Bella Oaks Wine. Bella Oaks Vineyard is located on the west side of Rutherford in the shadow of the Mayacamas mountains. This 13-acre site was planted by Dr. Bernard (Barney) and Ivabelle (Belle) Rhodes entirely to Cabernet Sauvignon. Grapes from the property were first bottled as a vineyard designate by Heitz Cellar in 1973 and produced through 2007. The … [Read more...]

Firetree Family Vineyards This 70-acre property on the Napa side of Carneros was purchased by the Jimenz Family in April 2021 by husband and wife Ricardo and Dayva and their three children, Ricardo Alfonso, Sophya and Marianna. The land was originally part of Rancho Entre Napa a 7,000-acre Mexican land grant. It was used for cattle grazing in the late 1880s; … [Read more...]

Sommras Napa Valley. Proprietor, Geetesh Goyal produced his first vintage bottled under Sommras in 2018. His interest in wine comes through heritage. He is half Indian and half Italian; some of his fondest memories are walking with his grandfather through vineyards in Italy. He studied at UC Davis (dental school) with the intent to graduate and become a … [Read more...]

Napa Native was founded by Tyler Jackson with his first vintage in 2013, 50 cases of a 100% varietal Cabernet Sauvignon from his family's property, Jackson Family Vineyard. Tyler's grandfather, Lloyd La Brie on his mother's side of the family was a World War II veteran from Rice Lake, Wisconsin. He was stationed on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. But merely … [Read more...]

Matthiasson Winery was founded and is owned by two farmers, husband and wife Steve and Jill Matthiasson. Steve was born in Winnipeg, Canada and is the viticulturist and winemaker, and Jill, originally from Pennsylvania, runs the business side of the operations while also farming a number of fruit trees which she used to sell at select farmers' markets in the … [Read more...]

Diamond Creek Vineyards is one of Napa's most venerable and historic wineries having been founded in 1968 by Al and Adele "Boots" Brounstein (Al died in 2006 and Boots in 2019). Their first commercial vintage was from 1972, although they did make a little wine at what was the nearby Cuvaison Winery at the time from the 1971 harvest. This is California's … [Read more...]

Whetstone Wine Cellars. In 2013 Whetstone Cellars opened a tasting salon in an old French-style chateau building (dates from 1885) on a 2-acre property located on Atlas Peak Road (next to Del Dotto Winery) and a short drive from the Silverado Country Club. This was a significant upgrade from their prior shared tasting room in downtown Napa. Tastings are … [Read more...]

Rarecat Wine was founded in 2009 by long time vintner Sharon Harris. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area but was not raised by family in the wine business. However, she recalls her parents enjoying the art of entertaining including a vivid memory of their flaming vodka watermelon drinks. Sharon remembers when she was hooked by wine; while studying for … [Read more...]

Stringer Cellars. Founded by winemaker Casey Stringer in 2016, the focus of his production is on small lot wines from both Napa Valley and beyond - including Santa Barbara and Sonoma counties. Casey remembers visiting Napa Valley for the first time. He was on a trip with his parents to scope out several college campuses including USF and Humboldt State in … [Read more...]