Flora Springs’ love affair with the Chardonnay varietal began when the winery was founded in 1978. In fact, you could say that it’s Chardonnay that put our winery on the map so many years ago! It has always been one of John Komes’ favorite wines, and since that first vintage, he’s made a Chardonnay every year we’ve been in business. We’d like to think we’ve gotten pretty good at it, always using the best fruit from our Napa Valley vineyards. In celebration of #ChardonnayDay, we thought we’d take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of our favorite Chardonnay milestones.
Vineyard Manager Pat Garvey watches as our first Chardonnay grapes are processedOur first vintage of Napa Valley ChardonnayMatriarch Flora Komes oversees our first harvest
Our Napa Valley Chardonnay Gets the Gold!
Back in the 1970s and 80s, the highest accolade a winery could earn was a Gold Medal from a wine competition. Our 1979 Napa Valley Chardonnay won a Gold at the prestigious Los Angeles County Fair in 1980. The recognition put Flora Springs on the map, and made everyone, including ourselves, take our winemaking a little more seriously
Full Steam Ahead
“With that surprising win, what had begun as a hobby was becoming a business, and Flora Springs went full steam ahead with producing the very best wines possible.”
A “First Growth” Chardonnay
In 1990 Wine Spectator columnist James Laube published California’s Great Chardonnays, recognizing Flora Springs Chardonnay as one of the state’s “First Growths” for the varietal.
A Wine for The White House
Over the years Flora Springs Chardonnays have been served at dinners at The White House and the U.S. Capitol, functions attended by heads of state, congressmen and women and government dignitaries.
The Legacy Continues
Today we make three Chardonnays, our Flora’s Legacy Chardonnay, the Family Select Chardonnay, and our Jon Nathaniel Lavender Hill Chardonnay, all sourced from our estate vineyards in Napa Valley. While they differ, each one carries the signature style for which we are known: beautiful forward fruit aromas and flavors, rich body and texture from barrel aging and lees stirring, partial malolactic fermentation, and just the right amount of acid to keep the wines fresh and perfectly balanced.
“9 Places to Taste Excellent Napa Valley Chardonnay” by NapaValley.com
“While officially founded in 1978, grapes were first planted on this St. Helena property, located at the foot of the Mayacamas, in the late 1800s, which marked the start of Flora Springs’ fascinating history. The winery produces several different chardonnays, each with a unique flavor profile, from the juicy and tropical Family Select Chardonnay to the limited-production Flora’s Legacy Chardonnay, made from a barrel selection of the finest chardonnay of the vintage, in honor of Flora Komes, the inspiration for the winery.” Read more.
Plan your visit to our Tasting Room located in St. Helena, the heart of the Napa Valley.
Our Flora’s Legacy Chardonnay is a limited-production, one-of-kind wine made in honor of Flora Komes, our mother, grandmother, and the woman who inspired the founding of Flora Springs Winery. Every year we involve the whole family in the creation of this wine, a barrel selection of the finest Chardonnay of the vintage. Shop now.
While humans have been making wine for thousands of years, no one is certain who was the first to ferment grapes into the beverage we now call wine. Evidence of ancient wine production has been found in China, the Middle East, and Greece.
The process of making wine has changed very little in the thousands of years since its invention. Grapes are crushed, pressed, and fermented, and then sealed into barrels. The mixture is aged, and then bottled. Using these simple steps, an infinite variety of wines can be created, and different regions of the world are known for the distinctive vintages they produce.
While humans have been making wine for thousands of years, no one is certain who was the first to ferment grapes into the beverage we now call wine. Evidence of ancient wine production has been found in China, the Middle East, and Greece.
The process of making wine has changed very little in the thousands of years since its invention. Grapes are crushed, pressed, and fermented, and then sealed into barrels. The mixture is aged, and then bottled. Using these simple steps, an infinite variety of wines can be created, and different regions of the world are known for the distinctive vintages they produce.
“We’re excited to have found Château Smith Haut Lafitte and the Cathiards, a well-known family from Bordeaux with a long history in winemaking, to take over the stewardship of this beloved property and 58 acres of vines in Rutherford, Napa Valley. We look forward to watching them nourish this land in the years to come,” says John Komes, speaking on behalf of the Komes-Garvey family. “This represents a bright new chapter for Flora Springs where our family’s next generation can be laser focused on excellent winemaking, customer service and hospitality.”
While Komes Ranch was first established in 1977 by Jerry and Flora Komes, our legacy dates back to the late 1800s when wine grapes were first planted by the Rennie Brothers. James and William, immigrants from Scotland, planted 60 acres of grapes and built a stone gravity flow winery. When Flora and Jerry came upon the property at the end of West Zinfandel Lane in St. Helena, it was Flora who saw the magic hidden behind the decades of neglect, overgrown ivy, and the shifting rock walls of the old ghost winery. They purchased the property from Louis M. Martini.
In 1978 John and Carrie Komes and Julie and Pat Garvey, along with their parents Jerry and Flora, were among Napa Valley’s first post-Prohibition pioneers as they founded Flora Springs Winery, naming it after Flora and the natural springs that run through the land.
Our family legacy in Napa Valley unfolded over the next 40 years of producing hand crafted, critically-acclaimed wines, including our flagship wines, Trilogy and Soliloquy, as well as our single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons sourced from our family’s vineyards throughout Napa Valley’s most revered sub-appellations.
The depth of this history reminds us that as stewards of this land, our family’s commitment to its health and vitality will be felt far into the future. Over the years, we have welcomed esteemed neighbors including Dana Estates, Sinegal Estate Winery, and now Cathiard Vineyard, who share our commitment to environmental stewardship.
“It was love at first sight,” Florence Cathiard told Wine Spectator, noting that visiting the estate—beautiful and rural, surrounded by forest—reminded her of when she first saw Smith-Haut-Lafitte.
Today the Komes-Garvey family remains committed to innovative sustainable and organic farming practices over our family’s 257 acres of prime Napa Valley vineyard land, exceptional winemaking, as well as customer service and hospitality at our popular Tasting Room in St. Helena. As a family that came to the wine business as farmers first, our love of the land influences everything we do. Every day we pay tribute to Flora’s love of all things living, and of ensuring that the land she loved is here for the next generation, and the next. It is an integral part of our heritage as well as the legacy we leave.
