Heitz Cellar in St. Helena, Napa Valley
Interview with Brittany Sherwood, Director of Winemaking.
Heitz Cellar considers themselves a bastion of classical winemaking tradition, making Cabernet Sauvignons that are some of the longest-lived in all of Napa Valley, with top vintages capable of aging 50 years or more. They make wines today pretty much the same way Joe Heitz, who founded the winery in 1961, was making them in the 1960s and 1970s.
Heitz Cellars is CCOF Certified Organic, with biodynamic practices. They pick grapes on taste, and on the early side—often in as many as 10 or more passes through a vineyard, to preserve freshness and acidity. We interview Brittany Sherwood, Heitz Cellar Director of Winemaking to learn more.
What type of wine do you specialize in?
Brittany Sherwood, Heitz Cellar Director of Winemaking: 100% Cabernet Sauvignons are our specialty. A long time ago, Joe Heitz declared that he didn’t really see the necessity of blending the Bordeaux varietals. In an interview, he said “I’m going to try to make the best damn California or Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon possible…I’m making Cabernet Sauvignon, I’m not making California Bordeaux.”
Share a popular tasting experience.
Brittany Sherwood: The Single-Vineyard Legacy at The Salon is our most sought-after experience, and I understand why. It’s a tasting of four vineyards, each with distinct personality: Martha’s Vineyard’s minty cassis notes, Trailside’s Rutherford dust, Linda Falls’ mountain intensity, and SVV Vineyard’s woodsy richness from St. Helena.
What makes your wine unique?
Brittany Sherwood: Our red wines do not undergo malolactic fermentation. The malic acid they retain means the wines’ total acidity is relatively high, which means they age for decades. Sometimes when I pour a wine from the 1980s for someone, they are shocked by how young it shows. That is by design, and we’ll never change it.
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about your winery?
Brittany Sherwood: I want people to understand that from the outset of our ownership by Lawrence Wine Estates in 2018, it has been our mission to preserve the legacy and vision for Heitz Cellar that Joe Heitz established in 1961. We’re making the wines exactly the way he made them from the beginning, with very few modifications, because we feel like the longevity and terroir-true character of older Heitz Cellar wines speaks for itself; our wines remain a vital contribution to the conversation about Napa Valley’s greatest single-vineyard wines.
Share details about your tasting salon.
Brittany Sherwood: Our tasting Salon in St. Helena is one of the oldest continually operating tasting rooms in Napa Valley. Joe Heitz purchased the buildings and the “Only One” Vineyard here in 1961, and began doing tastings here—at the time a very rustic setting—not long after. We renovated the Salon completely in 2021 to include an elegant new entry drive, grand tasting room, a private room, a small garden and veranda, and a chef’s larder where we compose our signature cheese and charcuterie plates.
How did you get started in the wine industry?
Brittany Sherwood: My education at UC Davis ultimately drove me to get started in wine industry. Although I originally attended with pre-med pursuit, I ended up changing my major to Viticulture and Enology after taking the Introduction to Winemaking course and starting to work at a local winery that was in Davis at the time. After a work-study program in Europe and a vintage in Oregon, I was determined to pursue this as a career.
This was solidified after my first vintage with Heitz Cellar in 2012 as an intern and having the opportunity to learn directly from David Heitz was life-changing. I was fortunate to be asked to stay on full-time after that vintage, and it has been an incredible journey continuing to craft these iconic wines ever since.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in the winemaking process?
Brittany Sherwood: The importance of a having a great team! Mother nature will always throw curve balls in your direction and so it is really the people you have by your side that end up making every vintage successful. I rely on everyone’s unique strengths to contribute to the overall success and I take our hiring process very seriously to ensure we have strongest team possible.
Do you remember the first time you fell in love with wine?
Brittany Sherwood: Growing up in Long Beach, I was fascinated with biology and living organisms—an interest that ultimately led to my enrollment in the pre-med program at UC Davis. An “Introduction to Winemaking” class opened up a whole new world of what living organisms could be. I saw how winemaking is an amazing blend of science and art. Plus I realized there is this whole other side to life, with food, wine and travel. I was hooked.
Describe your winemaking approach.
Brittany Sherwood: As Joe Heitz and David Heitz believed, if you take care of the vineyard, the wine makes itself. My goal is to ensure we do everything we can to care for the vineyards to ensure the highest quality fruit each year. From there, we are focused on creating a classic expression of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon which translates to wines with more natural acidity, lower alcohol, and that age very well. This corresponds with earlier picking decisions and a unique cellar aging process that makes Heitz Wines stand out.
Do you have a favorite story about working at your winery?
Brittany Sherwood: I absolutely love hearing our guests’ stories about drinking Heitz Cellar wines over the years and even their visits with the Heitz Family in the past. This is truly a brand that spans generations.
Do you have any winery traditions with your team?
Brittany Sherwood: Toasting the incoming vintage with a glass of champagne is vital to the success of the vintage.
What do you love about winemaking?
Brittany Sherwood: The combination of art and science and navigating that crossroads each year is fascinating. More than that, it is personal opportunity to connect with nature in pure and profound ways each year that makes me appreciate the beauty that Napa Valley has to offer.
