A legend in Napa Valley, Phelps was the first winemaker at Dominus, where he worked for twelve years from 1984-1996. He went on to become the red winemaker at Caymus and then Swanson. Today he consults for Inglenook and Banfi while lending technical support to his winemaker son, Josh, who founded Grounded Wine Co. But this is not the story of these big-name wineries. It’s about Phelps’ own tiny project: Ad Vivum.

“Trust your instincts, pay attention to details, but don’t let that make you overlook the big picture,” said Phelps. “The first time I stepped onto the soil at Sleeping Lady, I could feel that it was a remarkable place for growing great wine, and I never discount the way a place makes me feel.”

UC Davis and the Institute of Enology in Bordeaux provided Phelps with rigorous academic training. Still, he believes his time working in Bordeaux with Christian Moueix and Jean-Claude Berrouet at Petrus showed him the equally important intuitive side of winemaking.

“I am extremely grateful to my mentors in Bordeaux,” he told me. “The Bordelais have been making wine for 2000 years if you go back to Roman times. My friends and colleagues in Bordeaux are so rooted in the soil, in the cycle of growing grapes, that it never seems affected. It’s so truly a part of who they are and what they do that I am always inspired and refreshed when I visit producers in Bordeaux. I try to bring the intuitive, the poetic, the creative essence of wine and winemaking to bear every time I touch a wine.”

In 2007, Chris Phelps began Ad Vivum, the first vineyard-designated wine produced from Sleeping Lady Vineyard. Situated in the southwestern corner of Yountville AVA, Sleeping Lady was initially planted in the mid-1800s. The original Victorian house remains on the property today and is where we tasted through Phelps’ vertical. In 2013, Larry Bettinelli, who had been the property’s vineyard manager for many years, purchased the 46-acre vineyard. His son Giancarlo and his son-in-law, Paul Goldberg, now manage the property.

“I have come to believe,” continued Phelps, “and this was a takeaway from my mentors in Bordeaux, that climate trumps soil. The Mediterranean climate, and in particular, the microclimate at Sleeping Lady, is key. It is the southernmost vineyard in the Yountville AVA, which is certainly an advantage given the warming climate. The fog that rolls in off San Pablo Bay gets trapped by the topography at the north of the vineyard. So, we tend to stay cooler than the more northern locations in Yountville.”

Since the first vintage, the fruit for Ad Vivum—100% Cabernet Sauvignon—has come from the same two blocks of Sleeping Lady. 

“The upper two blocks on the southern edge of the vineyard are, for me, the best sites on the vineyard,” explained Phelps. “They are adjacent to the seasonal creek that runs through the property, and you can see the soil profile in the wall of the creek. It’s sandy loam, in general, with gravel/cobble underlain by fractured bedrock. The result is good natural drainage, but there is still enough water-holding capacity to take care of the vines in the late stages of ripening. Both blocks are close to the foot of the Mayacamas, which protects these blocks with shade in the late afternoon. This is critical during any significant heat spell. I would not say one block is better than the other. I hope to be using these same blocks for many, many years to come.”

The first 2007 vintage of Ad Vivum yielded only 1000 bottles. In 2019, 350 cases were made, so production has grown, but not much. Meanwhile, the quality gets better and better.

And the story behind the vineyard’s name? “Oh,” Phelps rolled his eyes. “That’s because the owner Larry Bettinelli is convinced the ridge on the Mayacamas above the vineyard resembles a sleeping lady. I am slightly less convinced.”

As we head out of the old Victorian homestead to walk the vineyard, I try to decide if it resembles a sleeping lady. Maybe. If you squint just right, and the sun is setting, and after a few glasses of Ad Vivum.