Visiting the Historic Schramsberg Winery

Jacob Schram in 1870

One of the most interesting and historic wineries in the Napa valley is the Schramsberg Winery. Unlike the other wineries and grape growers who settled down in the valley of Napa, this winery is located high on the mountain overlooking the valley. In 1862 Jacob Schram emigrated from Germany and purchased 200+ acres on Mt. Diamond from the government and began development of his hillside vineyard.   In that same year his son, Herman Adolph Schram was born.

In 1870 Schram has 30,000 vines and is already producing wine, but decides to produce sparkling wine.  About that time, the first cross continental railroad was complete and the many Chinese laborers who had been building it found themselves out of work.  So Schram hired a group of them to dig Napa’s first hillside caves for wine-aging and storage. The result was Schramsberg Winery becoming the first producer of premium Napa Valley Champagne Method sparkling wine.

Writer Robert Louis Stevenson

The Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson honeymooned for three weeks nearby, at a point in his career when he had very little money.  Best remembered by his books Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde and A Child’s Garden of Verses, Stevenson was a frequent visitor to the Schramsberg estate.

Stevenson befriended Jacob Schram and devoted a chapter to Napa wine in his book Silverado Squatters, an account he wrote of his experience in the Napa Valley.  In this book Stevenson recalls a time of wine tasting with Jacob Schram when the vineyards were quite young:

“In this wild spot I did not feel the sacredness of ancient cultivation.  It was still raw; yet the stirring sunlight, and the growing vines, and the vats and bottles in the cavern, made a pleasant music for the mind.  Here, also, earth’s cream was being skimmed and garnered; and one can taste, such as it is, the tang of the earth in this green valley.  So local, so quintessential is a wine, that it seems the very birds in the verandah might contribute a flavour, and that romantic cellar influence the bottle next to be uncorked, and the smile of jolly Mr. Schram might mantle in the glass.”

Not long after completing Silverado Squatters, Stevenson wrote the pirate tales Treasure Island and Kidnapped, and his own fortune started to grow.

The Schramsberg winery was brought back from disrepair in 1965 by Jack and Jamie Davies producing a sparkling wine often served at State Dinners and gatherings in the White House.  Several cases of Schramsberg sparkling wine accompanied President Nixon to China for his famous meeting with Chairman Mao.

Just getting to the Schramsberg winery is an experience.  Visitors must drive up a tiny road through a heavy forest of beautiful trees to get to their historic spot.  Arriving at the picturesque original home and visiting the 100+ year old caves make it all a worthwhile experience.  While in Napa be sure to also experience the unique SelfTour™ Napa and Sonoma GPS Guided Driving Tour available at the Apple store.