Napa Valley profiles: Flora Springs Winery and Vineyards

October 15, 10:22 PMNapa Valley Wine ExaminerLaird Durham

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                       Three generations of the Flora Springs family

In some ways, Flora Springs Winery and Vineyards is a model of old world wine making, where wineries were generational family businesses and used traditional, organic methods of grape growing. Three generations and more than a dozen Flora Springs family members are active in the business. Twenty percent of Flora Springs' acreage is certified organic, with another 40% set to be certified during 2009.

In other ways, Flora Springs is as modern as tomorrow. The winery is experimenting with electronic sensors to monitor the soil during the growing season and has developed unique Flora Springs clones used in its premium wines. The tasting room (below right) is a millennium generation affair, with social networking Internet access available for guest use.

Combining both old and modern, the red wine production facility (below left) is a stone winery built in 1880 – now solar powered.

The Beginning

When he retired as President of The Bechtel Corporation in 1977, Jerry Komes and his wife Flora bought a 60-acre vineyard in the Napa Valley with two abandoned wineries that had been built in 1900. Their plan was to grow grapes as a retirement project, not to make wine. The vineyard was named for Flora and year-round springs on the property.

But their children John and Julie, with Julie’s husband, Pat Garvey, talked the family into making wine, so a year later, Flora Springs Winery was born, with John as President and Pat as vineyard manager. After working part time at the winery during their teenage and college years, grandsons Nat and Sean have joined the team full time, the third generation of the family to become active in the business.

The Komes/Garvey family members participate in all aspects of the winery: trellising, growing, harvesting, production, and sales – even leading tours and tastings.

The Flora Springs vineyards have expanded from the original 60 to 650 acres in eight separate “terroirs” (vineyards with unique soil and climate characteristics), 1000-lineal feet of caves dug into the Rutherford hillside, and a spectacular tasting room on the Napa Highway in St. Helena.

The Wine Spectator named five Flora Springs varietals among the top 100 wines of the world, and its 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon as the 3rd best wine in the world.

Web Site: Flora Springs Winery

Tasting room location: St. Helena, CA (Click for a Google Map)

Wines: Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay. Pinot Grigio, Sangiovese, Red Meritage, White Meritage.

Vineyards: Carneros, Pope Valley, Oakville, Rutherford, Napa

List price range: $16-$85