About Schramsberg Vineyards
Jacob Schram, a German immigrant, founded Schramsberg on Diamond Mountain in 1862, planting vines high on the hillside to protect them from frost and hiring Chinese laborers, veterans of the Transcontinental Railroad, to dig aging cellars deep into the volcanic rock. Robert Louis Stevenson visited during his 1880 honeymoon and later wrote about tasting eighteen different wines there in The Silverado Squatters, but the winery closed in 1912 and sat abandoned for decades.
Jack and Jamie Davies bought the derelict property in 1965 and set out to make America's finest sparkling wine using the traditional Champagne method rather than Napa's usual still varietals. Their 1969 Blanc de Blancs was served at Richard Nixon's 1972 "Toast to Peace" dinner in Beijing, the first American sparkling wine at a White House-hosted state occasion, and every presidential administration since has poured Schramsberg. Son Hugh Davies now oversees winemaking, blending fruit from more than 115 vineyard blocks across four North Coast counties.
Schramsberg remains the valley’s sparkling benchmark: the Davies family has made methode traditionnelle wines here for over fifty years on an 1800s estate that Jack and Jamie Davies rescued from abandonment. Tastings are appointment-only and the year-round cave tours through the historic hillside cellars are the signature experience; the family’s Davies Vineyards in St. Helena is the sister stop when Schramsberg books out.
Jacob Schram's 1862 Diamond Mountain estate, revived by the Davies family in 1965 to become America's sparkling wine pioneer.
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Tasted by Robert Louis Stevenson,the author of Treasure Island visited Schramsberg during his 1880 Napa Valley honeymoon and wrote about the estate in The Silverado Squatters.
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Poured at a historic toast,Schramsberg's 1969 Blanc de Blancs was served at Richard Nixon's 1972 Beijing state dinner, the first American sparkling wine ever poured at such an occasion.
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Caves dug by hand in the 1880s,Chinese laborers, many veterans of the Transcontinental Railroad, carved Schramsberg's aging tunnels directly into Diamond Mountain's volcanic rock.
"Jacob Schram's 1862 Diamond Mountain estate, revived by the Davies family in 1965 to become America's sparkling wine pioneer."
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Featured Wines
Current Releases
Wines change with each vintage
For an accurate list of current-release wines and library bottlings from Schramsberg Vineyards, please check the winery's official website or contact the tasting room directly. Calistoga producers typically rotate vintages and offerings seasonally.
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Victorian Cave Tour & Tasting
A tour through the original 1860s Chinese-carved tunnels, the same caves that Robert Louis Stevenson visited in 1880 and Jack Davies walked Nixon's Blanc de Blancs through in 1972, followed by a sparkling wine tasting.
$75
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J. Schram Prestige Experience
An extended tasting featuring J. Schram and library vintages of Blanc de Blancs, the most complete Schramsberg experience tracing the history of America's most historically significant sparkling wine.
$120
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