Starmont Winery (owned by the Schlatter Family - the same family that owns Merryvale Winery in St. Helena) is located in the southern part of the Napa Valley in the Carneros region. Visually it is an impressive modern winery that is most commonly seen from Highway 29 as you drive by either direction. The winery itself opened in 2006 and sits on the historic … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2014
Trujillo Wines
Trujillo Wines. Winemaker and founder, Michael Trujillo grew up in Southern Colorado in a family that was more apt to drink beer and bourbon then ever a glass of wine. His upbringing was on a 3,000-acre family farm where he learned how to tend sheep and cattle. In college he decided to study architectural engineering with an interest in building skyscrapers … [Read more...]
Hunt McKay Wine
Hunt McKay Wine (KaDieM Cellars) is a small production label formed by a partnership of winemaker, Michael Trujillo and his friends Danna and Karen. The creation of the name was formed by taking the first three letters of each of their first names and phonetically spelling this out. The three intertwined glasses on the wine label signify this partnership, … [Read more...]
Ad Vivum Cellars
Ad Vivum Cellars produces a single wine, from a single vineyard in Yountville from a single clone of Cabernet Sauvignon produced each year by long time Napa winemaker Chris Phelps (no relation to Joseph Phelps). Chris was raised in Livermore - just "down the street" from Concannon Winery. He earned his degree in Viticulture from UC Davis in 1981. After … [Read more...]
Tristant Vineyards
Tristant Vineyards produces one wine each year, a single vineyard red blend sourced from an 11-acre vineyard located in the far South East corner of the Calistoga AVA. Proprietor Bill Tristant decided to immigrate to California in 1949. His decision was based on the impact World War II had on his family. They lived in the Pyrenees at the time and their homes … [Read more...]
Napa Angel by Montes
Napa Angel was founded by Chilean winemaker Aurelio Montes and partners with their first Napa release, a Cabernet Sauvignon from the 2006 vintage. Aurelio has a long history of winemaking in Chile. He graduated from the Catholic University in Santiago with a degree in both Oenology and Agronomy in 1971. He worked at Chile's historic Undurraga Winery, then at … [Read more...]
Trotter 1/16th Wines
Trotter 1/16th Wines was founded with a 2011 vintage by long time Napa winemaker Stephanie Trotter-Zacharia. Stephanie has been working in the Napa Valley since 1996. But her story of how she arrived in Napa starts much earlier than that. At age 18 she left her home in Philadelphia and headed west - ultimately trying to reach Alaska. However, as she reached … [Read more...]
Tank Garage Winery
Tank Garage Winery was originally formed as a partnership between Napa Valley wine industry veterans James Harder and Jim Regusci. This was not their first venture together in the valley; they both worked together at James Cole Winery and the former nearby T-Vine Cellars Tasting room and winery. Today Harder owns Tank Garage and Regusci owns T-Vine Cellars. … [Read more...]
Apsara Cellars
Apsara Cellars is a small production winery founded by Robin Akhurst and his wife Aneeta. Robin is originally from Scotland; his path to Napa is paved with significant international experience in various wine regions around the world. After graduating with a degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Edinburgh he started kindling an interest in … [Read more...]
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, see our update at the bottom of this review for details) started … [Read more...]