Mount Veeder Magic Vineyards. Karen Crouse (born in New Orleans but was raised in Los Angeles County) and her husband Greg moved up to the city of Napa in 1990 from Walnut Creek. Karen was working for American Express at the time; she moved to the Napa Valley to acquire clients and help market and host related credit card events in the region. Growing grapes … [Read more...]

Riverain was founded by several friends who originally connected in Orange County through the world of wine, Steve Nordhoff (founding attorney of Nordhoff Bengfort, a Newport Beach based legal firm) and Dean Gray (worked in the field of consumer packaging, initially for Proctor and Gamble) and Dean's wife Laurie (who captured the lovely photographs for some … [Read more...]

Okapi Wines is owned by Dan and Kim Johnson. Dan was first introduced to wine through a connection to his legal work. One day in the early 1980s he drove up to Santa Rosa from Oakland to work on a case that involved early construction at Chateau St. Jean in Kenwood (neighboring Sonoma County). When his casework was finished for the day - he was asked if he … [Read more...]

TEXTBOOK Napa Valley was founded by Jonathan and Susan (died in 2016) Pey in 2004. We caught up with Jonathan before he moved to Burgundy. What ultimately became an important event and influence in Jonathan's life occurred when he was in his teens; his father announced that he had been transferred to France for work and the family would be moving to Paris. … [Read more...]

Tench Vineyards. This beautiful 61-acre property sits just west of the Silverado Trail in Oakville. The property is the same footprint in size from when John (born in Wales, 1902-1990) and Joan Tench (born in Great Britain, 1908-2001) purchased this site in 1965, the same year that John retired as the Manager of Shell Oil. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1928 … [Read more...]

601 Cellars. Enter a Napa Valley brand that does not produce a Cabernet Sauvignon. An anomaly, sure - but a refreshing one, nonetheless. Proprietors Brian Doody and Laura Larson were living in Washington DC and working in high tech (data storage) when they began looking at purchasing a vacation home in the Napa Valley around the recession of 2008/2009. They … [Read more...]

Lerner Project. The singular element that strikes one immediately upon arriving at Armstrong Ranch (the home estate for Lerner Project) is its profound silence. In this regard, its remote location is its most coveted asset. Yes this is in the Napa Valley, but this is a slice of the valley that few visitors ever see. Access is either from Sonoma County on a … [Read more...]

Jon Nathaniel. The winery for Jon Nathaniel wines was completed in 2019, a tiny production facility owned and overseen by long time grape growers and former owners of the Flora Springs Winery property, the Komes family (pronounced 'kome-es'). This is a joint project between father (John) and son (Nat) Komes. The physical winery is located on John's 30-acre … [Read more...]

Palazzo Wine. Founder and winemaker Scott Palazzo grew up in an Italian household in La Mirada, Orange County California - wine was part of the fabric of his Italian heritage and was commonly served with family meals. His early interest in perhaps someday following a career centered around wine was piqued while on a three-month backpacking trip at age 19 … [Read more...]