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The
following is taken from "New California Wine"
by Matt Kramer
Stony Hill Vineyard - One of the stalwarts of Napa Valley
Stony Hill is located at the base of Spring Mountain and is indeed
within the Spring Mountain District AVA. But in many ways, it is
its own entity. Started in the early 1950s by Fred and Eleanor McCrea,
Stony Hill became legendary for its Chardonnay made - as it still
is today - without any malolactic fermentation. That was the old
California way and it served, and continues to serve, Stony Hill's
Chardonnay very well indeed.
Inevitably, Stony Hill lost some of its original luster as new
wineries appeared. For too long a time it was overlooked, if only
because the necessary marketing was absent as Eleanor McCrea became
elderly. The winery had its longtime mailing list of customers and
that was enough.
Finally - and happily - in the late 1990s Stony Hill was "rediscovered."
Nothing really had changed, including the tiny, woodsy winery, but
California wine loveres had begun to realize what a jewel this old
vineyard really is. Stony Hill Chardonnay is the essence of what
California Chardonnay can be: pure, free of oakiness, filled with
savor, and yet somehow unpretentious. It is rewarding, even exciting
drinking - if you can find it.
A small amount of (good) Gewurztraminer is also made, which has
its own following.
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