Schramsberg's Jamie Davies Dies in Napa

PIERCE CARSON

The grande dame of American sparkling wine, Jamie Davies died Tuesday afternoon at the Calistoga estate where she and her late husband, Jack, launched the world-renowned Schramsberg brand more than four decades ago.

The well-liked 73-year-old Napa Valley wine industry pioneer had battled against debilitating Parkinson's disease in recent years.
A winery spokesman said the respected vintner was surrounded by sons Hugh and Bill, her daughters-in-law and grandchildren Tuesday afternoon. The Schramsberg Vineyards and Cellars flag has been lowered to half-mast. Funeral services are pending.

While Jamie Davies built her reputation on wine, she could also point to accomplishments long before she met and married her lifemate. Growing up in Pasadena, she was named best all-around girl athlete and class valedictorian at John Muir High School. A graduate of UC Berkeley, she gained considerable notoriety when she co-founded San Francisco's first contemporary art gallery showcasing the work of California artists. Newspaper accounts of the day detail the gallery's success and the excitement she and classmate Wanda Hansen generated when they decided to take art to the people in the form of the city's first street fairs, staged from the waterfront to Union Square.

In fact, word of her marriage to businessman Jack Davies made the column of venerated San Francisco journalist Herb Caen, who advised all would-be suitors to "slash your wrists."

Jamie and Jack Davies abandoned the corporate world of Southern California in the mid-1960s, seeking a simpler lifestyle. They took a big risk in purchasing an abandoned 220-acre forested estate on Calistoga's Diamond Mountain with the idea of producing the country's "most prestigious" sparkling wine.

They succeeded in spades. Their initial bottling, a 1965 Blanc de Blancs, was the first commercial use of chardonnay in a sparkling wine. Similar feats occurred with Blanc de Noirs and Reserve wines, and their innovative spirit earned the Davies' recognition throughout the world. Their efforts also earned the respect of renowned Champagne houses where they were welcomed on numerous visits. In 1972, the 1969 Blanc de Blancs was served at the "Toast to Peace" in Beijing, over which President Richard Nixon and Premier Chou En-lai presided. Schramsberg wines have been served at state functions by every subsequent administration in the White House.

Over the years, the Davies were committed to environmental causes, not the least of which was the Napa Valley greenbelt, the Ag Preserve which they supported and helped bring about in the late '60s. In recent years, Jamie Davies launched a new sparkling wine called Querencia, with proceeds earmarked to continue her late husband's work in agricultural land and wilderness preservation.

Following Jack Davies' death in 1998, locals expected his widow to sell the esteemed wine estate. However, in the tradition of many widows of Champagne, Jamie Davies soldiered on. Initially, on her own, and later, joined by her son, Hugh, she created a blending program that incorporates grapes from 60 vineyards from Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Marin counties into the production of seven cuvées.

Together, mother and son achieved the highest production and sales figures in the winery's three-decade-plus history and launched Camp Schramsberg, an annual sparkling wine education program for chefs, sommeliers, journalists and consumers.

In addition, she helped create and release the estate's first still wine, J. Davies cabernet sauvignon, which was launched at 2004 Auction Napa Valley, where it was purchased by the event's top bidder.

She is survived by three sons, John, Bill and Hugh Davies, and their families.