For decades two of the Napa Valleyâs most endearing people were the late Belle and Barney Rhodes, who planted Marthaâs Vineyard with Cabernet and who hosted dozens of visitors long before the valley made world-class wine.
In the early 1980s, Belle told me a charming tale about one of the valleyâs early successes â a white wine called Green Hungarian. It was made by Souverain in Rutherford (later renamed Burgess Cellars) by pioneering winemaker Lee Stewart.
It was an unlikely success since the obscure grape Green Hungarian is rather ordinary. The wine was pale, sweet, and lacked distinction.