Pine & Brown

There are some particularly small wineries in the Napa Valley, but then there is another level of “micro”. These are “garagiste” wineries and can legally produce small quantities of wine commercially. Take Pine and Brown for instance. Founder Tom Rees, who as of 2020 is no longer the owner, started this small winery in 2011 in a residential neighborhood within the city limits of Napa. His winery was located on the south east corner of Pine & Brown Streets, only a block from the Napa River and about two blocks from the Napa Valley Yacht Club. Like other communities within Napa Valley, the city of Napa allows up to 200 square feet to be bonded as a commercial winery. For reference, another small bonded commercial winery located approximately two blocks from the original home of Pine & Brown is Marketta Winery.

Tom is originally from Nebraska and was introduced to wine during college at Purdue University where he studied chemistry. While in college he worked at the oldest wine shop in Indianapolis, Kahn’s Fine Wines. This sizable shop, still operating, is located about 20 minutes from downtown Indianapolis. Along with wines from around the world they have a fine selection of Napa Valley wines including those contained in a separate chilled room. After working at Kahn’s, Tom worked in restaurants at his family business but wanting to take the next step in his wine education, secured three interviews at wineries in Napa and then loaded up his van, drove across country and arrived in Napa in time for harvest in 2002. His immediate family moved out shortly thereafter.

He worked in the lab at Charles Krug where where he was introduced to both smaller lot winemaking as well as their larger production CK Mondavi wines. Gaining valuable hands-on experience, he moved to St. Supéry where after a few years, ultimately became assistant winemaker. He moved on to Rombauer where he was associate winemaker for their red winemaking program. In 2011 he decided to branch out on his own and creatively turned an old garage on his property into a bonded winery. The name Pine & Brown is an honor to the street location where the winery was located. His original winery in south Napa is close to the cooling influences of the Napa River and the San Pablo Bay. Most of the summer he would use an automatic timer to let in cool nighttime air and based on excellent insulation, the winery remained cool throughout even warm days.

During his ownership of Pine & Brown Tom worked with mostly organically-farmed, carefully-managed small vineyards; these were often located on hillsides. The timing of harvest was a critical decision of his winemaking program; he typically harvested vineyards earlier than similar varieties in surrounding vineyards were picked. Tom would pick the grapes himself with the help of friends.

Tom was introduced to Bordeaux wines in the 1980s and his winemaking program emulate their style. He would harvest the grapes earlier, therefore less ripe; his wines were always built built to age, featuring plenty of natural acidity, depth of flavor and appreciable structure. He believed in a minimalist approach to winemaking including gently handling the fruit during harvest and in the winery; his philosophy eschewed additions including acid and water.

During our visit with Tom at his winery, he spoke about the yeast strains he worked with. As with most disciplines, technology keeps improving, including how to cultivate and the diversity of yeasts now available. Tom used specific yeasts as needed, separating out his fermenting bins by different types of yeasts and then blending the wines from the various small lots together later before bottling. With small lots he had the freedom to treat each wine differently. His small lots saw extended maceration, while others did not require this. Just like spices used by a chef, he had a ‘spice rack’ of various wine making options at his disposal.

Rather than working with huge tanks and large blends, all his winemaking was conducted at the micro level. In such a small space one has to be extra creative with equipment and how it is organized. He kept two vintages inside the winery at any one time and would bottle one right before harvest to free up space; when completely full, his winery would hold only 8 barrels. He used a variety of coopers, primarily French. During his ownership of Pine & Brown, he would bottle his wines offsite. During his ownership, Tom handled all the winemaking duties and his wife helped with the sales and marketing. While his focus was on his Pine & Brown wines, he also offered wine consulting for several small negociant labels and worked for an Italian wine supplier.

In 2020 Tom sold Pine & Brown to Neil Koch and Michael Hutchinson; Neil oversees the winemaking. He was raised in Napa Valley; in 2004 he started working in sales for the cooper, Seguin Moreau. He has lots of local winemaking experience, including at Seavey Vineyards, Bryant Family and Lewis Cellars. A busy guy, in addition to his partnership in Pine & Brown, he owns The Flight Wine Company, a Napa Valley brand focusing on single appellation Cabernet Sauvignon bottled as Thread Feathers. He is also a partner in Canepa Koch Wine Cellars, a brand that bottles a limited number of wines under the name, The Wine Dude, note to be confused with ‘The Dude’, Jeffrey Lebowski in the cult classic film, The Big Lebowski.

Michael is responsible for their marketing and distribution. While not the winemaker, he is also involved in other wine projects including being a part owner of California Wine Collective, a boutique provider of premium brands from Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley and Matador Vina, a Los Gatos based importer and distributor within the U.S. of international wines. And through Matador Vina, he acquired the inventory and brand name for Meander Wines, a small label originally started by winemaker Amy Aiken in the year 2000.

After selling Pine & Brown, Tom continues to be a winemaker for Jackson Family wines in Santa Rosa.

Select Wines
The 2022 Pine and Brown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby and nearly opaque; the bouquet offers a union between ripe red and dark fruits and barrel influences. Its scents include blackberry, boysenberry, dark licorice, Satsuma plum, Persian mulberries and cherry pie. Threads of old cedar box, dried tobacco leaf and dried sage weave their way through the fruit with a dark and savory presence. And as the wine evolves it offers an aromas that reminds us of Hershey’s kisses chocolate candy. Its ripeness is supported with a driving and bright acidity. This wine tastes like red cherries, currants, Santa Rosa plum, blueberry, boysenberry with a finishing note of dried tobacco leaf. Persists with a red fruited not quite but almost tart character, framed by lightly gripping tumbled tannins which are felt more on the front of the palate than the back. Easy drinking. This is their only bottling that is designated Napa Valley appellation; the label is distinctive from all their appellation wines. Its ABV is a listed 14.8%.

The 2023 Pine and Brown Mount Veeder Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby and opaque; its aromatics are an interlay between ripe darker fruits and sweeter barrel complements. These aromas include ripe blackberry almost crossing into the territory of blackberry jam, along with cherry pie, fully ripe Santa Rosa plum, dark chocolate, mocha, espresso and old cedar box. The palate tastes like both red and darker fruits including flavors of cherry, boysenberry, plum, blackberry, currant and pipe tobacco. With a freshness across the palate from its vibrant acidity, this wine shows very well two years post vintage but also has the characteristics for years of aging ahead with the proper cellar care. Its texture features firmly gripping and grainy tannins which fully coat the palate. Their feel lingers beyond the fruit on the extended finish. Pair with the company of a well marbled steak from the BBQ.

The 2023 Pine and Brown Howell Mtn Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby, opaque and sports an amaranthine rim. The nose gives a darker expression of both fruit and barrel. These scents are of bramble, boysenberry, blackberry, Satsuma plum, dark chocolate, old cedar box, dried tobacco leaf, toasted oak, cloves, dark pepper and dried herbs including sage, lavender and bay leaf. There is plenty of depth and mountain power in this beauty both on the bouquet and the palate. The palate features dark-fruited flavors of blackberry, Coral cherry, dark mulberry, Satsuma plum and boysenberry. This wine finishes with dark spices including crushed pepper, a dusty character, smoked cedar and assorted dried herbs including smoked sage. The tannins are mountain-esque but not over powering. They persist beyond the fruit with a firmly gripping and grainy feel. At the $29.95/bottle price we paid for this (no industry discount), this is clearly one of Napa Valley’s best put together wines for the price point from this vintage. Highly cellar worthy. This wine is a listed 14.5% ABV.

The 2022 Pine and Brown Howell Mtn Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. The grapes for this wine were harvested off of Keyes Road. Towards the end of their fermentation they were pressed slightly sweet into French oak barrels to finish their primary fermentation. This wine is deep ruby and opaque; color is clearly not lacking in this bottling. The bouquet smells young, fully of energy and brimming with ripe fruits, accompanied by some sweet spice notes. Its scents include blackberry jam, cherry pie, baked plums, cassis with loads of chocolate like aromas including mocha, espresso, milk chocolate and caramel. Richly layered and a bolder expression of the 2022 vintage from Napa Valley in general, this wine is bursting at the seams with layers of fruit. It tastes like dark plum, blackberry, dark cherry and dark licorice. The finish persists with both ripe fruit but also a savory bent, including of dried herbs. The tannins are grainy but already fairly well tumbled at this age. Again we can’t believe the incredible price on this bottle, the same price point as the 2023.

The 2023 Pine and Brown Stags Leap Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve; loaded with color this wine is deep ruby and opaque. Ripe, highly expressive and open-knitted, the bouquet is quintessentially contemporary Napa Valley. It smells like dark plum, blackberry pie, boysenberry spread, dark cherry, bittersweet chocolate, old cedar box – an aromatic reminding us of the cedar jewelry box our grandmother gifted us before she passed, mocha and coffee grinds. The palate sports a minerally, chalky and almost ferrous character, yet is also very ripe. Its flavors include blackberry, dark cherry, boysenberry and plum. A vein of bright acidity keeps this wine moving at a favorable clip across the palate. The finish lingers with a light warmth in the back of the throat accompanied by a plush textural profile featuring rounded and gravelly textured tannins. On the finish there are notes of dried herbs including sage, crushed pink peppercorn, a dusty and chalky character and a long-lasting woodsy spice.

The 2022 Pine and Brown Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. This wine is deep ruby and opaque; in terms of its aromatic profile, dark fruit meets baking spices. The bouquet smells like blackberry, spicy plum skin, dark cherry, boysenberry, Persian mulberry, dark pepper, petrichor, milk chocolate, mocha, espresso, cloves and cinnamon. The palate posses a ripe, almost opulent character with flavors of dark cherry, boysenberry jam, blackberry pie, dark raspberry, plums, dark mulberry, dark chocolate, coffee and dark cocoa powder. The ripe, rounded and resolved tannins are seamlessly integrated into the finish only three years post vintage. Their texture lingers with a light gravelly and dusty attribute. The ABV is a listed 14.5% but it feels higher than that.

During our visit with Tom, we sampled several wines from barrel including the 2012 and 2013 vintages; we found these young wines to be rich in flavor and complex with a depth of both aroma and flavor. These are wines that have character and refreshingly, do not taste all the same. His vineyard sources changed depending on availability; one vineyard that remained constant under his ownership each year was the Garvey Home Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon. This vineyard is located in Rutherford on bench land at the base of the Mayacamas mountains.

The 2012 vintage (barrel sample several months before bottling) is slightly blended with Petit Verdot. For such a young wine, it was already well integrated between flavor and structure. Tom told us that the 2012 vintage as compared to the 2013 vintage was more approachable in its youth. This wine featured notes of mocha on the bouquet, mouthwatering acidity running the length of the palate, and broad-based moderately gripping tannins on the finish.

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Pine & Brown used to produce only several hundred cases a year of single appellation Cabernet Sauvignon wines, however with the new ownership, production has increased.

NOTE: production has moved to Sebastopol in Sonoma County with the wines bottled by NMK Wine Consulting. As a result, while the wines are all from Napa Valley, production is no longer in Napa Valley. This review has been archived until production moves back to Napa Valley.

The wines are selectively distributed; originally they were available primarily in the Los Angeles and San Francisco markets. Today their distribution is much broader including nationally through Wines Till Sold Out (WTSO), an online retailer headquartered in Pennsauken, New Jersey. The wines used to have limited distribution in Napa Valley including at Calmart in Calistoga and on the wine list at Mustard’s Grill in Oakville. But it has been many years since we have seen any Pine & Brown wines for sale in Napa Valley.

For more information and to purchase, visit: www.pineandbrown.com

Kahn’s, Indianapolis