Making the 2025 Napa Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon – Winemaker Guide

Written By Andrew Crews
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If you’re setting out to make a truly top-tier Cabernet this season, you’re in the right place. And if you’ve already ordered our 2025 Calistoga Cabernet frozen must — or you’re about to — congratulations. You’re working with Benchland fruit that delivers the best of both worlds: generous berry character from the valley floor, with the structure and earthiness you expect from hillside influence.

This vintage leaned cooler overall across the valley, giving us something very reminiscent of a Bordeaux-style year — full flavor development without heat-driven overripeness. That balance gives you real freedom in your extraction choices.

Lab highlights (ETS analysis)

Cabernet Sauvignon – Clone 7

  • Brix: 23.5

  • pH: 3.95

  • TA: 2.8 g/L

  • YAN: 66 mg/L

Cabernet Sauvignon – Clone 337

  • Brix: 23.3

  • pH: 3.83

  • TA: 2.9 g/L

  • YAN: 60 mg/L

In practical terms, this means:

  • fully flavored Cab at moderate Brix

  • higher pH than ideal for long-term stability

  • low YAN → plan on nutrition support

  • excellent color and flavor potential without chasing heat

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Quick Winemaker Summary (Read This First)

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Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon – Clones 7 & 337

  • Chemistry: ~23.3–23.5 °Brix | pH 3.83–3.95 | TA ~2.8–2.9 g/L

  • Style: ripe dark berry with classic Calistoga earth; balanced, Bordeaux-leaning profile

  • Water-back: not recommended — Brix is already moderate

  • Acid adjustments (tartaric, per 5-gallon pail):

    • Clone 337: ~20 g

    • Clone 7: ~30 g

  • Target pH: ~3.55–3.65 post-adjustment and before MLF

  • Yeast options:

    • 5 grams BDX → graphite, structure, savory Cabernet character

    • 5 grams BM45 / D254 / similar → darker fruit, plush mid-palate

  • Cap management: you may safely extract more if desired

  • Extended maceration: very reasonable option this year

  • Enzymes: optional; useful if aiming for maximum extraction

  • MLF: plan to complete; use MLF nutrient

  • Oak: medium+ toast French preferred; avoid overwhelming the berry core

  • Standard nutrients & additions:

    • 7 g FT Rouge Tannin (early) — reduces yeast stress, improves body and mouthfeel

    • 5 g Opti-Red — color stabilization

    • 5 g Go-Ferm — yeast rehydration

    • 5 g Fermaid O — early fermentation nutrient (recommended regardless of YAN)

Making the 2025 Napa Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon – Details

Let’s dive in!

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Water-back? Easy answer: no

Use our water addition calculator: CLICK HERE

Brix here is 23.3–23.5 — already in a classically structured Cabernet range. There’s no stylistic or technical reason to dilute.

  • Water-back would only thin body

  • You already have a cooler-year balance

  • Alcohol will finish in a very comfortable range

👉 Recommendation: do not water back this Cab.

Acid adjustment: the key move on this wine

With pH at 3.83–3.95, the single biggest improvement you can make is proactive tartaric addition before fermentation.

Tartaric Acid Addition:

  • Clone 337 (lower pH of the two): add ~20 g tartaric per 5-gallon pail

  • Clone 7 (higher pH lot): add ~30 g tartaric per 5-gallon pail

This should:

  • lower pH into a microbiologically safer zone

  • improve color stability

  • help the wine keep freshness after MLF

  • set up better long-term aging

MLF will nudge pH upward slightly — so making this move up front is ideal.

Fermentation strategy for this vintage

This Cab doesn’t need rescuing; it gives you options.

Testing brix to buy wine grapes

Because 2025 behaved like a Bordeaux year:

  • flavor is already there

  • seeds and skins aren’t overly harsh

  • you don’t need to fear over-extraction the way you might in hot years

You can choose your adventure:

Conservative extraction (classic, elegant Cabernet)

  • temp peak: mid-80s °F

  • punchdowns: 2–3×/day

  • press at dryness or shortly after

bolder extraction (if you want more power)

  • allow temps into high-80s °F

  • consider extended maceration post-dryness

  • optional addition of skin enzyme

  • daily tasting guides your endpoint

Either path is valid — the fruit chemistry supports both.

Nutrients, color, and tannin support

YAN is 60–66 mg/L, so plan basic nutrition:

  • 5 grams Go-Ferm or equivalent during rehydration

  • 5 grams FermAid O to feed during fermentation (DAP + complex nutrient, staged)

For structure and longevity:

  • 5 grams Opti-Red (or equivalent) for color stability & mouthfeel

  • 7 grams FT Rouge or Cabernet-appropriate tannin

    • protects color

    • reinforces backbone

    • improves oxidative resistance

During MLF

  • use your preferred MLF nutrient for a clean finish

Oak program: frame, don’t mask

Calistoga Benchland Cab naturally gives:

  • blackcurrant & blackberry

  • graphite and dust

  • savory earth

So:

  • ≤30% new oak equivalent if barreling

  • for carboys: 20–40 g oak chips/cubes to start, taste and step up

  • medium or medium+ toast French oak recommended

What to expect in the glass

  • blackberry and cassis

  • black cherry

  • cocoa and graphite

  • savory Calistoga earth

  • firm, age-worthy structure without harshness

Overall:

A cooler-year Calistoga Cabernet with real berry fruit, earth, and balance — and with the right early tartaric adjustment, it becomes beautifully stable, fresh, and cellar-worthy.

Andrew Crews
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Making the 2025 Rutherford Merlot – Winemaker Guide