Press has been a dining destination in St. Helena since 2005, but in 2019, it experienced a revival under new leadership from chef Philip Tessier—an alum of The French Laundry, Le Bernardin, and Per Se—and earned its first Michelin star in 2022. Located off Highway 29 in the heart of wine country, Press’s menu highlights—as you’d expect—the area’s local bounty in contemporary California dishes.  

But—not gonna lie—what makes NWR really love Press is that its list encompasses  the largest collection of Napa Valley wines in the world, with a stunning, 10,000-bottle-deep cellar. At the wine program’s helm is Vincent Morrow, a Master Sommelier with a long list of awards on his résumé, including Michelin’s 2022 California Sommelier of the Year. After a soccer scholarship at Sonoma State University first brought him to wine country, Morrow focused his college studies on wine business. He went on to somm at Restaurant Gary Danko and Benu in San Francisco, and also worked concurrently at The French Laundry with Tessier.

In this latest installment of our Hidden Gems series, Morrow shared the secrets of his favorite overlooked bottles on Press’s massive list. “There's so much diversity to be found in Napa, but obviously Cabernet is the majority grape variety planted and produced, and that occupies about two thirds of our list,” Morrow says. Of the restaurant’s 2,700 options on the wine list, “roughly 1,600 of those are Cabernet.” But—as Morrow details below—there’s much more to Napa than just the Cabs. Don’t skip the excellent, little-known Napa wines made from other varieties. 

All figures reflect the restaurant’s current pricing.

2021 BXT Manley Vineyard Carneros Brut Blanc de Blancs ($130)

BXT—Bubbles by Tom, which started in 2019—is a husband-and-wife team. Brittany Sherwood is the winemaker for Heitz. Tom Sherwood is the winemaker for Rocca Family, a small family winery in South Napa. They make a lot of red wine between the two of them, so they were seeking a creative expression beyond that. They both love Champagne, and started a single-vineyard sparkling wine label. They do everything by hand, which is really difficult. 

Manley Vineyard is a one-acre Chardonnay property right outside of downtown Sonoma: they're Napa winemakers, but this particular vineyard is just over the mountain from us. I was just completely blown away by what is only their third vintage they've released. The whole lineup is really a breath of fresh air—something so different and unique that we don't get to see often from Napa. This is a great example of what's possible in California with the right vineyards and the right intention. It's definitely in the early stages, and they're probably going to become like Ultramarine.

There's no dosage. So it also satisfies that aspect of purity and dryness, and it’s refreshing—all the things.

2018 Newfound Scaggs Vineyard Mt. Veeder Grenache ($120)

This is a project that was started by the Naumanns, Matt and Audra. They focus on Rhône varieties, for the most part: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Counoise. They don't make a single drop of Cabernet. It’s refreshing. They are tremendous wines all around.

The Naumanns own a two-acre vineyard called the Scaggs Vineyard, which was previously owned by [musician] Boz Scaggs. There’s not a ton of Grenache in the valley, but when you think about the elevation on Mount Veeder, and some access to marine influence—much more so than you would have on the valley floor, or on the east side of Napa in the Vaca Range—it's kind of like a perfect environment, if you have one in Napa, for Grenache and Rhône varieties in general.

2017 Hyde de Villaine Hyde Vineyard Carneros Chardonnay ($260)

California Chardonnay. There's such a spectrum of producers and styles, but especially within Napa, generally speaking the wines are pretty heavy handed. Hyde de Villaine is a collaboration between two families. Larry Hyde, who's probably one of the most iconic American vine growers, is based in Carneros in the southern end of the valley. Larry worked in the ‘70s with Warren Winiarski at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. In 1981, he bought and planted his vineyard. Now, anybody who makes California Chardonnay, they're basically lining up to get Larry's fruit. There's generally an agreement that, if he agrees to sell the grapes, [winemakers] need to make the wine first, and they taste the wines together before it can be vineyard designated. So there's kind of this trial period. 

The de Villane portion is Aubert de Villaine, whose family are co-owners of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Aubert is married to Larry's cousin Pamela. They've been married for more than 50 years. Aubert was probably one of a handful of Frenchmen in the ‘70s that actually liked California wine and thought there was promise here. He’s the guy who, on behalf of La Revue du vin de France, interviewed the late Josh Jensen of Calera, as well as Bob Mondavi, when he was still alive. And he was, for that reason, selected as one of the judges for the Judgment of Paris by Steven Spurrier. 

That's a long way of saying, this is a Chardonnay that's very different both in intention, as well as taste, than most California Chardonnay. Once you get outside Napa, and especially if you get outside of California, what actually gets exported of Napa Valley Chardonnay is, I think, not a great representation of what is possible here. Hyde de Villaine demonstrates what's possible. There's balance and restraint and refinement and texture, you get the best of both worlds. The 2017 is just in such a beautiful place right now. Not a lot of California Chardonnay producers can stand behind their wine after three or four years in bottle, much less after a decade or more. These do that pretty routinely, which we get to see since we have back vintages.

2011 School House Spring Mountain District Pinot Noir ($290)

I love producers that have been around for a long time that most people seem to miss. This property dates back to the 1800s. It's been under its current ownership since 1940—the Gantner family. I think it's some of the best Pinot Noir in the valley. And it's just this little niche up on Spring Mountain, in what would otherwise be a place that is dominated by Cabernet.

It was purchased by John Gantner, Sr., on the advice of one of his lifelong friends, John Daniel, who was famous for running Inglenook in the ‘40s and ‘50s. Daniel had Pinot Noir planted at Inglenook during that time, when many Pinot Noir clones and vines came from Burgundy—in this case, they were believed to have come from Romanée-Conti. But, especially with the influence of the Mondavis and André Tchelistcheff, people were realizing that Pinot Noir was better suited in Carneros and not in Rutherford or Oakville, right in the heart of the valley. So as that vineyard was being converted to Cabernet, Gantner asked for cuttings, and those vines went into the ground in the ‘50s.

They've always had the wines produced by a neighbor or a friend in the area. To me, there's this magic of how they really demonstrate the vintage but also whoever the winemaker was at the time. The wines were made at Pride Mountain Vineyards, up through 2006, by Bob Foley. I think the wines were much more powerful and intense. Then ‘07 through ‘21 was made by Sally Johnson Blum, who has since moved to Robert Mondavi, and I think there was more brightness and elegance, maybe backing off the ripeness and oak. But it’s always been aged in 100 percent new barrel, unfined, unfiltered. In recent years, they started to use a bit of stem inclusion, when previously it was entirely destemmed. I have a fondness for the ‘10s and the ‘11s. Little bit cooler vintages all around, particularly 2011. I think in that case, it just played even more into their style.

2007 Detert Oakville Cabernet Franc ($440)

These wines are really classic West Oakville wines that demonstrate that site, which is one of the few alluvial fans that comes off the Mayacamas. You’re in the vineyard and you see just how well drained they are. And the concentration that comes from it, but also the minerality and purity that comes from it under the right vineyard management and the right vision for winemaking. The Detert vines are a great indication of what that part of the valley is really capable of both for Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. I drive by the turnoff for it every day, and a lot of people pass it and literally would not know it unless someone pointed it out to them.

I think the site performed really well in sort of an all-around [great] year like ‘07, and a little bit warmer year like 2008. It just shows what's possible even at a place like that where it's easy to let the sugars climb if you want to and the wines can get a little too over the top. Especially for their Cabernet Franc, something that can maintain a bit more freshness in a year like that. Merlot, for instance, tends to get ripe and fat and happy, and maybe loses a bit of the elegance.