The Thomson family history in Napa Valley dates back to 1938, when grower and proprietor of Thomson Vineyard, Jennifer Thomson’s great-grandmother, Jenny Ophelia Barnum Thomson, and her husband, Matthew Alexander Thomson (Sr.) relocated from Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl. Matthew and his two brothers helped build the Oklahoma City airport before moving west to establish […]

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It was another extremely busy year in Napa Valley; we visited, tasted with and profiled 40 new Napa Valley wineries/producers bringing us to a total of 1,260 now completed for the Napa Wine Project. For reference, that was only one less than the previous year. We continued to taste up and down the valley most […]

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While we have known about the highest elevation vineyards in Napa Valley for many years, we finally took some time to pinpoint the highest vines on each of these properties. For reference the highest vineyards in Napa Valley are: The highest vineyard in Napa County is the Harris Blue Ridge Vineyard planted to Zinfandel; their […]

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We achieved a milestone platform this year reaching our 1,200th Napa Valley winery or brand personally visited, tasted with and profiled; for reference that coveted producer was Sylvan Lake. We added 41 new Napa Valley winery/brand profiles to this site in 2024 reaching 1,219 to date as of December 31, 2024. We have many brands […]

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Join the Vintner’s Vanguard for an unforgettable afternoon of wine tasting and celebration at Brasswood Winery Estate. Vintner’s Vanguard is an annual Grand Tasting event that gives you the unique opportunity to taste current and newly released wines from the boutique producers of Brasswood Cellars. This event is a true celebration of our community’s abundance […]

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We have reached a point in our project where we are visiting, tasting and writing about between 40 and 50 new Napa Valley based producers each year. We visited, tasted and added exactly 50 new reviews of Napa wineries/brands to the site in 2023. This leaves us less than 25 new reviews of Napa wineries/brands […]

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Dave’s Wines began as a value-added service to readers of the Napa Wine Project in 2023. Since 2006 Dave has visited, tasted and interviewed more than 1,150 wineries and brands in Napa Valley and created extensive written reviews of each one. He continues to revisit wineries and stay current with the pulse of Napa Valley. […]

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Are you a wine enthusiast looking to plan a memorable tour for seniors? Look no further! Wine tours are not only a great way to bond with friends and family, but they also offer the opportunity to explore new vineyards, taste different varieties of wine and create lasting memories. However, planning a wine tour that […]

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Greetings from Thailand, home base for the next several months. As we continue to spend countless hours working on the Napa Wine Project, we have found the project has significantly evolved over the years. Initially we tried to visit as many wineries as possible, focusing on quantity of visits rather than quality and as a […]

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Wine represents something much bigger than just fermented grape juice. We know how wine is made today, but imagine figuring that out around 8 000 years ago. It is a very complex process that requires a lot of knowledge in microbiology and chemistry to fully understand. Yet, our ancestors wanted this delicious and fun drink, […]

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We recently attended an informative seminar led by sommelier André Mack and 6th generation glass designer Kurt Josef Zalto to present Kurt’s own lineup of stemware called Josephinenhütte. Zalto founded this company in early 2019 and chose the name to honor a glassworks company founded in 1842 in central Europe by Count Leopold von Schaffgotsch […]

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In Valley highlights Other than personally partying in Florida several times including in nightclubs in mid and late 2020, we had difficulty finding gatherings and parties in Napa Valley last year. So it was nice when we received an invite to an early this year party at Boich Estate. A party at Sinegal Estate was […]

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This prestigious hunting, fishing and culinary ranch is located in neighboring Sonoma County (easily seen from and bordering the north side of Highway 37). Co-founders, the Sutso family have generationally owned and overseen hunting operations in this part of Sonoma County, initially as Black Point Sports Club dating back to 1964 (which sold in 2013). […]

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A significant part of an already significant project involves taking numerous trips (both cars and flights) – to any space or place that is very strongly connected to wineries within Napa Valley – within California, domestically or abroad. This obsession has brought us to places we never ever would have considered visiting previously. We began […]

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Looking for our 2019 wrap-up? It is posted here. During a very bizarre year, primarily brought on by a plethora of irrational fears, the number of fortuitous events in 2020 was remarkable. It all started in the desert in March when I immediately headed out on what would be numerous domestic road trips across the […]

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Every so often on my relentless pursuit of visiting, tasting with and promoting all Napa Valley based wineries and producers – I discover brands that combine intriguing history, cool owners and excellent wines. Earlier this year I met up with owner Katie Migliavacca and her winemaker and business partner Vincent Traverso in the Migliavacca Mansion […]

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When one smells and tastes wine partly for a living, one’s sense becomes acutely aware of smells. I remember as a child I could smell minute particles of smoke in the air, well before anyone else picked up on the aromas – often from fires a long ways away. I still can. However, translating this […]

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Over the past 15 years I have been tasting up and down the cozy confines of the Napa Valley – from valley floor to hillside. With well over 1,000 Napa Valley wineries and producers visited with to date, my journeys have taken me into some of the most luxurious, secret and coveted spaces. Coming up […]

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Of all the bad winery and vineyard news that has been reported from the Glass Fire, from a historical point of view – the loss of La Perla hurts *the most*. I mean this was a significant loss, not only for Spring Mountain Vineyard but for all of the Napa Valley. The winery was storing […]

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The following are active Napa Valley based wineries or producers with oldest continuously operating vintage listed – and their first vintage listed if different (IE if there was a period of inactivity). Quite a few Napa wineries originally founded decades ago are again producing wines after long absences, often these are restored ghost wineries but […]

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