Flora Springs Winery traces its original winery heritage back to 1885; their former winery and property at the end of West Zinfandel Lane was sold in 2020 and is no longer associated with Flora Springs. Two brothers, James and William Rennie immigrated from Scotland via Australia to Napa Valley, planted 60 acres of grapes and began construction on their stone gravity flow winery in 1888. The brothers hired Hamden McIntyre who was in part responsible for the Greystone building currently occupied by the Culinary Institute of America and Eschol Winery now owned by Trefethen Family Vineyards. Hamden was the Howard Backen of the times; Howard was a well-respected contemporary architect responsible for some of Napa’s most creative and innovative wineries (died 2024).
While certainly not the first winery in the valley, their operations were notable because they were the first winery in the state to use a gasoline powered engine to crush the grapes. The Rennie Brothers Winery was completed in 1900. But then two unfortunate situations befuddled the brothers. Soon after finishing the winery, a fire broke out later that year burning their press and all their barrels of wine. This was a total disaster and coupled with the fact that phylloxera was making its way throughout the Napa Valley – the brothers soon found themselves out of business.
Napa County was once known as “the county of stone bridges” with the majority of these bridges constructed between 1894 and 1981; the Rennie brothers played a significant role in this. R. H. Pithie, a Scottish stonemason was responsible for building a number of these bridges and worked closely with the Rennie brothers for their financial backing of many local bridges including the replacement and current Pope Street stone bridge in St. Helena constructed between 1894 and early 1895.
The property changed hands several times, closed down during Prohibition and was eventually purchased in 1933, by Louis M Martini and his wife Assunta – the same year he founded Martini Winery in St. Helena. While Martini never used the old winery for wine making (rather it was used for storage and aging wines) he sourced some of the grapes growing on the property at the time for use at Martini Winery. In 1977, the Komes family (Jerry – a former President of Bechtel Corporation and his wife Flora) purchased 325 acres of land from the Martini estate (Louis and Assunta had died several years earlier) including the stone Rennie Brothers Winery and the old Brokehoff Winery (1885) and a home built in 1946 which was at one point was lived in by Louis M. Martini and his family.
The site of Flora Springs almost would have been in a different location in the valley; the Komes were close to purchasing another winery and property on the Silverado Trail before that deal went through. Incidentally, according to John Komes, Elton John also put a bid on what is now the Flora Springs Estate at the same time as the Komes.
Jerry and Flora planned to use the site as a retirement property and grow and sell grapes. However, their children, John and Julie soon became interested in resurrecting the old winery and producing their own wine. In 1977, the buildings were in bad shape; the Rennie Brothers Winery still had burn marks from the devastating fire 77 years prior and John recalls the roof was falling apart and the floor was still dirt (common in wineries of this era and earlier). John was involved in construction at the time, focusing on building mausoleums in the San Francisco Bay Area. Eventually he moved his construction business to the Napa Valley and over the years built or remodeled some of Napa’s most prominent wineries including Far Niente – along with restoring the stone winery on the Flora Springs property.
Perhaps there were plans for caves dating from the original winery – in the late 1800s an archway was built in the winery next to the hillside indicating potential plans for drilling caves. Those plans didn’t come to fruition until 100+ years later when 13,000 square feet of caves were drilled at various intervals in the late 1990s.
Each tunnel bore was named by the Komes family including the longest tunnel – called Route 66. The cave floor differs in elevation slightly – this is conducive for air flow.
Those lucky enough to have met John will quickly warm to his engaging and personable character. He is one of the best story tellers in the valley. Despite most likely having told the same stories hundreds of times – he loves watching visitors react to his engaging and usually humorous tales.
John remembers the first vintage of Flora Springs was merely 100 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon and 100 cases of Chardonnay from 1978. Perhaps for nostalgia’s sake, John still keeps his first stainless steel fermentation tank from 1978 – a piece of equipment he refers to as R2D2. Old timers may remember Tripoli Market south of St. Helena incidentally one of nearby Sutter Home’s first retail outlets and later the footprint occupied by Dean & Deluca (now home to Gary’s Fine Wine). In 1978 John did not yet have his permits to produce wine on the Flora Springs property – so he ended up storing the wine grapes in freezers at Tripoli Market until he secured the required wine making permits.
John was the winemaker in 1978; 40+ years later in conversation, he didn’t speak very highly of his efforts. In 1979 along with consulting help from MaryAnn Graf, the first woman to graduate from the viticulture and enology department at UC Davis, Flora Springs produced their next vintage – growing to some 800 cases. They entered the 1979 Flora Springs Chardonnay in the Los Angeles County Fair where it won a gold medal. Gold medals meant more in those days before the equivalent 90+ point scoring system became widely used; at one point their Rutherford Hillside Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon took 7 gold medals from 8 competitions.
When the Komes purchased the site, the vineyards were planted to varieties not often seen in Napa Valley today including Gewürztraminer and Chenin Blanc. While the Komes family no longer owns their original winery and surrounding estate property, they still own around 50 acres in select parts of the valley including the Cross Creek Ranch which borders the Silver Oak Cellars driveway in the heart of Oakville.
The family named the winery in tribute to Flora (she died a week before her 101st birthday in 2012) and homage to the natural springs found on the property.
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In January 2020, Flora Springs winery and estate was sold to Daniel (died in early 2026 and will be greatly missed) and Florence Cathiard of France. Not included in the sale were the Flora Springs brand or The Room, the winery tasting room on Highway 29 or other vineyard property owned by the family. And in 2020 in conjunction with the sale of the winery property, the third generation of the Komes family took over leadership at Flora Springs. This includeded Nat Komes, John and Carrie’s son and several of his cousins and their families and Sean Garvey, son of co-founders Pat and Julie Garvey.
In December 2024, Flora Springs, The Room and the Flora Springs brand was sold to husband and wife Gina Gallo and Jean-Charles Boisset, the current owners. The wine brand Jon Nathaniel was not included in the sale and is still owned by the Komes family. This brand is housed in a physical winery built exclusively for its own wines located near John’s house in Rutherford. Reference our separate review of Jon Nathaniel on this website for more details. The sale did not include Komes family owned vineyards.
Select Wines
The extensive array of tools the wine making team has at their disposal is impressive – from a variety of coopers, types of oak, toast levels and tank types.
Whites
In 2022 Flora Springs produced their first and a very rare bottling from Napa Valley, a 100% varietal Vermentino from Neal Family Vineyard’s Rutherford Dust Vineyard in Rutherford. There is very little of this variety planted in Napa Valley; as of the latest update to this review, we are aware of only several vineyard sites in Napa Valley including two on the Napa side of Carneros (Mahoney) and Steve Matthiasson’s Cressida Vineyard and in Rutherford (Neal Family) and in St. Helena, planted at Benessere Winery. The very few Napa Valley producers that make wines from Vermentino usually source grapes from outside of the county. Winemaker Julien Fayard told us he will plant some Vermentino in Oak Knoll District in 2024.
The 2024 Flora Springs Vermentino Rutherford is medium straw in color; buoyed by its bright citrusy and zippy aromatics, the nose offers scents of lemongrass, passion fruit, green apple, lemon juice, kaffir lime leaf, honeydew melon, not fully ripe pineapple, orange blossom and grapefruit rind. And there are some other herbal notes including of thyme and light fennel. The nose smells somewhat saline; in a blind tasting from aromatics alone we would probably guess it was grown somewhere in a very cold climate not far from California’s rugged coastline. And we would have been completely wrong. Even before noting its flavors, the one character that jumps out is its mouthfeel; silky smooth, creamy and rounded its texture is as soft as running one’s fingers across a thick cashmere sweater. This wine tastes like green melon, pineapple, papaya, nectarine, mandarin orange, a hint of apricot and ginger. The palate shows riper than the bouquet. Lingers with a note of tarragon. Highly enjoyable by itself; in terms of food we could see pairing this with a grilled halibut, perhaps with a lemon and herb butter dressing.
The 2020 Flora Springs Chardonnay, Family Select Napa Valley was tasted 4 years post vintage. This wine is deep gold in color; the layered and highly aromatic bouquet offers scents of honeycomb, pineapple, pear, freshly pressed juice from Golden Delicious apples, apricot, straw, corn tassel, butter and vanilla. Minerally, bright and balanced across the palate, there are flavors of pineapple, red apple, pear, papaya, mango, mandarin orange and lingering notes of honeycomb and dill on the extended finish. The palate features a supple and rounded texture, a richness of flavor and a generous helping of acidity. Not oaky, not buttery but refreshing. This wine is showing in a sweet spot right now, and for the price is one of the better values coming out of Napa Valley for this variety. It was aged in 100% French oak barrels for 10 months, of which 40% of the barrels were new. 45% of the wine was allowed to go through malolactic fermentation, aged on its gross lees with battonage occurring twice-a-week.
The 2023 Flora Springs Pinot Blanc, Carneros Napa Valley is their inaugural vintage and is a blend of 94% Pinot Blanc and 6% Malvasia. This wine was fermented using indigenous yeasts in a combination of 50% older French oak barrels and 50% stainless steel drums. It is medium gold in color; the nose immediately smells elegant, a combination of both spring florals, citrus and tropical fruit influences. The lively and open-knitted aromatics include pineapple guava, star jasmine, citrus blossom, lychee, apricot, white nectarine and peaches in light syrup, with a layer of vanilla and caramel exposed as the wine evolves. Brimming with fruit on the palate, but also complemented by a balanced and bright acidity, this crowd friendly bottling has pool, patio and warm summer afternoon, written all over it. Its tangy flavors include white nectarine, pineapple guava, Gravenstein apples, pomelo, honeydew melon, Asian pear and mandarin orange. Vibrant, balanced and youthful, this wine sings 2 years post vintage.
When Flora Springs acquired their property in Oakville, they discovered a unique three-acre block planted to Sauvignon Blanc. Most wineries would remove this variety in favor of Cabernet Sauvignon which is the variety currently most associated with the Oakville Appellation. But Flora Springs noticed gapes from this block made an exceptional wine (without the vegetal characteristics that this variety is most often known for). However, they were unable to genetically identify the clone – and neither was UC Davis. They isolated genetic material from some of the vines in the late 1980s to clean up clone (remove viruses) which was done at UC Davis. This proprietary clone is called Soliloqy (Flora Springs is the only winery in the world to make wine from this particular clone). They also renamed the vineyard to Soliloquy in order to honor this particular clone.
For a number of years, they produced Soliloquy as its own wine, a 100% varietal Sauvignon Blanc. Starting in 2017 they altered the varietal composition of Soliloquy creating a blend of Soliloquy Sauvignon Blanc, Malvasia Bianca (from Sonoma County) and Chardonnay.
The 2017 Flora Springs Soliloqy (tasted 35 minutes after bottling) is deep gold in color; it is very aromatic with notes of pineapple and baking spices. As the wine breathes becomes more floral, almost tropical with aromas of honeysuckle and jasmine. One immediately notices the beautiful texture – rounded and slightly creamy but without being heavy. The palate is balanced with an intensity of flavor that lingers for a long-time including notes of mandarin and subtle spices on the finish. Excellent acidity. This wine has become the white counterpart to their flagship Trilogy.
Reds
Sangiovese
The 2023 Flora Springs Sangiovese, Cienega Valley is deep ruby and nearly opaque. The bouquet is both filled with fruit and floral characteristics including plum, blackberry, rose petals, lavender, old cedar box. More fruit forward on the palate than expective, this texturally soft expression provides immediate enjoyment without a need for too much cerebral thought. Its flavors are dark fruited with a savory edge and include Satsuma plum, blackberry, black cherry and boysenberry. And a finishing spiciness showing dark pepper, dried sage, smoked cedar and cured meats. The tannins are tumbled and felt with a dusty presence. They are never grippy, rather they are seamlessly integrated into the supple finish. Pizza or pasta please. Tasting this at the Flora Springs Salon we want to walk this bottle across the street. We are craving the Tre scallini pizza from Oysteria Scala Restaurant.
Poggio del Papa
The 2023 Flora Springs Poggio del Papa is a blend of Sangiovese (the leading variety), Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Primitivo. Poggio del Papa translates from Italian to English as Pope’s Hill – a reference to the original vineyard source in Pope Valley. This wine is deep ruby; the bouquet initially offers a scents of warm freshly baked brown bread, chocolate, mocha and as it evolves, assorted baking spices including cinnamon stick and nutmeg. Its fruit core shows blackberry pie, boysenberry jam and dark plums. Ripe but not overripe. A fun, flirty and friendly wine, yet it also retains a serious side, on the palate there are flavors of black cherry, fully ripe blackberry, dark plum, dark chocolate and well steeped black tea. The tannins are broadly dispersed, densely packed but never course or edgy. They persist beyond the fruit on the finish with a chalky and dusty character. In terms of culinary association, the house recommend is pasta. This wine is one of their most popular bottlings with their club members. It pairs particularly well with the song, Dance by Natalie Bergman.
Cabernet Franc
The 2023 Flora Springs Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley Rutherford is deep ruby; in a blind tasting we might have a hard time from the bouquet alone identifying the variety. All herbal or green characteristics often associated with this variety and sites in cooler climes have been bled out by Rutherford ripeness. On the riper side of the spectrum with the oak providing a noticeable sweet character this wine smells like mocha, vanilla, brown chocolate, cherry pie, baked plum, blackberry jam and boysenberry spread. Fleshy across the palate in terms of its texture and fruit integration, this wine tastes of ripe fruit including blackberry, dark cherry, black plum, boysenberry, milk chocolate and cocoa powder. The tannins show a bit more character than perhaps anticipated; this wine finishes dark, savory, chewy and thoroughly grippy. The texture lingers well beyond the fruit on the extended finish with a dusty and drying sensation. Bring on a T-bone steak please.
Merlot
Previous owner, John Gomes called their Napa Valley Merlot the “mothers’ wine” referring to a wine they made for his mother for many years and a wine they continue to produce. When Flora was in her 80s she developed a blood condition requiring a hospital visit every 6 to 8 weeks for platelet work. Feeling great after the hospital visit her condition always worsened in the weeks following. Finally, she sat down with her doctor who without knowing her involvement with Flora Springs recommended she take a glass of red wine with her meal every night. Despite being in the wine business, she and Jerry had always enjoyed their nightly martinis.
Jerry came to winery and asked John for a recommendation on what wine Flora should try per the doctor’s recommendation. John sent him home with a case of Merlot – choosing a variety that would be fairly smooth on the palate for his non-wine drinking mother. The results were surprisingly effective – for the next 4 years Flora no longer needed to go to the hospital for treatments. At one point she switched to drinking Sangiovese and the old symptoms returned. She was hooked on Merlot!
The 2015 Flora Springs Napa Valley Merlot is immediately intriguing with its pretty aromatics. It offers an elegant yet somewhat showy bouquet, opening with notes of blackberry and dark cherry accompanied by subtle hints of cedar box. As the wine breathes, additional layers begin to emerge, including touches of plum, dried rose petal, and a light dusting of baking spice, adding complexity and refinement to the nose. On the palate, the wine leans more toward red fruit than dark, with flavors of red cherry and cranberry carrying through the mid-palate. One quickly notices the fine texture of the tannins—they are polished and well-integrated, providing structure without overpowering the fruit. Their feel is seamless on the finish, lingering softly alongside notes of baking spices and a gentle dusty character that add depth and a subtle savory element. The overall impression is one of balance and approachability, with the fruit, acidity, and structure working harmoniously together. This is a very enjoyable wine in its youth, offering immediate drinkability while still maintaining enough structure to hold its shape nicely in the glass.
Triology
After a trip to Saint-Émillion in Bordeaux, John was inspired to produce a Bordeaux styled red blend. Their first vintage was 1984, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. No longer focusing on just these three varieties, today they produce each vintage of Trilogy from the best possible lots each year. Their original philosophy of making this wine was to use equal parts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Over the years they realized they could make a better by embracing flexibility. Today this wine is made from no set varietal percentage but from whatever the best lots are from a diversity of vineyard sources (always focusing on using Bordeaux red varieties).
The 2023 Flora Springs Trilogy is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon from Rutherford and the remainder being Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. This wine is deep ruby, dark and opaque; the bouquet is ripe and filled with layers of black fruits and barrel associated sweetness. These scents include blackberry pie, boysenberry jam, fully ripe dark mulberry, plum compote, cassis, Graham cracker, cinnamon stick, brown chocolate, vanilla and mocha. This wine fills the palate with plenty of hedonism in terms of both ripe fruit and texture. A particularly ripe expression this year, its flavors are intense showing blackberry jam, cherry pie, baked plums, dark licorice, boysenberry jam and Himalayan purple mulberries at the peak of their ripeness. The tannins dominate at this age, not quite three years post vintage. Their grippy, dusty, densely packed and mouth filling drying character persist on an extended finish, leaving the fruit in a far second place on the finish. This wine calls for a well marbled juicy steak, a BBQ and a boisterous crowd.
The 2021 Flora Springs Trilogy is deep ruby and nearly opaque; deep, dark and layered its aromatics include cherry, boysenberry, blackberry and Persian mulberry with additional scents of dust and dark cocoa powder. This wine smells ripe but also simultaneously fresh. We tasted 4 years post vintage. The palate is plush in terms of both flavor and tension; it offers notes of dark cherry, boysenberry, blackberry, blueberry and dark plum with a lingering note of dark chocolate. The gravelly and broadly coating tannins linger with a dusty/chalky character, crushed pink peppercorn and dried sage. Savory, bright and intensely flavored.
The 2015 Flora Springs Trilogy shows a lot of depth on the bouquet with a perceptible sweetness to the aromatics, offering notes of boysenberry jam, baking spices, and bittersweet chocolate, layered with black fig and hints of cedar. As the wine continues to open, additional nuances emerge including touches of dark plum, cocoa powder, and a faint savory edge, adding complexity and intrigue to the nose. On the palate, the wine feels polished and well composed, with a smooth texture supported by somewhat dusty, well-integrated tannins that linger softly across a pleasing finish. The fruit remains expressive yet balanced, with the structure providing enough backbone to carry the flavors gracefully through the mid-palate and into the finish. There is a subtle savory character that complements the darker fruit notes, giving the wine both richness and refinement. Winemaker Paul Steinauer calls this a “fun wine to make,” referring to the ability to source fruit from the best blocks across Flora Springs’ vineyards and to use all the tools at his disposal to carefully handcraft the final blend. The result is a wine that showcases both precision and depth, reflecting the thoughtful blending that defines this flagship bottling.
And every early February Flora Springs holds a Trilogy release party; this is an epic event featuring this wine plus food and music. A gathering of Trilogy enthusiasts if you will.
Cabernet Sauvignon
One of John’s stories involved a friend who called him many years ago from nearby Pope Valley very excited as he saw a huge pig on site. He asked John’s permission to kill the animal and John finally relented so his friend drove all the way back to Napa to get his gun and then back up to the property where the big pig was still in the same spot. His friend then killed the animal. About an hour later John received a phone call from one of his neighbors who said “John, what the hell is going on up here, someone just shot my pet pig”. So, one of their wines is now named the Wild Boar Cabernet!
The 2015 Flora Springs Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford Hillside Reserve is 100% varietal. This wine was aged for 18 months in 87% French and 13% American oak barrels of which 65% cumulatively were new barrels. It is deep ruby and nearly opaque. For reference we needled and nosed this bottle 10 years post vintage. Its sweetly fruited and fully ripe aromatics are starting to show some bottle bouquet at this age; these aromatics include cherry pie, baked plums, dried black figs, blackberry jam and boysenberry spread with additional layers of baking spices including nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. And as the wine evolves further, notes of caramel and molasses. As fully ripe on the palate as the bouquet, this wine tastes like Coral cherry at the peak of ripeness, blackberry jam, boysenberry, dark raspberry, baked plums and a note of dried tobacco leaf, chalk and dried sage. Shows a density of tannins but they are well tumbled at this age and linger with a light gravelly character.
Flora Springs, The Room St. Helena
First time visitors first impression of Flora Springs is their tasting room along Highway 29 just south of St. Helena – simply called “The Room”. This tasting room is located at 677 St. Helena Highway on about an acre of land. The building certainly stands out for its riveting curvilinear architecture somewhat resembling a cave entrance and it’s often seasonally themed with exterior decorations. Visitors to the space do not need appointments. Tastings are hosted inside at the bar, in a semi private adjoining room or weather permitting in the patio behind the tasting room.
Flora Springs is one of the few wineries up valley (not in one of the towns) that operates a tasting room in part of a shopping center. This is certainly one of the most unique architecturally designed tasting rooms in the valley. It’s not easily missed, and it simply goes by the mysterious name, “The Room”. Tell people are you going to “The Room” and they will wonder what you are talking about. From the outside it almost looks like what was to be the proposed “mini–Hall Winery” with its undulating roof, which was to have been designed by architect Frank Geary.
Auspiciously this tasting room opened on 8/8/8 which is a fairly lucky day in some cultures. The tasting room shares part of the parking lot with the Napa Valley Museum of Art & Culture and Press Restaurant.
These photos are from the previous iteration of the space. Updated photography coming as soon as it re-opens.
NOTE: A major interior and exterior renovation occurred in 2026 with numerous hand-crafted mosaics built into both the exterior and interior of The Room including a representation of The Birth of Venus behind the main bar, modeled after the painting by Italian artist Sandro Botticelli. All the mosaics came from Italy. The exterior is dazzling with its thousands of small tiles, certain to cause passing motorists to hit the brake and take a glance to one side.
This should open by May or June of 2026; we will visit and significantly update this profile and photography at that time.
Flora Springs, The Lounge, Napa
On lucky Friday February 13, 2026 Flora Springs held their grand opening on the first floor of the two-story, 20,000 square foot historic Gordon Building at 1142 First Street in downtown Napa. They occupy what previously was the space for Chateau Buena Vista.
This building was originally constructed in 1904 as the Hayes Theatre but it burned down. The current building dates from 1929 and then a second section added in 1935. This building is on the National Register of Historic Places; its namesake is from its builder, Samuel Gordon. The exterior Spanish Colonial Revival style certainly stands out among other nearby downtown buildings.
It was damaged during the August 2014 earthquake and later underwent significant restoration which was completed in early 2020. In 2022 the building won a Preservation Design Award for Rehabilitation from the California Preservation Foundation
Wines are available by walk-in or appointment and can be ordered by glass or bottle with seating downstairs at tables comfortable couches or at the bar. Additional offerings include curated wine flights, wine-forward cocktails, and pairings with caviar or chocolate. A single red rose is placed on every table, an homage to Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers and renewal.
An upstairs posh space features elegant decor and is reserved for private tastings or larger parties.
Total production over the years has been as high as 50,000 cases. Today they produce around 8,500 cases with the majority of their wine being sold direct to consumer. For more information, took book a visit to the estate and or to join one of their wine clubs, visit: www.florasprings.com
ARCHIVED NOTES
While the following spaces are not owned by Gina Gallo and Jean-Charles Boisset, we keep our notes and photography below for historical reference.
Wilfred’s Lounge, downtown Napa
A month or so later after the sale of the original Floral Springs estate was announced, the Komes family purchased the 3,500 square foot former Burger Fi space on the Napa River, in downtown Napa on 1st Street. The plan was originally to turn this space into a tasting room (not that downtown Napa needs another one of those) and call it Lavender Hill Restaurant (in honor of their Carneros Vineyard). However, it was later decided to turn the space into Wilford’s Lounge, a tiki bar with a Hawaiian theme with both indoor and outdoor seating to also showcase Jon Nathaniel wines and possibly other brands under the family ownership including, Trilogy and Soliloquy. Wilfred is named after the family matriarch Flora’s brother Wilfred (both grew up in Hawaii).
Wilfred is named after the family matriarch Flora’s brother Wilfred Cabral. Both Wilfred and Flora grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii and in the 1960s Wilfred owned a bar in Honolulu at 1814 South King Street called Lauhala Room and also the next door space he called Lauhala Launderette. In early 1959 he purchased this existing bar from a Joseph Perry with the then address listed as 1806 South King Street. We have come across old newspaper articles indicating this bar had been in existence since at least the late 1940s. And it later moved to 1283 South King Street and was in business until at least the 1970s. As of our latest visit to the original site of Lauhala Room, an American Savings Bank and several adjoining very old homes are still located here. Several bars are located across the street in the same block.
Old Lauhala Room site, Hawaii
Nat found inspiration for the tiki bar from his friend Michael Cobb who runs the High Roller Tiki Bar in Solvang, California. Both men met years ago when Michael was working as a chef, sommelier, and restaurant manager at Disneyland. Eventually he managed wines for a number of spaces in various Disneyland properties and it was through working with various wine brands that he first met Nat. Michael also started the popular California Food & Wine Festival, held every spring at Disney’s California Adventure.
Michael opened his tiki lounge in 2017 – it is a cozy space with a tiki bar downstairs and an intimate lounge upstairs dedicated to his own wine brand, Sort This Out Cellars. Several tables are located outside the lounge. Besides serving his own wines, he also serves select wines from Flora Springs – and a variety of other drinks including a number of tropical tiki themed concoctions along with presumably the crowd favorite, the descriptively titled, “This Drink Will Get You Lei’d“. And Michael helped consult and create the initial décor for Wilford’s Lounge.
Significant effort and thought went into the interior design of Wilfred’s Lounge – artist Billy Crud created a number of the hand carved items inside including a prominent wooden mural. Both upstairs and downstairs lounge space including the outdoor ‘Captain’s deck’ on the roof, complete with a steering wheel where if one is in the mood, they can grab a margarita in one hand, the captain’s wheel in the other and yell out at the Napa River below.
In addition to plenty of drinks they serve food including outdoor and indoor seating, both on the first floor. One can also sit at the Tiki Bar and order food and drink. We recommend the Tuna Poke. And in the summer, their shave ice is a crowd favorite; it is available in a number of flavors. For more information, visit: www.wilfredslounge.com
Wilford’s Lounge, Napa
High Roller Tiki Lounge, Solvang
Old Winery/Estate Property (Sold in 2020)
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