There’s Napa Valley—and then there’s Mount Veeder.
Drive up the mountain and everything changes. The valley floor fades behind you, the air cools, the roads tighten, and the vineyards start clinging to steep, rugged hillsides. It’s not an easy place to farm. That’s exactly the point.
Mount Veeder has never been about scale. It’s about character. Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon is one of Napa Valley’s most distinctive wine styles, shaped by the Mayacamas Mountains that separate Napa from Sonoma. It’s one of the most rugged and least developed appellations in Napa—and that’s exactly what makes the wines so compelling.
For us, Mount Veeder isn’t just a source of fruit—it’s the foundation of everything we do at Majuscule.
Why Mount Veeder Is Different
On Mount Veeder, nothing comes easy—not for the vines, and not for the people farming them.
The soils are thin and rocky, forcing the vines to struggle for water and nutrients. Yields are naturally low. The terrain is too steep for most machinery, so much of the work is done by hand.
At the same time, the climate is cooler than the valley floor. Mornings bring sun, but afternoons are tempered by marine influence and elevation. Grapes ripen more slowly here.
The result isn’t just smaller berries—it’s more concentrated fruit, natural structure, and freshness that holds everything in balance.
What That Means in the Glass
Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon doesn’t shout. It builds.
You’ll notice:
- Dark, layered fruit rather than overly ripe flavors
- Structure and tannin that give the wine shape
- Natural acidity that keeps it lifted and precise
It’s a style that leans more toward balance and longevity than sheer power.
Our Connection to Mount Veeder
Majuscule was built on Mount Veeder fruit.
In 2008, our winemaker Greg Brickey was literally knocking on doors along Mount Veeder Road looking to buy grapes for another winery when he met grower Lisa Chu, who owns the Wildcat and Saffron vineyards.
What started as a friendship turned into an opportunity—Lisa eventually offered fruit from her vineyard to see what Greg could do with it.
That first vintage was just two barrels. But the wines told us everything we needed to know.
When Majuscule became an official winery in 2018, it was already clear where we belonged. Today, we continue to work exclusively with Lisa’s vineyards on Mount Veeder, including the Wildcat Vineyard, where it all began.
Why We Focus Here
There are easier places to make wine. Mount Veeder isn’t one of them.
Most Mount Veeder vineyards sit between 500 and 2,600 feet in elevation. It’s the coldest and wettest of Napa’s mountain appellations, often resulting in harvests pushing to Halloween and sometimes longer to get the grapes to the ripeness we desire. The result is Cabernet Sauvignon with structure, tension, and age-worthiness, rather than just ripeness and weight.
These challenges are exactly what makes the wines compelling. The combination of elevation, soil, and climate produces Cabernet Sauvignon with depth, structure, and a sense of place that’s hard to replicate anywhere else in Napa Valley.
Taste the Difference
If you’ve only experienced Napa Valley from the valley floor, Mount Veeder offers a different perspective.
The soils on Mount Veeder are thin and well-drained, which naturally stresses the vines. That stress leads to smaller berries, higher skin-to-juice ratio, and more color, flavor, and tannin
These wines tend to show dark fruit, mountain herbs, and mineral notes, with a polished structure that evolves beautifully over time.
Our Majuscule Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon reflects that difference—mountain-grown fruit, small-lot production, and a focus on balance and precision. We focus exclusively on small-lot, mountain-grown wines that highlight the balance between structure and finesse. From our flagship Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon to limited bottlings like Garçon and Barrel Select, each wine reflects a different expression of the same mountain.
You can explore current releases on our Wines page or experience them firsthand during one of our seasonal vineyard tastings on Mount Veeder.
Learn more about the appellation at the Mount Veeder Appellation Council → https://mtveederwines.com/