Smith Devereux. The story of this winery begins with co-founder Ian White. Early in his professional career he was a writer working for Lonely Planet, at one point covering 28 states in an RV - describing his experiences as "a million first dates but never getting a kiss". Such is the life of the avid explorer and guidebook writer - always seeking … [Read more...]

ARNYCA Cellars was founded by Steve Distler and Luis Pettinato. Steve was born and raised in New York City; his first introduction to wine was while in graduate school at the Rochester Institute of Technology (where he earned his master's degree in education). Later he taught history for 3 years at The American Sign Language and English Secondary School in … [Read more...]

Witchery Wine was founded in 2009 by Gordon Larum and his partners, Richard & Dawn Hawthorne and later joined by Patrick and Marie Carpenter. Gordon (Gordy as he is called) was born and raised in St. Helena - his father moved the family to the Napa Valley after he took a job as the Director of Purchasing at Robert Mondavi Winery and later at Opus One. After … [Read more...]

Colgin Cellars was founded by Ann Colgin in 1992. Ann was born in Waco Texas, graduated from Vanderbuilt University in Nashville with a degree in art history and later earned an M.A. from New York University. After finishing her undergraduate studies, she moved to London to work for Sotheby's. Her introduction to wine came at Sotheby's - through a variety of … [Read more...]

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 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...]