When we met Alfred Frediani in 2009, we were amazed by the position of his vineyard at the end of Pickett Road, at the mouth of Simmons Canyon. Alfred planted these gnarled, old vines of Petite Sirah himself in 1939. Alfred was a wealth of information about Napa’s history and authentic to his principles and character, farming Carignane, Petite Sirah and unknown “field” varietals, while surrounded by some of the most illustrious names in Napa Cabernet. We were honored to work with him and his vines. His vineyard has always been organically-farmed on its rocky well-drained soils without irrigation, sitting on an alluvial fan of river rocks at the base of a pebbly slope of Cortina soils. The wine is always extremely dark in color, yet the deep rocky soils produce a Petite Sirah with more aromatics and a more complex tannin structure than most. Having passed in 2018, Al’s son Steve is carrying on his traditions, and we will always remember Alfred through the wines made from his grapes.
