There is an old debate in Napa Valley: Highway 29 or the Silverado Trail? For those visiting for the first time, the distinction may seem small. Both roads lead north from downtown Napa, framed by rows of planted vines, estates, and some of the valley's most celebrated wineries. But the two sides of the valley tell distinctly different stories. Since 1972, we've been partial to the Silverado Trail. Once known as the "Old Back Road," it travels the eastern edge of the valley at the foothills of the Vaca Range and its dramatic Palisades peaks. Quieter and less frequently traveled, the two-lane highway has long drawn winemakers for the qualities of its distinctive landscape.
The Road Itself
The Silverado Trail travels parallel to Highway 29, but the drive is decidedly different. Rather than cutting through the valley's towns, it follows the base of the Vaca Mountains, passing vineyard after vineyard along the way. Pristine rows of vines, wildflowers, low stone walls, old barns, and trees that have stood here longer than many of the region's vineyards line the road. There are few advertisements or billboards to compete for your attention, and little reason to hurry. It asks you to slow down. To look around. Notice the landscape. Highway 29 is efficient. The Silverado Trail is a journey.
Before There Was Wine
Long before manicured vineyards adorned the valley, this was pastureland. The Silverado Trail traces a much older path through Napa Valley, connecting the valley to the silver mines in the surrounding mountains. It was this rugged landscape that Robert Louis Stevenson encountered when he honeymooned near Mount St. Helena in 1880, later chronicling the backcountry in The Silverado Squatters. The silver eventually faded. And vineyards took its place.
A Valley Within A Valley
Within the larger Napa Valley lies one of its smallest and most distinctive appellations: Stags Leap District.
At three miles long and one mile wide, the Stags Leap District sits between the Vaca Mountains to the east and the Napa River to the West. Its unique topography creates a distinctively cool microclimate. The low elevation draws in cool breezes from the San Pablo Bay, while the knolls and Stags Leap Palisades form a natural corridor for those breezes. Warm days encourage ripening while cooler nights preserve acidity and freshness. The result is a style of Cabernet Sauvignon for which Stags Leap District has become known with higher acid, lower alcohol, and delicate tannins, capable of aging with grace.
The soils are equally distinctive. Three primary loam types — Haire, Bale, and Felta — shape the district, with Felta derived from volcanic material eroded from the Palisades above.
Where Clos du Val Took Root
Our story on the Silverado Trail began with a drive. In the early 1970s, founding winemaker Bernard Portet was searching for a place where he could realize John Goelet's vision of making Bordeaux-style wines beyond the borders of France. After two years exploring wine regions around the globe, Portet was driving south through Napa Valley when he noticed a change.
Passing hay fields and fruit orchards, he entered a sheltered pocket of the valley and felt the temperature drop. He had found what he was looking for. The land would become Hirondelle Vineyard, and in 1972, the home of Clos du Val. More than five decades later, we remain rooted in that same place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Silverado Trail its own AVA? No. The Silverado Trail, once known as the Old Back Road, is a road, not an appellation. It runs through several Napa Valley sub-AVAs, including Stags Leap District, and "Silverado Trail wineries" describes a geographic grouping along that road rather than a regulatory designation.
What makes Stags Leap District different from the rest of Napa Valley? It's the smallest AVA in the valley, three miles long and a mile wide, bordered by the Vaca Mountains and the Napa River. Cool air pulled in from San Pablo Bay moves through a natural corridor formed by the district's knolls and the Stags Leap Palisades, producing Cabernet Sauvignon with higher acid, lower alcohol, and delicate tannins built to age.
Why does soil matter so much here specifically? Stags Leap District sits on three primary loam types: Haire, Bale, and Felta, the last shaped by volcanic material eroded from the Palisades above. Different blocks of the district draw on different combinations of these soils, which is part of why fruit from one corner of the district can taste distinct from fruit grown a few hundred yards away. Our own Hirondelle Vineyard sits on ground Bernard Portet chose specifically because of what it could do.
How did Clos du Val end up on the Silverado Trail? Founding winemaker Bernard Portet spent nearly two years searching wine regions worldwide for a place to make Bordeaux-style wine outside of France. Driving south through Napa Valley in the early 1970s, he entered a sheltered pocket of the valley and felt the temperature drop. That site became Hirondelle Vineyard, and in 1972, the home of Clos du Val.
Is there a real historical connection between the Trail and Robert Louis Stevenson? Yes. Stevenson honeymooned near Mount St. Helena in 1880, in the same rugged country the Silverado Trail was built to serve, and wrote about the experience in *The Silverado Squatters*. The road predates the vineyards along it by decades.
Can visitors actually see the ground this history is built on? Yes. Hirondelle House, our hospitality center on the Silverado Trail, sits alongside the vineyard Bernard Portet found more than fifty years ago, in the district that still carries his original instinct in every bottle. Come, enjoy a glass with us.