Porter Family Vineyards

Porter Family Vineyards, not to be confused with Porter Creek Vineyards in neighboring Sonoma County, is located in the hills on the edge of the Coombsville region east of the town of Napa. As a result, the vineyards here are all hillside planted with great views looking north into the Napa Valley. This winery is owned and operated by Tom Porter and his wife Beverly; their son Tim is President of Porter Family Vineyards and their daughter Heather as been involved in past years with winemaking.

Before starting this winery Tom spent 27 years at IBM and was a part of a team there created or patented a number of notable pieces of technology including IBM’s first digital modem, an automated ticketing system for the Bay Area Rapid Transit System (BART, public transit system located in the San Francisco Bay Area) and also patented part of the internal mechanics of the once very popular 3.5″ floppy disk drive that was an industry standard in desktop systems for nearly 20 years.

Coombsville in general is cooler than up valley, along with other southern parts of Napa Valley, with marine influences coming from the relatively nearby San Pablo Bay. As a result, hang time is often very long with harvest occurring in mid-October to early November. This helps ensure a slow maturation providing well balanced ripe fruit with lots of flavor intensity.

Their location is ideal for growing grapes; the soils are volcanic ash and are shallow (generally 6 inches to 2 feet deep). Despite the entire property being only 20 acres of which 14 acres are planted to vine, this site is extremely diverse in terms of exposure. The property also boasts excellent views; on a clear day after the fog lifts one can see all the way up the valley to Mt. St Helena – above Calistoga, about 30 miles to the north. One side of the property backs right up against Skyline Wilderness Park ensuring the surrounding land will never be developed and will remain in its natural state. Margrit Mondavi also liked this neighborhood; she used to live in the house still perched on a hill above the Porter’s property.

A number of varieties are planted on site including Syrah, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as Cabernet Franc and Malbec. More recently a rare variety for Napa was planted, a tiny block of Grenache. Aside from the crush pad, the winery is entirely underground in their 17,000 square feet of caves; this environment is highly conducive to winemaking as it remains a constant 57 degrees Fahrenheit with about 70% humidity regardless of the time of year.

Also of note is during the tunneling of the caves a large piece of sandstone fell from the ceiling of one of the tunnel landing in front of one of the boring machines. It contained a number of visually intriguing fossilized footprints of Sand Piper birds dating back over 5 million years ago. An alert construction worker spotted it and alerted Tom Porter. Tom then reached out to his daughter Heather who has a background in Marine Biology; she assisted in the identification of these footprints. It is now displayed in Tom and Beverly’s home on the property.

What is now the edge of San Pablo Bay is located at about 20 miles south of Porter Family Vineyards. Millions of years ago, muddy or marshy section of land near the bay or an inlet from the ocean perfectly preserved this bird’s footpints. When discovered, the boring tunnel was approximately 50 feet below the surface. Incidentally the construction of their cave was featured on an episode of Dirty Jobs, a TV series on the Discovery Channel.

This is one of the most technologically self-contained wineries within Napa Valley. It is state of the art. Tom has a background in the computer software industry and has put a lot of thought into this winery especially into the computer algorithm-controlled systems. Four large tunnels lead from the surface to strategic parts of the cave providing air flow when needed – anemometers are stationed outside both entrances providing wind speed measurements and the inside is completely climate controlled and adjusts for various factors including humidity, temperature and external conditions such as cave doors being opened and closed. The temperatures and other climatic factors can quickly be seen on an iPad app with notifications sent to someone when these conditions go outside of their norm.

Large fans and humidifiers are stationed at each entrance. In addition, all tanks are located under automatic computer-controlled punch down devices which can be easily moved from tank to tank as they are located on rails. Tom invented and patented this device; it is powered by a portable air compressor. There are two of them, lovingly referred to as both Lucy and Ethel in homage to Lucille Ball and Ethel Mertz, actresses in the old black and white sitcom, I Love Lucy.

Small fermentors are used and with the help of technology they can track specific vineyard blocks or even specific vineyard rows all the the way from vineyard to fermentation to aging. This type of technology combined with wine making allows them to track things such as problems in a specific part of their vineyard, fermentation and aging data.

This technology is not only represented in the cave but in the vineyards as well. While most wineries have one watering system for the vines, Porter Family has two. The second “targeted irrigation” system is designed to place water on only weak or young vines, thus avoiding waste of water on all the vines.

And ever one’s to embrace new technology, in 2024 Porter Family Vineyards acquired a Tesla built Cyber Truck. This has since replaced their old vineyard truck and is used for a variety of purposes including hauling cases of wine in the cargo bed covered by the powered frunk, and or for towing. And with their location being in the country, their power sometimes drops. This truck can be used to power a number of operations to keep both their office and winery operations running.

Select Wines
The first ever vintage of Porter Family Vineyards was in 2005 and was released in early October 2008. The entire initial production, based on the number of vineyards on site and the size of the cave is remarkably small; at the time of this update they only produce about 2,000 cases annually between estate grown grapes and purchased fruit.

Whites/Rosé
Their Sandpiper labels, including the Sandpiper rosé are named in homage to the fossilized bird footprints found during the construction of the cave. The first vintage of the Sandpiper rosé was in 2008. Historically this wine was produced from estate grown Syrah and Carneros sourced Pinot Noir. However current vintages now include estate Grenache. Demand has grown for this delightful wine and quickly sells out.

The 2023 Porter Family Vineyards Sandpiper Rosé is 74% Pinot Noir, 19% Grenache and 7% Syrah. This exceptional rosé is deep salmon in color; the appealing, fresh, energetic and diverse bouquet initially offers a hit of ruby grapefruit aromatics, followed by additional scents of citrus blossom, pineapple guava, rose petals, a flinty minerality, lemon grass, lemon verbena, bubble gum sticks, raspberries and wild strawberries (the tiny reddish ones covered in seeds that we sometimes find in damp soils growing in the shade in the summer). Its aromas are citrusy driven but not grassy. Beautifully balanced, and simply put, delicious – this bottling offers flavors of strawberries, raspberries, white peaches and pineapple guava. The mouth feel offers a fleshy but light viscosity balanced nicely by a lingering mouth watering but not tart acidity. And it sports a final note of tarragon. We would love to pair this with a warm fall day at Bodega Bay, CA and freshly caught raw oysters. 13.2% alcohol.

The 2014 Porter Family Vineyards Sandpiper Rosé is a blend of 80% Syrah and 20% Pinot Noir. The Syrah is picked 2x each harvest; the winemaking team looks for just the right sugar/acid balance when they make their harvest decisions. The wine shows delicate aromas on the bouquet including of strawberry and raspberry. Texturally on the palate it is soft and rounded but with a liveliness of fruit that lingers cleanly on the finish. A recommended pairing is with fresh strawberries.

The 2018 Porter Family Vineyards Beverly’s Chardonnay, Haynes Vineyard (a historic vineyard in Coombsville) is medium gold in color; the bouquet offers appealing aromatics including initially a subtle hint of cut grass with honeysuckle, honeycomb, citrus blossom and ripe melon. Generously layered on the bouquet. Very focused on the fruit characteristics rather than oak influences. Sports both a rounded and a creamy textural feel across the palate. Concentrated, this wine offers flavors of red apple, butter (this is more subtle rather than dominating), mandarin and apricot. Aged 12 months in 50% new French oak. Drinks very well just by itself.

Reds
The 2019 Porter Family Vineyards Sandpiper Merlot is a blend of 75% Merlot 22% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Malbec. This wine was aged for 22 months in 75% new French oak barrels. It is not produced every year. It is deep ruby in color; the bouquet is a savory union of brambly fruits and darker spices. It offers scents of dark plum, black cherry, boysenberry, old cedar box, bitter sweeet chocolate, crushed peppercorn and dried sage and rosemary. A very subtle hint of mocha shyly hides in the background. On the palate there are flavors of blackberry, dark cherry, Santa Rosa plum and dark raspberry. Remarkably polished at the time of our tasting, 5 years post vintage, the tannins express themselves with a light chalky character which delicately paces the fruit on the finish. Lingers bright and juicy. Looking for some culinary company with this bottle? Our recommendation is a beef based tomato ravioli on a warm spring evening, in the casual company of friends and family.

The 2018 Porter Family Vineyards Sandpiper Red is a blend of 51% Merlot 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Malbec. The wine is dark ruby in the glass; offers ripe but elegant aromatics layered with blackberry, old cedar box, dried rose petal, black licorice, brown chocolate and mocha. Expresses flavors of Bing cherry and Santa Rosa plum. The texture is rounded and fairly supple – with a tannin profile that is finely unified into the finish. A hint of dark spice on the finish. Lingers smooth without any harsh edges whatsoever. Light to moderate tannin grip. Drinks very well in its youth. Was aged 22 Months in 75% new French oak. A palate pleaser, a crowd pleaser.

Barre Azul is a thoughtfully produced red blend each year from the following five estate grown varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. Barre Azul translates to blue bar, Old English referring to the family crest. The Porter family made a deep dive into their family history and discovered some prominent relatives. Their coat of arms is traced back to Adam de Port, Sheriff of Nottingham, grandson of Hugh de Port, a companion of William the Conqueror’s, known for the Battle of Hastings in 1066 which took place near the present day town of Battle in East Sussexe, United Kingdom.

And not only is significant thought put into the creation of this wine each year, but also to the label. Every vintage sports a different label design. The Porter’s ask for 15-20 different designs from students at the Ringling College of Art and Design, located in Sarasota (where Tom and Beverly spend their winters). A final design is chosen which always tells the story of the Battle of Hastings. Part of winning the design competition, includes a scholarship with cash prizes awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.

The 2019 Porter Family Vineyards Barre Azul is medium to deep ruby in color; the darker and savory bouquet immediately offers an aroma of sweet tobacco spice accompanied by notes of licorice, old cedar box sage, cinnamon and plum. However, give this wine time in the glass especially, it needs air in order for its fruit core to become more expressive. Its hallmark is its aromatic depth. On the palate, there are flavors of plum, cherry, raspberry and strawberry; it is not as dark as the bouquet. The red-fruited finish lingers with a light grainy texture and a note of dried tobacco leaf. This wine is showing in a sweet spot 5 years post vintage at the time of our tasting.

A very unique and rare wine for the Napa Valley is a wine they have appropriately and simply labeled Time. Only a handful of the 1,100+ Napa wineries/producers we have visited with even make a non/multi vintage wine. Each year it is released the name changes based on the number of the release – the first release was called Time, then Time II and Time III etc. This is a multi-vintage 100% Estate Cabernet Sauvignon featuring a barrel selection each year of what the wine making team decides are the best barrels from that vintage. Each Time wine always features 25% of the most recent vintage; it is made in a Solera style in that there will always be a small percentage of previous vintages in the wine. The first vintage used was 2005.

Only two barrels of this wine are bottled each year – approximately 50 cases. Each bottle is numbered by hand. The Time III includes vintages from 2005 through 2009. On the bouquet it shows earthy notes – with aromas of mushroom, tar, cigar smoke and darker fruit. The tannins are well integrated, slightly dusty and delicate. The wine has bright acidity and an overall pleasing balance.

Porter Family Vineyard’s primary focus is on Cabernet Sauvignon, but they do make other red wines. The 2005 Porter Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with Syrah from two different vintages and just a touch of Merlot. The Syrah contributes intense and rich fruit, structural grip, mouth feel and dark color to the wine. This is still a youngster but at the time of our tasting, was already showing nicely with flavors of blackberry, cassis and notes of plum, especially on the finish. The finish is long and intense, one of those finishes that go on and on!

Porter Family makes a second label (called Amani), created so that 100% of the profits of this wine go to the Amani Children’s Home in Tanzania, Africa. The labels for this wine were designed by children from this nonprofit.

Previous Property Ownership
The property that is now Porter Family Vineyards was previously owned by Richard and Sheila Perry. They purchased this property in 1979. The name of their wine brand was simply, Richard Perry Vineyards. After nearly 20 years of owning the property, they planted this site in 1988 primarily to Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Viognier. And it was the Perry’s that built the steep terracing into some of the hillsides (still being used).

Nearby neighbor, John Caldwell of Caldwell Winery provided them invaluable advice about vineyard development and was the original inspiration for them becoming grape growers. For many years they sold the grapes to other area wineries including Rombauer and Newton. In 1997, a winemaker at Rombauer who was already purchasing their grapes noted the high quality of their grapes and mentioned they should try making their own wine. As a result their first vintage was made at Rombauer in 1997; at that time, Rombauer was a well-known custom crush winery, offering space and wine making services to producers who did not own their own physical wineries.

While the Perry’s never built a winery on their property, for a time they did offer tastings of their wines at Vintner’s Collective in downtown Napa.

The Perry’s were one of the early champions of promoting the potential of Coombsville in regard to producing world-class wines. After selling the property to the Porter family, they moved to the Sierra Nevada foothills and continued to purchase grapes from this property. Tragically Richard died in a head-on car accident in late 2007 in the town of Murphys; a driver drifted over the lane and into Richard’s truck. Richard was only 65 and did not quite live long enough to see his beloved region officially become Napa’s 16th sub appellation in December 2011 (Coombsville).

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Tastings are for serious wine enthusiasts and are always private for your party. Tours walk through the vineyards learning more about the viticulture on site with the tasting taking place in a very elegant room within their cave. Most of their cave is fully WiFi enabled; their network is generally very fast. Small bites are paired with the wines including delicious chocolate from Napa’s own chocolatier, Annette’s Chocolates infused with a skosh of one of their wines. A library wine is typically also poured with each tasting.

The Porter Family wines are sold direct to consumer (no distribution). While only 10-15 minutes from downtown Napa a visit here feels anything but urban. It is quiet and rural, yet so close to downtown, but feels so far away. For more information, to purchase wine and or to join one of their wine club offering including the appropriately named Paleontologist and Fossil Collector, visit: www.porterfamilyvineyards.com

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