The Vineyardist is one of those rare historical properties within Napa Valley that often fly under the radar. The original vineyards on site were planted in the early 1880s; the story begins with a Danish shipping captain by the name of Lorenz (Lorenzo, Lawrence) Petersen (1843-1915). He left his country in the mid 1860s to avoid joining the German army. He … [Read more...]

Handwritten Wines was founded by three couples (all with medical backgrounds) two of whom live in South Dakata and one locally in Napa Valley. The couples also own Jessup Cellars which is located just north of the Handwritten tasting room in Yountville. See our review of Jessup Cellars for more information about these couples and their South Dakota … [Read more...]

Trinitas Cellars was founded by Tim (born and raised in Michigan) & Steph Busch in 2002. In 1948 after returning from World War II, Tim's father Joseph co-founded a single grocery store called Country Market in Clinton, Michigan. Much later in 1975, Joseph co-founded and repurchased two of his original six supermarkets, calling them J&C Family Foods. Today … [Read more...]

Teaderman Vineyards is owned by Stan and Patti Teaderman. While born in Berkeley, Stan has been a resident of Napa Valley since 1947. In 1961, Stan helped launch the first Miss Napa County Pageant and was involved with subsequent pageants. Stan was also a member of the Napa Bottom Gropers, a group of diving enthusiasts. For a time, Stan was one of their … [Read more...]

Philip Togni Vineyard is one of the older producers in Napa Valley's Spring Mountain District in the hills above the town of St. Helena. This was one of the last Spring Mountain wineries we visited for The Napa Wine Project - and it was well worth the wait. It is always a treat in the summer driving up and out of the fog that often blankets both neighboring … [Read more...]

Volker Eisele Family Estate dates back to 1974 and was founded by Volker and Liesel Eisele. Volker passed on in early 2015 and he is much missed by many in the Napa wine growing community. Born in Münster, Germany he immigrated to the United States to attend the graduate program in the Department of Sociology, at University of California, Berkeley. While at … [Read more...]

Roy Estate. Founding proprietors Charles and Shirley Roy purchased property off of Soda Canyon in 1999; we first met with them many years ago at their home overlooking their vineyard. Charles who passed away in 2010 was a Civil Engineer from Massachusetts who founded his own consulting business in 1973 focusing on the development and design of office … [Read more...]

Bure Family Wines was founded by Valeri (Val) Bure and his wife Candace Cameron Bure. Valeri was a professional hockey player for a number of both Canadian and American hockey teams. Born in Moscow he eventually moved to North America to play hockey in 1991 and enjoyed a 10-year career in the NHL including playing in the NHL All Star game in 2000. He also … [Read more...]