JACK Wines was founded by two partners, former major league baseball teammates Chris Iannetta and Vernon Wells. Despite both of their careers overlapping for a very short time while playing for the Los Angeles Angels they became friends through a mutual interest in wine and rehabbing together from injuries suffered during the 2011/2012 baseball season. For … [Read more...]

Fine Disregard Wine Co was founded by Mike Schieffer and Kara Maraden - both came to the Napa Valley drawn to wine from previous careers, Mike from Texas and Kara from Pennsylvania. Mike graduated from American University in Washington, DC and worked for the Discovery Channel - exploring a possible career in law, but then was bitten by the wine bug. His … [Read more...]

Llamas Family Wines is a partnership between winemaker Alejandro (Alex) Llamas and his Aunt and Uncle, Lola and Oscar Llamas. Their first vintage was from 2009, a small production of Syrah. The family is passionate about wine and vineyards, but it was not wine that we initially spoke about when we first met. Rather it was farming and culture and the history … [Read more...]

Melka Estates was founded in 1996 (their first vintage) by winemakers Philippe and Cherie Melka. Starting with all sourced fruit (rather than ownership of vineyards), they began Melka wines with two wines the CJ label named in honor of their two children Chloe and Jeremy and Métisse. They have since grown to four collections, CJ (a red blend very … [Read more...]

JDB Wines was founded by proprietor Derek Beitler with his first vintage in 2007. Derek grew up in Southern Oregon - his introduction to wine did not come in this part of the state but rather in tiny Rutherford, Napa Valley where his Uncle Chuck Wagner operated Caymus Winery. Derek would often spend part of his summers working at Caymus - growing up in the … [Read more...]

Favia Wine was founded by noted viticulturist Annie Favia and her husband and wine maker, Andy Erickson. Wine making was not their initial career paths - Andy (originally from Indiana) majored in Political Science at Tufts University with an emphasis on Latin American policies while Annie majored in French Literature at George Washington University and was … [Read more...]

Bougetz Cellars was founded in 2008 by owner and winemaker Thomas Bougetz. Originally from Minnesota he went to school in Iowa where he graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Computer/Electrical Engineering. Incidentally this is where he met his wife Joan who has a Bougetz Cellars wine named in her honor. His work with Boeing NASA as an … [Read more...]

Otra Vez Winery is located in Calistoga and was founded and is operated by long time vintner Vincent Arroyo. While this is a new winery, it is built upon years of experience. Vincent first came to Napa Valley in 1973 after a fellow employee mentioned an ad in the San Francisco Chronicle listing property for sale in Calistoga, located in the northern reaches … [Read more...]