Dunn Vineyards dates from 1979 when Randall (Randy) and Loralee (Lori) Dunn purchased their original 14-acre property high on the slopes of Howell Mountain and produced their first wine that same year. The property was already planted to Cabernet Sauvignon at the time. The home on site dates from 1890; it was used as one of the Stagecoach stops between Pope … [Read more...]

Zeitgeist Cellars was founded by winemaker Mark Porembski; both he and his wife, Jennifer Williams, also a winemaker oversee the brand but also consult for several other small and local brands. Mark moved to Napa Valley in 2000 and began working as assistant winemaker at Anomaly Vineyards in 2002; he has been their head winemaker since 2005. Jennifer's first … [Read more...]

Red Cap Vineyards were founded by husband and wife Tom and Desiree Altemus. They oversee a 6-acre vineyard nestled among the Ponderosa Pine trees, high on the ridge line of Howell Mountain at about 1,900 feet. One doesn't need to drive far from the floor of Napa Valley for a completely different feel, both in terms of soils, elevation, vegetation, smells and … [Read more...]

Amici Cellars was started after winemaker, Jeff Hansen and friends crushed a few tons of grapes in 1991 for their own personal use. "This was good wine", they unanimously agreed and soon thereafter released their first commercial vintage. The name Amici means "friends" in Italian and is a tribute to the friends who started this winery as well as to their … [Read more...]

Gandona is a winery built on a property which has a long well-regarded vineyard history in Napa Valley. This is Pritchard Hill, a small hillside part of Napa Valley in the Vaca mountains, characterized by iron rich, rocky and red soils. It was named after Charles Pritchard who homesteaded the top of this knoll and planted vines in the 1880s (where … [Read more...]

Darioush Winery, specializes in premium wines and was founded in 1997 by Iranian born, Darioush Khaledi and his wife Shahpar with their first vintage released that year. The visually stunning 'Persian palace', i.e., hospitality center was not completed until 2004 and was constructed with stones imported from quarries near Shiraz. Darioush's father was a … [Read more...]

Silver Oak was founded in 1972; their remarkable success story begins with two men, co-founders Justin Meyer and Raymond (Ray) Twomey Duncan (both deceased). Ray was born in South Bend Indiana to parents Walter Sr (a World War I veteran) and Velma Twomey Duncan; he was raised in La Salle, Illinois (population today around 9,500 residents) and graduated in … [Read more...]

Hossfeld Vineyards. Henry and Susan Hossfeld moved to this part of the Napa Valley in 1980 from Marin County. Henry owned and continued to operate a successful home construction and remodel company. After acquiring the property, he and Susan decided to grow crops on site. Initially they looked at planting kiwis but then were encouraged to plant grape vines … [Read more...]

Realm Cellars produced their first vintage in 2002, made at Sherwin Family Winery by founding Realm winemaker Mike Hirby. Later vintages were produced at Laird Estate and Chateau Boswell. In addition to their estate vineyards in the Stags Leap District, Coombsville and on Pritchard Hill, Realm Cellars sources grapes from several other premium vineyards … [Read more...]

Pahlmeyer Wine produced their first vintage in 1986, a proprietary red blend. Their first vintages were made at Merryvale Winery; they began producing wine at Napa Wine Co in 1994, where we first met up with them for a private tasting many years ago soon after Napa Wine Co underwent a huge renovation to accommodate production from wineries who do not … [Read more...]