotment of wine at $75 a bottle each year. Members can buy a minimum of six cases or a maximum of 75 cases. Newbies get started by buying introductory wines until their “sweat equity” estate wine is ready four years later, after the wine has aged.
The Reserve
Initial memberships were taken in 2003 and today The Reserve (as it is known locally) is almost at capacity. The maximum number of members depends upon demand for finished product and new members come by way of personal referral only. Did I mention that they don’t advertise?
The Reserve’s biggest draw is that it is a working vineyard where club members are free to dig in and get their hands dirty tending, picking, sorting, pressing and fermenting the venerable grape.
Located on 80 acres in the eastern foothills of Napa Valley, The Reserve is near the entrance to Harlan’s Meadowood property, a luxury private resort that features membership participation in recreational facilities as well as enjoyment of the hotel’s entertainment offerings.
According to Philip Norfleet, director for The Reserve, Harlan got the idea from guests who were seeking a “more fulfilling” experience than simply tasting and buying wine. “Bill Harlan worked for years on the idea of providing wine aficionados with a more intimate wine-making experience,” says Norfleet. “And that has been accomplished with The Reserve.”
Member Activities
With the exclusiveness associated with membership, one might assume that The Reserve’s vineyards and grounds would be rather pretentious, perhaps even grand. Yet, while traveling along the Silverado Trail near Howell Mountain Road, the estate goes practically unnoticed.
From the road, it looks like a small yet modest farm. No grand monuments to attract tourists. Even if you do happen to drive up the unmarked entrance road, there’s only a small sign that says “private.” Most tour maps don’t even identify The Reserve — recalling the old adage, “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it!”
An appointment to visit the estate introduces the visitor to well-manicured grounds and gardens. The few buildings are rustic in design and modest in size, keeping the tradition of rural Napa wine farming intact.
More than 50,000-square-feet of facilities at The Reserve are indeed quite invisible to the uninitiated. That’s because most of it is cloistered into caves that have been carved out of the mountainside. Within the mountainside is enough capacity to house approximately 1,000 barrels of wine. There’s also a labyrinth of rooms and passages where members can ply the Wine Libraries and assemble for wine tastings and social events.
A monthly curriculum of events entertains as well as educates and informs The Reserve’s chosen few. An affair with Chocolate, Wine, Art & Architecture, Wines of Bordeaux and Wine & Dinner Theater under the Stars are typical fare. Instructional sessions for pruning, blending, bottling and tasting are offered at the appropriate time of year.
Philip Norfleet
“Two-thirds of the members have to get on an airplane to attend functions here in Napa Valley,” states Norfleet, “but even if members miss special social or learning events, they receive a leather-bound notebook that reports all that went on at the event.”
According to Norfleet, members who visit the property can pick and choose which events and activities appeal to them the most. “For some,” says Norfleet, “that might not even be related to wine production, but to organic vegetable farming, honey production or culinary activities. Each member finds his or her own way of enjoying the benefits of membership in a working winery.” When members tire of the rigors of farming and winemaking, expert winegrowers from the Harlan Estate step in to finish the work. Membership certainly has its privileges.
One important aspect of this form of participation is that members are free from the financial responsibility and liabilities that go with ownership. This is no small consideration. Raising wine grapes is risky business, just like any type of farming. There are even those who say there’s no greater risk in any occupation that can match farming. In a way, membership in this winegrowing operation is much like an insurance policy that assures all of the benefits but none of the risks.
There are those who scoff at this approach to winemaking. Many feel the whole concept moves Napa Valley away from its roots of being a rural community and a lifestyle that is grounded in a love of the earth and quality wine produced from personal toil.
As one long-time vineyard owner anonymously commented, “It’s just another upscale visitor perk that goes along with the designer stores and high-end restaurants replacing the hardware and grocery stores that serve the people who do all the real work in the valley.” He admits, however, that The Estate wine is high quality. It could be argued that The Reserve adds another layer of variety to the wine-making process and that members of The Reserve share the passion and pride for excellent wine. But members can’t say, at least not here — their identities are held in secret.
All in all, The Reserve is a simple, well-conceived model that provides people with a concentrated taste of winemaking without the expenditure of time and money needed to learn the trade. And, in that sense, it could be considered a bargain! As Norfleet emphasizes, “We focus upon producing the best products and events, but never cease pursuit of even higher levels of satisfaction for our membership. This focus assures us success now and with future generations of members.”
Nobody questions the fascination and allure this remarkable wine region has around the world. The Napa Valley Reserve makes its dedication clear: to offer to the world of wine and culinary aficionados the hands-on traditions that emanate from winegrowing in Napa. Passion, food and wine — there’s plenty for everyone to enjoy in the valley, to whatever extent they desire. We’ll toast to that!
