History

Dan Lynch has been a big fan of Napa Valley Cabernet ever since his first visit to the valley on a company-sponsored trip back in the 1970s. He attended his first Napa Valley Wine Auction in 1991 and has been an avid supporter of the event since. Over the years, he became known for purchasing multiple lots of wine, which he used to build his own cellar and those of his friends.

In 1994, he visited lower Spring Mountain and bought a beautiful 18-acre parcel of bare land on what is now known as "Lynch Knoll," situated 400 feet above the valley floor at an elevation of 800 feet above sea level. The land was cleared in 1995 and five acres were planted with Cabernet, Syrah, Sangiovese and Merlot. The first tiny crop was harvested in 1998. Dan bottled the Cabernet under the Napa Dan label and gave it away to friends.

Spontaneity was a big part of those initial efforts. For instance, Dan recalls, "We were growing Merlot for blending, as we do now, and to make a little wine for fun. The first harvest yielded less than a ton of Syrah and a ton of Sangiovese. We got a barrel of each and had about 100 cases of Cabernet. I made a deal with [fifth-generation Napa native and renowned winemaker] John Kongsgaard: I gave him the Sangio and the Syrah, and he agreed to make my Cab for me. It was a straightforward fruit-for-labor exchange. I told him to save me a couple of cases each of Sangio and Syrah so I'd have a history with them.

Months later he called me to say that one of the guys in his cellar had goofed and blended the wines in a 50-50 mix. He said, "So I guess the deal's off' and told me I could take all of the blend, some of it or none of it. I tried it and it tasted marvelous. I called it "Oops Cuvée." That year I sent friends gift packs of wine - two cabs and one Oops. The next year I thought, "Let's try the 50-50 again and see if it turns out to be a special blend." Well, it wasn't. We field-blended the grapes, and it wasn't nearly as good. After that, we decided not to mess with it anymore."

For the larger 1999 vintage harvest, Dan brought on acclaimed winemaker Heidi Peterson Barrett to create the Lynch label wines - Cabernet, Syrah and Sangiovese - which she made through the 2001 vintages. Then, in 2002, the Napa Dan wines were reborn from grapes grown on Dan's other property, Lynch Valley Ranch.

Located about ten miles east of Napa (but still considered part of Napa Valley), the Lynch Valley Ranch is home to 100 acres of vineyards, mainly Cabernet with some Chardonnay. Most of the harvest is sold to other wineries, but in 2002 Dan claimed some of the best grapes to revive the Napa Dan label. He then contracted with renowned local winemaker Gary Galleron to create both the new Napa Dan wines and the Lynch label wines. Gary continues to handle all the winemaking duties at Lynch.