For some time now I have been considering the idea of compiling a regular recap of recent articles from around the world that feature Cabernet Franc. As much as I’d like to, I can’t be everywhere and taste everything. I regularly read and follow traditional wine media to see who is talking about Cabernet Franc, what they are covering, and what producers and wines are being highlighted. I’m always curious to see how other writers are positioning the grape for their readers and how the conversation around Cabernet Franc evolves with time.
So, as part of my ongoing effort to provide the most comprehensive coverage possible of the world of Cabernet Franc, I will share a monthly news round-up, in addition to my regular articles, that will highlight some other features and news on the grape from around the web that I hope readers will find interesting. These recaps will, naturally, include my own insights on the regions, wines, and producers whenever possible. This news round-up will land in your inbox on the third Thursday of the month (content permitting). As this is the first edition, it is a little longer than what I expect it to be going forward, but there have been some great pieces published in recent weeks.
In Food & Wine, Cabernet Franc from the Golden State takes centre stage in the article “California Cabernet Franc Is Finally Getting the Attention It Deserves.” It will come as no surprise that Cabernet Sauvignon is king in California, but many may be unaware of how little Cabernet Franc is actually planted in California: only 3,501 acres (1,417 hectares) in 2025, compared to 90,040 acres (36,438 hectares) of Cabernet Sauvignon, according to the California Grape Acreage Report. While there isn’t a lot of Cabernet Franc to go around, the article does highlight voices from a variety of regions, including Livermore Valley, Sonoma, Napa, Santa Barbara County, and the Santa Cruz Mountains. Among the article’s recommended wines, I am most familiar with the range from Steven Kent Winery in Livermore, and I love what Steven and his team are doing with Cabernet Franc, so I’m pleased to see his work highlighted. As for the rest, I will be adding these to my “need to try” list for the future. Recommended wines from this article.
Steven Kent Winery, 2024 Elements Series Cabernet Franc, Livermore Valley
Bedrock Wine Company, 2023 Detert Vineyard East Block Cabernet Franc, Oakville, Napa Valley
I. Brand & Family, 2023 Bates Ranch Cabernet Franc, Santa Cruz Mountains
Gamling & McDuck, 2022 Pickberry Vineyard Cabernet Franc, Sonoma Mountain, Sonoma
R.A. Harrison Family, 2021 Zosia Cabernet Franc, Coombsville, Napa Valley
The same week the Food & Wine article was published, Robb Report published its annual Cabernet Franc listicle titled “7 Outstanding American Cabernet Francs to Drink Right Now.” Robb Report has been mentioning Cabernet Franc in their food and wine articles with a bit more frequency in recent years. Often the wines featured are over-the-top bottles that are intended to appeal to the stereotypical Wall Street exec or Silicon Valley mogul, so I generally take their recommendations with a grain of salt. That said, I think the fact that the grape is getting coverage here is still relevant. In this most recent article, I was pleased to see three very good Cabernet Francs that are within the grasp of most consumers, including two from New York State (Hermann J. Wiemer and Wölffer Estate) and Owen Roe’s Rosa Mystica from Washington State. Recommended wines from this article:
Skipstone, 2018 Luka’s Blend Cabernet Franc, Sonoma County, California
Owen Roe, 2022 Rosa Mystica Cabernet Franc, Yakima Valley, Washington
Acumen, 2023 Peak Cabernet Franc, Atlas Peak, Napa Valley, California
La Jota Vineyard Co., 2023 Howell Mountain Cabernet Franc, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, California
Hermann J. Wiemer, 2023 Magdalena Vineyard Cabernet Franc, Finger Lakes, New York
Silverado Vineyards, 2019 Mt. George Vineyard Cabernet Franc, Coombsville, Napa Valley, California
Wölffer Estate, 2021 Caya Cabernet Franc, Long Island, New York
In the August/September issue of The SOMM Journal, Dave McIntyre discusses the pros and cons of wine regions choosing a signature grape in the article “The Great Grape Gamble.” A long-time Cabernet Franc lover, McIntyre cites two regions that are betting on the signature-grape strategy, the Livermore Valley and New York State, both of which are actively promoting Cabernet Franc as their star red variety. In February 2025, the Livermore Valley officially announced Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc as its signature red and white varieties. New York State’s Cab Franc Forward, a producer-led association, was formed in late 2024 for the purpose of promoting and raising awareness of the quality and distinctiveness of New York State Cabernet Franc.
On the other side of the pond, JancisRobinson.com recently profiled California’s Lang & Reed in the article “Napa’s singular Loire love affair” by Alder Yarrow. John Skupny and his wife Tracey established Lang & Reed in 1996 with the sole purpose of making Cabernet Franc, decades before the grape would ever grace the pages as a feature in Food & Wine and other traditional media. I have long been a fan of Lang & Reed and their commitment to Cabernet Franc; I only wish I could drink their wines more often than I do. In the article, Yarrow chronicles the Skupnys’ wine journey, including a formative four-week visit to the Loire Valley, with John explaining, “I decided I couldn’t be making wines inspired by the Loire without having been there.” On that trip, John visited Domaine Bernard Baudry and forged what has now become a decades-long friendship with Matthieu Baudry. The article features tasting notes from both Lang & Reed and Bernard Baudry, including 31 Lang & Reed Cabernet Francs from select vintages spanning 1993-2023.
In his Substack, A Fine Wine Safari, South African Master of Wine Greg Sherwood recently wrote about some new releases from Raats Family Wines. Long-time readers of Cab Franc Chronicles will know that Bruwer Raats was the first producer in South Africa to focus on Cabernet Franc when he founded Raats Family Wines in 2000 and continues to be the grape’s unofficial flag-bearer. In the article, Sherwood focuses on the 2024 releases of the estate’s two top-tier Cabernet Francs: the Vlag Vineyard Selection and the Eden High Density Single Vineyard. When I was in South Africa last year, I tasted the 2023 Vlag and a back vintage of the Eden High Density, and both of these wines demonstrate with purity and precision Raats’s commitment to raising the bar for what is possible for South African Cabernet Franc.
Finally, for my French-speaking readers, the national magazine Le Point released its annual wine issue in early September, which included an in-depth article on Bourgueil, the only dedicated Cabernet Franc appellation featured — and Bourgueil vigneron Sylvain Boton even graced the cover! (Le Point, for my non-French readers, is a leading weekly current-affairs magazine, along the same lines as Time magazine.) In the article titled “Bourgueil, le vignoble des ‘jardiniers’”, wine critic Jacques Dupont highlights the diversity of terroirs across the appellation, and argues that the region and its wines have everything going for it, but isn’t getting the credit it deserves. As the online edition puts it, it’s “an appellation to watch in 2026,” a sentiment I share wholeheartedly. The feature includes notes on 26 wines, from 50 wines tasted blind, with vintages ranging from 2019 to 2025.
