Rutherford
Mediterranean
Napa's classic Cabernet country, famous for 'Rutherford dust': a fine-grained, dusty tannin texture said to come from its soils.
Overview
About Rutherford
Rutherford lies just north of Oakville, on the valley floor and its benchland, and became an AVA in 1993. Cabernet Sauvignon is the most important grape, and it is especially associated with a particular tannin, described as 'Rutherford dust', a fine and slightly earthy texture.
Some of Napa's oldest wineries are here, including Beaulieu Vineyard, whose Georges de Latour Private Reserve helped to establish the area, and Inglenook.
Rutherford is marked on the map.
United States of America
Shaded: California. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Mediterranean
Warm and dry, with somewhat less of the cooling bay influence than further south. Cabernet ripens reliably, and the wines are typically rich.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Gravelly loam alluvial soils on the benchland, with the tannin texture often credited to the soils, though its origin is debated.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Rutherford is an AVA, a geographic boundary, with no ranking inside it.
AVA Rutherford
At least 85% of the grapes must come from the area, and a varietal wine must be at least 75% of that grape.
Napa Valley AVA
The wider appellation.
What's grown here
Grapes
Each grape's page links back here.