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.

Kahn’s, Indianapolis

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

The 2022 Pine and Brown Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

The 2023 Pine and Brown Mount Veeder Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2022 Pine and Brown Howell Mtn Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2023 Pine and Brown Howell Mtn Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2023 Pine and Brown Stags Leap Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

NOTE: tasting notes for the current release wines coming by end of summer 2025.

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.

—

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.

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