Roberts+Rogers was founded by Roger Louer and his partner Robert Young. We first came across this label at a Howell Mountain Appellation tasting at Charles Krug Winery and then followed up later with Roger who we met for a private tasting and visit to their Howell Mountain vineyard. Roger was one of the original founding partners of Calistoga Cellars and … [Read more...]

Crane Family Vineyards was founded by Peter and his wife Frances (who we originally met with); their son Tom Chiarella eventually took over the business from his father. Their family name is not to be confused with Michael Chiarello the chef who has his own Napa wine and coincidentally whose family also comes from the same small region of southern Italy as … [Read more...]

Fontanella Family Winery is located among the rolling hills of the southern part of the Mt. Veeder appellation almost on the AVA dividing line between Mt. Veeder and Carneros. Their property is west of the town of Napa, located about 5 miles from Highway 29. Jeff Fontanella is the winemaker; he originally studied Biochemistry at the University of California … [Read more...]

Continuum Estate was founded in 2005 and is located on Pritchard Hill in the Vaca mountains, the range that forms the eastern boundary above Napa Valley. This location was purchased in midsummer 2008 and two existing vineyard properties were combined into one large property. These included Versant founded by former architect Richard Martin and Cloudview, … [Read more...]

Grace Family Vineyards (not to be confused with Grace Vineyards in China or Grace Wines in Japan) was the 500th visit with a commercial Napa wine producer that we made on this project and as a result was a truly a milestone for us. We of course had researched this winery for a long time; besides the top reviews of their wine, we knew about their remarkable … [Read more...]

VinRoc is owned by Michael Parmenter and Kiky Lee. We have met with Napa vintners from a variety of backgrounds including a former prison guard, a marine biologist, cattle rancher, but this is the first vintner whose background involved shoe manufacturing. Looking for a change in the 1990's and to "escape" Los Angeles for a country location Michael & Kiky … [Read more...]

Retro Cellars is owned by the husband wife team of Mike and Kara Dunn. Perhaps you recognize the last name - Mike's father Randy is a winemaking and vineyard pioneer on Howell Mountain who was part of the original founding members of the Howell Mountain Appellation. Mike is currently cellarmaster at Dunn Vineyards and makes the Retro wines here. Both Mike … [Read more...]

Macauley Vineyard was originally founded by Ann Macauley in 1984. After graduating from college Ann was thinking of either building a business centered around dairy products or wine and she chose the latter. The first vintage was a late harvest Sauterne style Sauvignon Blanc produced by well-known Napa winemaker Ric Forman (who suggested at the time that Ann … [Read more...]