As of yesterday, January 13th, 2012, Coombsville became the 16th subappellation of the Napa Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA).  This means wineries can now use “Coombsville” on their labels to better describe the origin of their wines, as long as 85% of the wine comes from grapes grown in the established geographical area.  The Coombsville AVA is in the southeastern region of the Napa Valley and two corners of the region touch on two other AVAs, the Los Carneros (to the southwest) and Oak Knoll District (to the northwest).

The Coombsville region has a primarily Mediterranean climate of warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters.  Overall, it’s warmer than the Los Carneros area and cooler than the Oak Knoll District.  Coombsville is 11,075 acres in size and ranges in altitudes from near sea level up to about 1900 feet at the peak of Mt George.

The wineries based in Coombsville or using grapes from the area are typically small and family-owned.  As with most of Napa Valley, the primary varietals grown here are Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux varietals, but you can also find Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Syrah vines here.  We haven’t visited these wineries ourselves (yet), so we’re not really in any position to recommend any of them over their neighbors.  However, if you want to plan your own trip (and then tell us how it went) or arrange for your own Coombsville tasting at home, we have provided some details about the wineries below (all addresses are in the city of Napa).

Coombsville Wineries

Ackerman Family Vineyards (Cabernet Sauvignon) – 2101 Kirkland Avenue  (866) 334-8857

Ancien Wines (Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir) – 4047 East Third Avenue  (707) 927-6594

Black Cat Vineyard (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and a Family Cuvee of those two) – 1352 Fourth Avenue  (707) 321-0866

Black Coyote Wines (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc) – 2400 Third Avenue  (707) 252-2292

Blue Oak Vineyard (Merlot) – 44 Blue Oak Lane  (707) 363-0680

Burly Wines (Cabernet Sauvignon) – 4446 Stillson Street  (707) 299-7085

Caldwell  (Chardonnay, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Port, Rosé (of Syrah), Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, and three Proprietary Reds called Caldwell Platinum, Gold, and Silver) – 169 Kreuzer Lane  (707) 255-1294

Coho (Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Bordeaux Blend called “Headwaters”) –  no street address   (707) 258-2566

Daviana Winery (Cabernet Sauvignon, Rosé, Cabernet Sauvignon/Grenache Blend, and Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc blend) – 2456 North Third Avenue  (707) 251-0173

Farella-Park Vineyards (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, and a proprietary Bordeaux blend called “ALTA”)  – 2222 North Third Avenue  (707) 254-9489

Frazier (Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot) – winery property sold in 2011, will be relocating  (707) 255-3444

Inherit The Sheep (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah) – 1189 Fourth Avenue  (707) 732-3037

Le Chanceux (Cabernet Sauvignon) – no street address  (707) 257-8347

Marita’s Vineyard (Cabernet Sauvignon) – 2055 North Avenue  (707) 259-5313

Meteor Vineyard (Cabernet Sauvignon) – 2181 North Third Avenue  (707) 258-2900

Palmaz Vineyards (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Johannisberg Riesling, Muscat Canelli)  – 4029 Hagen Road  (707) 226-5587

Porter Family Vineyards (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Rosé (of Syrah), Syrah, and a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Merlot called “Sandpiper Red”) – 1189 Green Valley Road  (888) 656-7696

PRIME Cellars (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay) – no street address  (707) 258-9773

Sciandri Family Vineyards (Cabernet Sauvignon)- 50 Kreuse Canyon Drive  (707) 277-4999

Sodaro Estate Winery (Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and a Bordeaux blend called “Sodaro Estate Blend”) – 24 Blue Oak Lane  (707) 251-8216

Thomas Michael Cellars (Cabernet Sauvignon, Charbono, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Syrah Rosé, and a Bordeaux blend of Coombsville grapes called “Unification”) – no street address  (707) 224-4964

Tournesol (Cabernet Sauvignon and Proprietor’s Blend, a Bordeaux blend) – 4297 East Third Avenue  (707) 224-3960

Tulocay Winery (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel) – 1426 Coombsville Road  (707) 255-4064

Verismo (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Malbec, Merlot, Rose (of Syrah), and some Merlot-based Red Wines) – 100 Rapp Lane  (707) 944-9463

For more information about the Coombsville Vintners and Growers, you can go here.  Or, if you want to see the final rule from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau establishing the Coombsville Viticultural Area, you can go here.