GRATUS Vineyards was founded by Thomas and Victoria Wargovich. Thomas is originally from Pennsylvania and Victoria is from Virginia; both met on a blind date through Victoria's sister who worked in Thomas' medical office. Each has left prior careers, Thomas as a cardiac surgeon (along with teaching at the University of Florida for 10 years) and Victoria in … [Read more...]

Leaf & Vine was founded in 2010 by father son, Tim and Rick Keith. The family is from Salem, Oregon but for many years had a family connection to Napa Valley; Tim's grandfather, Edward Keith owned the Bar 49 Ranch in Chiles Valley and ran a children's camp from the 1950s through the 1970s. This huge property is now owned by Maxville Lake Winery. Tim and his … [Read more...]

Memento Mori was founded through a strong friendship between Hayes Drumwright, Adriel Lares & Adam Craun. Hayes and Adrial met while in high school when living in Alvin, Texas. Hayes attended Boston University where he met Adam as freshman while both were on the swim team. All three became very close friends. While at college and only 21 years of age, Hayes … [Read more...]

Roy Piper Wines. Roy grew up in Orange County (spending time in Yorba Linda and Newport Beach) and graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in psychology. After college he went into finance and worked for American Funds. During his time here he would often treat clients to fine meals; one of his favorite restaurants was Checkers located in downtown … [Read more...]

LEVY & MCCLELLAN was founded in 2004 by long time Napa winemakers and husband and wife, Bob Levy and Martha McClellan. Bob is a 4th generation Californian who grew up in Culver City (Los Angeles County). He remembers the first time he was introduced to wine - at age 17 by a brother-in-law - bottles became something he could collect, and he started doing so. … [Read more...]

Smith Devereux. The story of this winery begins with co-founder Ian White. Early in his professional career he was a writer working for Lonely Planet, at one point covering 28 states in an RV - describing his experiences as "a million first dates but never getting a kiss". Such is the life of the avid explorer and guidebook writer - always seeking … [Read more...]

ARNYCA Cellars was founded by Steve Distler and Luis Pettinato. Steve was born and raised in New York City; his first introduction to wine was while in graduate school at the Rochester Institute of Technology (where he earned his master's degree in education). Later he taught history for 3 years at The American Sign Language and English Secondary School in … [Read more...]

Colgin Cellars was founded by Ann Colgin in 1992. Ann was born in Waco Texas, graduated from Vanderbuilt University in Nashville with a degree in art history and later earned an M.A. from New York University. After finishing her undergraduate studies, she moved to London to work for Sotheby's. Her introduction to wine came at Sotheby's - through a variety of … [Read more...]