Holman Cellars

Holman Cellars was founded in 2010 by Jason Holman. His path to owning a winery in Napa Valley is an interesting one. He met his then wife Helen on their first day attending law school in Seattle. It was Helen’s family who was responsible for his second career as a winemaker after he retired from law. Helen introduced Jason to Napa Valley and wine making through “learning by doing”. His first winery experience came during the fall in the middle of the busy harvest season. This time of year, while often chaotic in the wineries is a great time to learn the hands on tools of winemaking.

Helen’s uncle is long time Napa vintner John Kongsgaard. Kongsgaard taught Jason less about winemaking analysis and “making numbers match” but more about invoking the senses and exploring the artistry of making wine including things as simple as how does yeast smell and how does fermentation sound at various stages.

Jason also worked with Andy Erickson at Favia Wines, at Ovid Winery on Pritchard Hill and still spends time wine making in South Africa. All of his wine making skills are from real world experience, working with some of the most talented individuals in the industry. He started making home wine in a old barn in Coombsville in 2008 and 2009 and then transitioned to commercial production in 2010. His total production varies but is usually under 500 cases annually; often only a barrel or two of each wine is produced.

Holman Cellars is located south of the city of Napa in a business/light industrial park; the current space is slightly closer to the city of Napa than his original production location. One could spend a week or more just visiting Napa wineries in these parks; there is even an association promoting wineries located here. A visit to Holman Cellars is where “you come as a friend but leave as family”. Tastings are by appointment, are highly personalized and are usually hosted by Jason.

Select Wines
Holman Cellars produces both creatively made and a diversity of wines including sometimes one off bottlings. These are intellectual wines that are best enjoyed slowly and thoughtfully. Some of their recent products have included skin fermented white wines, Pétillant Naturel (pet nat) and several white wines from South Africa which Jason personally helped make at Vrede en Lust Wine Estate.

Whites
It is rare when we try a Chenin Blanc from a Napa Valley producer, and certainly even rarer still to try a South African Chenin Blanc crafted by a Napa Valley based winemaker. This wine was grown and made in South Africa, and in the theme of being ‘uncharted’, the wine was ‘aged’ at sea as it were transported across the oceans and then ultimately bottled in Napa Valley.

The 2023 Uncharted South Africa Elgin Chenin Blanc is medium to deep gold in color; the distinctive bouquet offers aromas of quince jam, kumquat, honeydew melon, green apples and wild honey. And there is an herbal but not green note at play here including of juniper berry and a light note of chamomile. On the palate there are flavors of green apple, not fully ripe pear, a higher toned citrus like flavor – perhaps similar to lemon juice in warm honey, honeydew melon and carambola (starfruit). The mouth feel is very rounded and features a light creamy textural feel. And we might add, it sports a light briny character and texture. This wine lingers with plenty of brightness and accompanying flavor. From personal experience, this wine pairs very well with a spicy Thai yum tale (seafood salad). The simple label features an image of watsonia tabularis, a flowering evergreen perennial, endemic to the southwest of the Western Cape it South Africa. Its common name is Table Mountain Watsonia.

The 2023 Uncharted South Africa Elgin Skin Fermented White Wine is deep gold in color; the bouquet reveals aromas of candied citrus peel, boiled ginger root, a honeyed character with a slight oxidative nuance, bruised apple, miso soup, chamomile, pineapple and cored apples with the scents of the resulting juice after it has puddled around the apple corer for some time. Tasting Napa Valley wines almost every day, we have our own set of common descriptors; trying something as unique as this wine forced us to dig deep into our toolbox of aromatic interpretations. Balanced and bright across the palate, this wine offers flavors of orange marmalade, orange peel, ginger, turmeric root, chamomile, pineapple and a lingering note of dried apricot. Its balanced acidity is felt especially on the zippy and tangy finish. We would love to pair this with Russian salted salmon, a dish our significant other can so aptly make in a matter of minutes.

The 2016 Holman Cellars Uncharted Skin Fermented Chenin Blanc Clarksburg. One immediately notices the color of this wine both from the age (7 years post vintage at the time of our tasting) and also due to its skin fermentation; it is deep golden/amber. The bouquet offers a wide diversity of aromas including marmalade, dried orange peel, overripe cantaloupe, toffee, coconut, toast and honeycomb. As the wine breathes it reveals more baking spice notes. The palate shows flavors of melon, papaya, peach, ginger, chamomile and honeycomb. This wine still shows a brightness from the acidity although the fruit has presumably developed additional characteristics beyond its youthful freshness from several years ago.

Haynes Vineyard in Coombsville, not to be confused with the Hayne Vineyard in St. Helena, is one of Coombsville’s most special vineyards. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay planted in 1967 still are growing, among the oldest of these varities in Napa Valley. While owned by Duncan and Patricia Haynes, grapes were sold to a variety of producers including Pinot Noir to Holman Cellars. After the property sold in 2019 to Gaylon Lawrence, all grape contracts were discontinued and wines are now exclusively bottled under its namesake brand, Haynes Vineyard. So its a rare treat when we get to try a wine from this vineyard, prior to Lawrence’s ownership. And even rare still to try a sparkling wine from Haynes Vineyard.

The Uncharted Blanc de Noir Non Vintage, Haynes Vineyard Coombsville Napa Valley is medium copper in color; the bouquet is diverse and layered. For reference we tasted this wine in late 2024. It offers scents of golden raisins, bruised apple, candied citrus, raspberry, wild white strawberries, blood orange, pear, a tangy/honeyed character, red delicious apples, a subtle note of pastry/yeast/baking and some toasted nut influences including almond. Brightly lit across the palate with some mineral influences including chalk, other characteristics are of honey, a light oxidative nuance, and fruit flavors including strawberry, raspberry, currant, lemon meringue, and lime accompanied by cucumber infused water. Tangy, fresh and zesty. In terms of pairing, consider something from the sea, perhaps fresh oysters or Dungeness crab.

Reds
The 2016 Holman Cellars California Red Wine is medium to deep ruby in color; the bouquet is brooding offering meaty and savory characters including dried herbs, mushroom, grilled meats, forest floor, pipe tobacco, maybe even some tar, bramble, blackberry and dark plum. This is a bouquet with character and is a refreshing change of pace compared to the more fruit-forward Napa Valley red wines we often taste. The palate offers some of the similar savory characters found on the bouquet; it is dark fruited including plum accompanied by bright and energetic acidity, gravelly-textured but very well-integrated tannins and notes of crushed peppercorn and old cedar. This wine is drinking in a sweet spot, 7 years post vintage. Very food friendly. Bring on the BBQ please.

Squeezing most ripe red grape varieties results in clear juice dripping out, but not Alicante Bouschet. Considered a teinturier grape, it features both red skin and red flesh resulting in red juice. In winemaking, its color comes from both its pulp and from its skins. And its skins are thick and tannin filled.

The 2015 Uncharted Alicante Bouschet, Lodi is deep purple and opaque; dark, fruit driven, baking spice oriented and showing plenty of aromatic layers, the bouquet offers scents of blackberry, plum, black cherry, Pakistani mulberry, dark chocolate, espresso/coffee, sweet tobacco, dark pepper (but in no way peppery) and assorted spices we associate with holidays including clove, nutmeg and cinnamon. This wine offers rich flavors of blackberry, mulberry, dark cherry, and plum with some of the baking spices from the bouquet echoed on the palate. Plush and plump from entry to the finish, the texture features dusty tannins lingering with a lightly grainy and gritty character. Finishes with notes of dried tobacco and a warm woodsy spice. Neither fruit nor texture outpaces each other. At this age, 9 years post vintage, the tannins most certainly have been softened. We could see pairing this with a frigid winter night, cozied up to a roaring fire in a warm cabin in the woods near Lake Tahoe and enjoying a hot home made beef stroganoff strew.

Jason tends to age his reds for 36 months in barrel including some new but most once or twice used oak. As a result, current releases are usually a minimum of 4 years old.

The 2010 Uncharted Vineyard Blend is from a vineyard in Winters (Yolo County) – long time fruit orchard farmers grew their trees in the flatlands but never utilized their hillside land. They experimented with some grapevines from UC Davis – planted them, had success and soon planted out more of their hillside land to vines. Jason sources the grapes from their vineyards but he has complete control of how he wants his portion of their vineyard managed. This wine is composed of Syrah, Tempranillo and Viognier. The bouquet is very floral with aromatics influenced by the Syrah and the Viognier in particular. This bottling offers hints of white pepper on the nose. The palate shows delicious red fruit notably red cherry. The wine offers an intensity of flavor, with firm tannins anchoring the long finish.

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Holman Cellars also runs a “make your own wine barrel” program – with the idea to provide passionate consumers additional education about the actual wine making side of the industry and at the same time, be the proud owner of a barrel of wine. Individuals can put in as little or as much time into this program as they like. Work along side Jason and learn about wine making – such as using a refractometer, how to rack a wine barrel, titration and more. And Holman Cellars offers a variety of custom crush services including bottling for small brands.

For several years Jason operated DemiJohn Imports. He enjoys travel and often visits France. During his trips there he would seek out and build relationships with small family run French wine producers – focusing on Bordeaux and Burgundy. When he was doing research for which wines to bring to the United States he always would ask one question, “Who is doing unique and creative wine making in these traditional old world wine regions?” This led him to a number of small producers whose only distributions in the USA were through DemiJohn Imports.

Rebel Vintners
In early May 2018, Holman Cellars partnered with two of Jason’s two winemaker friends, Timothy Keith of Leaf & Vine wines and Kevin Cadle of Cadle Wines to open Rebel Vintners, a spacious and inviting tasting room located on the corner of Coombs and 1st Street in downtown Napa. Visitors can stop by without needing an appointment and taste at the bar or choose one of the sit-down options (tables). The vibe here is inviting with conversation easily flowing between those pouring the wines and those enjoying them. Tim is often here behind the counter. With a commercial kitchen on site and a strategic partnership with locally based Monday Bakery, they offer guests the options to taste with small bites, charcuterie and cheese plates and various baked goods.

This prime space is located on the corner of Coombs and 1st Street within easy walking distance of two 1st Street anchor hotels, Andaz and the Archer as well as within close proximity of numerous highly regarded restaurants and other tasting rooms. Making full use of this corner location, a liberal use of windows allows those walking or driving by to easily see inside the tasting room.

And for those looking to imbibe in something other than wine, they also offer ciders on tap.

As Kevin told us during our first visit, we do most everything ourselves” – such is the case when one is running a boutique winery. Each vintner makes their wine in the city of Napa in one of the several industrial/business parks surrounding the city. None of these vintners own their own vineyards. And while all are making their wine in Napa Valley many of their wines are sourced from other parts of California.

All are producing wines from a diversity of varieties; these are small lot intriguing wines which are reasonably priced.

The tasting room was formerly occupied by The Playful Garden, a specialty boutique store selling garden wall art and home decor items. Prior to this it was home to Doll Store & More. But this building’s history extends much earlier. It was built in 1914 as Napa’s first steel-and-concrete building. Known as the Native Sons of the Golden West building it was the tallest building in the city of Napa for 95 years. The Native Sons still maintain space on the second floor above the tasting room. The exterior and some of the interior of the building was badly damaged in the earthquake of 2014 but was repaired in the years following the quake.

The tasting room changes its vibe somewhat after 5pm and becomes more like a wine bar and a lounge space, serving wines by the glass with games showing on the big screen opposite the wine bar. An old school gaming machine is available for anyone old enough who wants to relive their past gaming prowess with games such as Pac-Man, Frogger and Galaga. And for those looking to just hang out for a while, especially in the evening, order a bottle of wine and play one of the board games on site.

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For more information, to purchase wines, to schedule a tasting appointment or to join their mailing list, please visit: www.holmancellars.com