Fine Disregard Wine Co was founded by Mike Schieffer and Kara Maraden; both came to Napa Valley drawn to wine from previous careers, Mike from Texas and Kara from Pennsylvania. Mike graduated from American University in Washington, DC and worked for the Discovery Channel – exploring a possible career in law, but then was bitten by the wine bug. His introduction to wine making came through a Rugby coach who connected him with several wineries in Bordeaux. Mike worked in Bordeaux in 2008 and later in the Hunter Valley in Australia where he was introduced to Sémillon – an introduction that would later influence his decision to work with Sémillon in Napa Valley.
Mike has worked at a number of premium Napa Valley wineries including Beaulieu Vineyard, Keever and currently as the assistant winemaker at Turley where he works with a diversity of vineyards from select parts of the state.
Kara graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor’s degree in Horticulture and master’s in plant pathology. Trying to determine her career path, she initially helped manage large estate gardens in Pennsylvania, sold beer for a stint before moving to California in 2010. Initially seeking a job in a tasting room, she soon discovered viticulture was a better match to her interests and background. She has been a viticulturist for Clos Du Val, Regusci and Foley Family of Wines.
When deciding upon a name for the wine, friends advised Mike to make it personal but refrain from naming the wine after himself. Reflecting on his two passions, wine and rugby he borrowed a line from a famous quote on a plaque erected in 1895 in front of the Rugby School in the town of Rugby, United Kingdom (about a two-hour drive from London). Rugby was first played at this school in 1823. “This stone commemorates the exploit of William Webb Ellis, who with a fine disregard for the rules of football as played in his time, first took the ball in his arms and ran with it, thus originating the distinctive feature of the Rugby game, A.D. 1823. ”
Mike’s philosophy of wine making is fairly minimalist as far as intervention; he does not inoculate with commercial yeast, rather uses indigenous yeasts. And his use of oak is judicious, using it as a vessel rather than for any sort of overt influence. This minimalism also carries over to their visual presentation in both their bottling and website; when one sees this bottle on a wine shelf, it stands out as a ‘less is more’ approach.
Mike describes truly great Napa wines as more textural driven rather than aromatic. His wines capture the essence of Napa including the abundance of sunshine but are crafted in a style that regardless of vintage, variety or vineyard, promotes the vibrancy of fruit and freshness, in part tied to natural acidity.
In a refreshing decision tempered by the challenging environment of sourcing and maintaining Napa vineyard sources, Mike and Kara initially decided to focus their production on varieties that are much more difficult to find in Napa Valley including Sémillon and Syrah. Their portfolio has since expanded to include wines from remarkable vineyards with great pedigree outside of Napa Valley.
Because they are generally working with small quantities of grapes and do not own vineyards, it can be challenging to maintain long term relationships with each vineyard. As a result of a variety of factors (change in ownership, change in varieties planted) Fine Disregard will often source from different vineyards each vintage. Their focus is on older vineyards which are farmed organically.
Select Wines
Chenin Blanc
The 2023 Fine Disregard Chenin Blanc, Chalone Vineyard Monterey County is medium gold in color; its scents include golden delicious apple with a light note of bruised apple, ripe pineapple, yellow nectarines, honeysuckle, citrus peel and a waxy and almost saline character. The bouquet is both fresh and fully ripe; its tidy ABV is a listed 12.4% ABV. Minerally, bright, juicy and tangy, this wine tastes like lemon drop hard candy, orange peel, kumquat, not fully ripe pineapple and chamomile. The fleshy and almost brine-like texture is lifted high by it achingly bright acidity. This wine finishes refreshing and mouth watering. We would love to pair this with fresh miner’s lettuce harvested from the banks of the Napa River in early spring drizzled with a light pinch of salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice.
Chalone Vineyard was Monterey County’s first winery, founded in 1919 and is one of California’s more significant viticultural properties. It is located on Highway 146 about a 20 minute drive east of the tiny community of Soledad (along the 101 freeway). Chalone Vineyard is about a 7 minute drive to the entrance of Pinnacles National Park, one of California’s least known National Parks. It is the only winery in the Chalone appellation. Several miles before Chalone, the road becomes narrow, rising in elevation and passing through scenic and rolling hills. The winery elevation is about 1,800 feet in the Gavilan Mountain range high above Salinas Valley to the west. Unusual is the fact the grapes grow in limestone based soils.
Prior to reaching the physical winery one will pass by ancient vines on the left of the dirt road; these are Chenin Blanc – the original vines date from 1919. They are among the oldest still commercially producing Chenin Blanc vines in California. This a very tiny block; for reference, the entire property is about 1,000 acres with nearly 250 planted to grapes.
Grapes from Chalone Vineyard were sold to Beaulieu Vineyard in the 1940s. Philip Togni of Napa Valley’s namesake Philip Togni Winery made the first wines bottled under Chalone in 1960 in what was an 11×50 foot shed formerly used for raising chickens. In the mid 1960s, winemaker Dick Graff and his mother purchased Chalone Vineyard; tragicallyt Dick died in 1998 in a single-engine plane crash. Their 1974 Chardonnay placed third out of ten white wines at the famous 1976 Paris Tasting. And another Napa Valley vintner and foodie, Narsai David (used to have a printing company), printed the original Chalone wine labels in the 1960s.
Sémillon
The 2019 Fine Disregard Sémillon, Napa Valley Oak Knoll District is deep gold in color; for reference we tasted this 6 years post vintage. The bouquet shows some slight oxidative notes with a sweet/sour/tangy aromatic. Its scents are diverse and include baked pineapple, chamomile, lemon meringue, glazed pineapple, bruised apple, honeycomb, lanolin, dried apricot and as it evolves in the glass, notes of caramel and toasted almond. The tangy palate reveals flavors of lemon zest, chamomile, yellow pineapple, guava, kiwi and a lingering note of hazelnut. The palate remains fresh with a mouth watering sensations from the lively acidity. Its texture is waxy, saline, creamy and supple. For some reason we thought of pairing this with a creamy clam chowder served in a bread bowl from Splash Cafe in Pismo Beach. In fact, we are going to be in Pismo Beach this weekend and may just stop by for some of this fine seafood.
It can be difficult to locate great Sémillon vineyards in California much less in the Napa Valley where varieties tend to be more homogeneous with the focus on primary Bordeaux varieties and to a lesser extent in the southern part of the valley on select Burgundian varieties. Sémillon has presumably been priced out of the valley based on the cost compared to other more popular varieties. And it is not always the easiest variety to work with. Mike eloquently describes its susceptibility to noble rot, “it has a committed relationship with Botrytis” – certainly not what you want when producing a dry Sémillon. They tend to pick their Sémillon early which is certainly helpful in regard to avoiding Botrytis.
The 2016 Napa Valley Sémillon is a blend of three Sémillon vineyards including fruit from the coveted Yount Mill Vineyard; this is most likely one of the oldest Sémillon vineyards in all of Napa Valley with original vines dating back to the 1960s. The wine is straw yellow in the glass; it shows aromas of lemon zest, citrus blossom and as the wines breathes, aromas reminiscent of wild gooseberry. We always enjoy the challenge of breaking into through their spiky exterior and the simple pleasure of eating these in at high elevation in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains when they ripen in late summer. Shows a pleasing roundness on the palate – carrying some weight but is not heavy. The vivacious acidity with a clean finish.
The 2016 Milhouse Sémillon is golden in the glass (slightly darker than the Napa Valley Sémillon) – bright aromatics including floral notes (citrus), melon, baking spices and a lemon zest. Seamless throughout. Sémillon is a variety that can handle oak which adds to the textural qualities on the palate. Shows vibrant acidity. The Milhouse Vineyard is located in Napa’s Oak Knoll District; this Sémillon comes from a 1/2-acre block which also contains a mutation of Sémillon, a pinkish/gray skinned Madeira clone) which tends to add a textural and spice component to the wine.
And in 2025 Fine Disregard made Sémillon from the storied Monte Rosso Vineyard in Sonoma County. This site is the home to some of the oldest Sémillon worldwide (1886); for reference, Cirillo in the Barossa Valley, Australia is the oldest still producing Sémillon, planted circa 1850.
Carignane
The 2023 Fine Disregard Spenker Ranch Carignane is pale to medium purple in color; the bouquet sports purple florals including African violets, lavender and lilacs. And its fruit is restrained with scents of sour cherry, raspberry and wild dark plums, accompanied by chalkboard and hints of cocoa powder and smoke. And a garigue character showcasing an aroma that reminds us of warm days walking through chaparral on coastal California hillsides. The palate features a vibrant and mouth watering acidity, especially felt on the finish. Its lively profile offers loads of movement across the palate. This wine tastes like tart cherry, not fully ripe boysenberry, raspberry, red plums, red mulberry, wild strawberry and cranberry. There is also a light dusting of dried herbs. The zippy finish lingers with chalky textured and fully coating tannins which persist far beyond the fruit. They exert plenty of grip, but never feel heavy. Juicy, tangy and thoroughly refreshing. This wine is a lovely 12.6% ABV. BBQ pork ribs please. For reference, the oldest Carignane at Spenker Ranch were planted in 1900.
The 2023 Fine Disregard Los Meganos Carignane is medium to deep purple; this wine is not lacking in terms of its color. Fresh, juicy, fruity and energetic, the bouquet sports plenty of florals up front including African violets, lilacs and lavender. Additional scents are of blackberry, boysenberry, dark raspberry, Santa Rosa plum, dark currant, dried sage, creosote bush and bittersweet chocolate. The palate mirrors the bouquet to some extent with flavors of sour cherry, cranberry, red currants, red plums and boysenberry. The finish lingers with a tart and tangy profile, its bright red fruits pacing the dusty, chalky and gravelly textured tannins for some time. They sport a moderate but lasting grip. Three words can succinctly sum up the cadence of its acidity: crunchy, vivid and vivacious. Its listed ABV is 13.0%. This wine is a bit more textured, dark and savory than the same vintage of Grenache from the Spenker Ranch. The grapes for this bottling are from two exceptional and ancient vineyards, Evangelho, planted in 1888 and Sandy Lane, planted in 1892. Vines from both vineyards grow in sandy soils and are dry-farmed.
Syrah
The first wine produced by Fine Disregard was a Syrah in 2014; it was 40 cases for friends and family that was never commercially released. Kara and Mike recalled bottling and labeling this wine all by hand. Normally when one sources grapes for small production wines it is from a vineyard block, however through her vineyard contacts, Kara located simply one row of organically farmed Syrah in a vineyard in the Stags Leap District from vines planted in 1994. They dubbed this the Lost Row; it is approximately 120 vines and used to be farmed by Kara. Rather than Syrah cuttings taken from France this Syrah was brought as cuttings from old vine Shiraz vines growing in the Barossa Valley in Australia. Prior to being used for Fine Disregard, the grapes were picked and fermented with the surrounding grapes.
The 2023 Fine Disregard Lost Row Syrah, Stags Leap District Napa Valley is deep ruby with an amaranthine rim and nearly opaque; the restrained bouquet takes some time for all its layers to be fully coaxed out. Be patient here. It smells bright with some savory and floral lift. These scents include mulberry, boysenberry, dark raspberry, red plums, red cherries, cured/smoked meats, lilacs and lavender and a kiss of dried tobacco leaf. And there is a minerally character also at play here. As bright a Sryah as made in Napa Valley, this wine hums a balanced and refreshing tune across the palate. Its flavors are of blueberry, currant, red plum and raspberry with an accompanying lightly tart edge. This wine finishes with notes of dried bay leaf, chalk and crushed pink peppercorn. The tannins are broadly distributed with a gravelly and lightly grainy texture. This is very much a food friendly expression of the variety; perhaps pair with roasted pork tenderloin with fennel.
The 2016 Fine Disregad Lost Row Syrah, Stags Leap District Napa Valley was blended with 4% Sémillon. The wine sports a pretty bouquet, offering fruit forward and well-layered aromas including higher-toned fruits (raspberry and red cherry) along with dried rose petal, violets and a light dusting of crushed pepper (but not overtly pepper. As Mike mentions, this wine shows “an aromatic lift”. A sweetness of darker fruits threads its way through the palate from start to finish framed by a bright by balanced acidity. Slightly dusty and well-integrated tannins softly linger. A small section of nearby Sémillon ripens at the same time as the Los Row Syrah so they co-fermented both varieties together.
The historic Haynes Vineyard is located in Coombsville and is known for having some of the oldest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Napa Valley. But this vineyard also produces exceptional Syrah. After the property was acquired by Gaylon Lawrence, all grape contracts were closed and grapes from this vineyard were no longer being sold for several years although grapes were again being sold from the Haynes Vineyard as of 2025.
The 2019 Fine Disregard Coombsville Syrah, Haynes Vineyard was whole cluster fermented. This wine is dark ruby, purplish in color and nearly opaque; one can get lost in this expressive bouquet with its deeply layered and wide variety of aromatics. It is somewhat brooding, offering aromas of black olive, soy sauce, forest floor, sweaty baseball mitt leather, white pepper and dark plum. Let this wine opens and it will continue to express additional savory scents including of peppered beef jerky, sage, lavender and other dried herbs. The savory notes continue onto the palate with an iron-like and blood character, dark plum that is not fully ripe and red cherry. Finishes savory with notes of crushed black pepper framed by earthy, gravelly textured tannins of a light to moderate grip. This wine was aged 14 months in a neutral French oak puncheon and a Burgundy barrique.
Mataro
The 2023 Fine Disregard Oakley Road Mataro (also known as Mourvèdre) is medium to deep purple in color. The bouquet is a high toned, but harmonious handshake between fruit, savory and floral. These scents including African violets, lilacs, lavender, bramble (reminding us of the smells we associate with picking blackberries in mid summer), boysenberry, dark chocolate, sweet potting soil, dried orange peel and a note of pipe tobacco. This wine tastes like red plums, boysenberry, red mulberry, cranberry, currants and tart cherry. And there is a layer that almost crosses into the territory of citrus, perhaps blood orange. The tannins offer plenty of textural density with a tumbled and persistent drying character that is fully absorbed by every “crack and crevice” on the palate. This grip far outpaces the fruit on the finish. The acidity is bright and balanced, but never crosses into the territory of being ‘sharp’. This wine is a listed 13.1% ABV.
Grenache
Mike and Kara were introduced to the Altas Piedras Vineyard in Alexander Valley (neighboring Sonoma County). This site “ticked all the boxes” as Mike puts it for what they were looking in a quality Grenache Vineyard. The vines are head trained, the site is dry farmed, and farmed organically and it sits up at elevation in soils that are extremely rocky. Literally Altas Piedras translates to ‘high rocks’. Mike calls his efforts crafting this wine “lazy winemaking” – taking a hands-off approach letting all the hard work done in the vineyard show in the winery.
The 2023 Fine Disregard Altas Piedras Grenache is medium ruby in color; this wine smells bright and red fruited with aromas of ripe strawberry, raspberry, red cherry and a note of cranberry. Its non-fruited aromas include dried rose petals, white pepper, a hint of cinnamon stick and dried herbs including thyme and sage. Juicy and tart, the lively acidity runs totally free across the length of the palate. This wine tastes like cranberries, not fully ripe raspberry, red cherry, chalk, dried sage and pink peppercorn. The tannins here are quite dense and broad, fully coating the entire palate. Their gravelly, dusty and highly chalky character outpaces the fruit with a firm and persistent handshake. When you are ready to pull away, they keep tugging at your palate. Their grip is unrelenting. How about pairing this bottling with lamb shoulder, an assortment of dried herbs and a BBQ. These grapes are from eastern Sonoma County, and are biodynamically farmed head-trained with super close spacing (3’x5′). Unfortunately this is their last vintage from this particular vineyard.
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Production has been around 500 cases per year mostly sold through their mailing list but with some distribution in California, New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania. Locally one may be able to find select vintages at Compline in downtown Napa, the Oxbow Wine Merchant or at ACME Fine Wines in St. Helena. A limited number of retails sell their wines online. Plans call for slowly increasing production. For more information, to acquire wine or to join their mailing list, please visit: www.finedisregardwine.com
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