Jed Steele should be a household name. He helped create one of America’s best-selling wines, and also one of our better AVAs. He influenced multiple generations of winemakers. Now in his 51st year of California winemaking, he continues to produce interesting, delicious, affordable wines. 

Of course, Jed Steele is well-known among wine producers, especially in Northern California. His career began at Stony Hill (Spring Mountain, Napa Valley) in 1968. He earned a Master’s Degree in Enology at U.C. Davis, in the same class as Merry Edwards and Tim Mondavi. In 1974, he went to work for Edmeades.

The Anderson Valley Years

He took on responsibilities for the historic, Anderson Valley producer’s winemaking and viticulture. There was just one other winery in the valley then, Husch. Donald Edmeades had planted the valley’s first modern-era grapevines in 1963, but was selling all the fruit until founding his own winery in 1972.

Momentum for wine growing and production in the valley made slow progress throughout the 1970s, but picked up steam in the 1980s. One of the first new producers in that decade was Handley, founded by Milla Handley who had worked as Steele’s assistant at Edmeades. Then, in 1982, Champagne Louis Roederer decided to develop a major presence in the cool-climate valley, to produce crisp, traditional-method, sparkling wines..

In 1980 the U.S. government finalized its AVA (American Viticultural Area) regulations  and granted the very first to Augusta, MO. A handful of others, including Napa Valley, followed in 1981. Steele, and a few other growers and winemakers, leveraged the sudden burst of interest in Anderson Valley to spearhead an effort to gain AVA status for it as well. The Anderson Valley AVA became official in 1983.

America’s Chardonnay

Just before that, in 1982, Jed Steele headed to another under-developed region, Lake County. He was hired by grower Kendall Jackson, who had just opened his winery that year and run into trouble with some Chardonnay. Its fermentation had stuck, stopping before all the sugar was gone. 

Since the sugars wouldn’t drop below 1%, Steele decided to make the best of it. He blended in some dry Chenin Blanc for balance and finished the wine. They released it, Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay, in 1983. That same year, the wine garnered a Platinum Award at The American Wine Competition, was served by the Reagan’s at the White House, and was dubbed “Nancy’s wine” by SF Chronicle columnist Herb Caen.

That’s as good an introduction as any winery could dream of. It’s success continued to grow and, by 1992, it was the United States’ best-selling Chardonnay. It still is.

Jed Steele broke ground in other respects too. He’d made the first commercial ice wine in the United States in 1977, using the traditional process of allowing grapes to freeze on the vine. In 1980, he made California’s first red, Rhone-variety blend, using Grenache, Carignane, and Petite Sirah. 

Jed Steele in Lake County

Steele left Kendall Jackson in 1990 and started his own Lake County venture in 1991. Today, he operates four brands, using 16 grape varieties to produce 40 wines. Most of those wines are small-lot, less than 4,000 cases. That’s the way he likes to do things, letting the character of individual sites show itself through varietal wines made with an eye toward transparency.

That may have a lot to do with Steele not being more broadly known by consumers. Given the limited lot sizes, few of the wines are suited for broad distribution. The issue certainly isn’t quality or value. The wines I’ve tried are very enjoyable and well-priced.

The four labels under which Steele makes wine are Steele, Shooting Star, Stymie, and Writer’s Block. The Steele wines tend to be classic varietals made from estate vineyards and other sites around the state with which he’s worked for decades. Shooting Star are mostly Lake County varietals at lower price points, along with some uncommon wines, such as Aligote and sparkling Syrah. There are just two Stymie bottlings, particularly high-quality Merlot and Syrah from two vineyards in Lake County. Writer’s Block was created by Quincy Steele, Jed’s son. They work on it together.

Four Jed Steele Wines

2016 Shooting Star Cabernet Sauvignon Lake County 88 14.2% 750ml $16

This wine opens with a classic, Cabernet Sauvignon nose. The soft, integrated aromas include dark red cherry, black currant, cocoa, dusty oak, and a touch of coconut. The palate is medium-bodied and gently mouthwatering with fine, somewhat firm tannins framing the flavors of dry coconut, spice, dark chocolate surrounding a core of chewy, dark fruit. Drink it with a grilled steak now or let it build more complexity and refinement for a few years in the cellar. 

2017 Steele Pinot Blanc Santa Barbara County 89 13.5% 750ml $20

This is a very nice rendition of Pinot Blanc from the coolest, westernmost reaches of the famed Bien Nacido Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley. It aged four months in neutral oak. Subtle aromas of uncut yellow apple, apple leaf, and lemon pith lead into a nuanced palate that adds flavors of mineral, white bread, jasmine flowers, and a hint of apricot. As a dinner wine, it will work with light dishes, such as steamed fish or mollusks, but it’s also just the thing for fondue and raclette.

2016 Shooting Star Zinfandel Lake County 89 14.5% 750ml screw cap $14

A rich and extremely well-priced Zinfandel with fetching aromas of black cherry, blackberry compote, ripe red cherries, spice, dark chocolate, mint, and toasted oak. It has medium-plus body in the mouth with very fine and soft, yet structural, tannins. The flavors—ripe dark berries, plum jam, charred oak, dark chocolate, and emerging red fruit notes—will marry well with grilled meat. I enjoyed this wine most decanted, then served on the cool side. Drink now – 2024.

2016 Writer’s Block Zinfandel Lake County 88 15.2% 750ml $18

This Writer’s Block Zinfandel is riper and more robust and full-bodied than its Shooting Star brother. The nose offers fresh blackberry, raspberry and black cherry, accented by black pepper other spices. The structured palate is about dark spice, unsweetened chocolate, heavily toasted oak, and chewy black fruit. Try it with saucy, braised short ribs. Drink now – 2024

Copyright Fred Swan 2019. Images courtesy of Steele Wines. All rights reserved.

About the author: Fred Swan is an Oakland-based writer, educator, and event sommelier. He’s written for GuildSomm.com, Daily.SevenFifty.com, The Tasting Panel, SOMM Journal, PlanetGrape.com, and more. Fred teaches a wide range of classes at the San Francisco Wine School. He’s founder/producer of Wine Writers’ Educational Tours, an annual, educational conference for professional wine writers. He also leads seminars, private wine tours, and conducts tastings, dinners, and events for wineries, companies, and private parties. Fred’s certifications include WSET Diploma, Certified Sommelier, California Wine Appellation Specialist, Certified Specialist of Wine, French Wine Scholar, Italian Wine Professional, Napa Valley Wine Educator, Northwest Wine Appellation Specialist, and Level 3 WSET Educator. He’s twice been awarded a fellowship by the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers.