About Fait Main

 

The wines of Fait-Main in Napa Valley come from Benoit Touquette, who grew up in Lyon, France and started out working on a bottling line in Bordeaux. He founded Fait-Main as a personal project and now produces high-quality Napa wines using grapes from three vineyards. Fait-Main is an intimate, family-run winery. They don’t utilize a large staff of winemakers or growers. They don’t even use sales reps or product distributors. Everything done at Fait-Main is completed in-house and by hand. This ensures quality control and strict adherence to high standards. Their concentration is on reds, specifically Cabernet Sauvignon. Located in close proximity to St. Helena, the climate and terroir are perfect for harvesting high-quality grapes. The warm days and cool nights allow for long growing seasons, which result in bold, complex Cabernet.

 

Vineyards

 

Fait-Main maintains three vineyards from which they harvest all their grapes. The variation between climate and soil allow for diverse flavors, textures, and aromas. Beckstoffer Las Piedras is a heritage vineyard that’s been in use for over 150 years. It’s owned by the Beckstoffer family, who Benoit Touquette works closely with to achieve the very best vine plantings each season. The subtle heat of this vineyard allows for even ripening, which results in very accessible reds that can still be aged.

The Bettinelli Sleeping Lady vineyard is located in the foothills of Yountville. It’s owned by Giancarlo Bettinelli, son of the famous Napa grower, Larry Bettinelli. The vineyard began as a country estate for San Franciscans during the gold rush. Today, it still maintains that same rustic feel. A trellis system allows for maximum exposure to the sun and fresh air. The Bettinelli family works to bring innovative techniques to this vineyard, including photosynthesis tracking. Benoit works with the family to produce superior Cabernet blends. Finally, Penhoet Toyon Farm in the foothills of the Mayacamas contains 20-year old Chardonnay vineyards. The soil consists of a unique, volcanic tufa. Benoit works to find a good balance of fruit, oak, and minerality in Chardonnays produced from this vineyard.

Wines

 

Because Fait-Main is such an intimate operation, they release a smaller volume of wines. However, each one is special and worthy of collecting and aging. The 2016 Sleeping Lady Cabernet Sauvignon contains a foundation of boysenberry and blueberry along with undertones of mocha. It has a velvety finish and complex, natural balance. The 2016 Las Piedras Cabernet Sauvignon is filled with notes of fresh tobacco, black fruit, and stony minerals. The flavors are bold, sophisticated, and well-structured. This is definitely a wine to save for a special occasion. The 2016 Todeschini Asteria Saint-Emilion Grand Cru produces bright notes of red and blue fruit. The structure and minerality are both well-established. This is a great option to save and open as a winter wine.

Look for these along with upcoming wines produced by the experts at Fait-Main. Their high-quality wines provide an unforgettable experience and should be enjoyed slowly to fully appreciate the care that goes into them.

 

Meta: Fait-Main produces extremely high-quality Napa wines that resemble the reds of the Bordeaux region of France. Learn more about this small, innovative winery.