Mark Herold Wines operates the Herold House, a tasting space along Highway 29 a few minutes drive north of Yountville. In May 2023, Mark sold his Mark Herold brand to Brion Wise, the proprietor of Napa Valley based BRION and Sonoma Valley based B. Wise Vineyards and Amapola Creek. Mark has known Brion for many years having consulted for both BRION and B. Wise. Following the sale of his namesake brand, Mark continues to be involved in the winemaking.
And in mid 2024 the former Cosentino Winery and 4-acre property was sold to Wise; he did not purchase the Cosentino brand or its existing inventory. This space opened for tastings of both the Mark Herold Wines and Uproar Wines for the first time on April 17, 2025. The winery is directly next door to the popular Mustards Grill and diners often drift on over for a tasting if they have to wait for a table. Two small wooden bridges connect the two properties passing above a very tiny creek that is most often dry unless there has been substantial rain recently. And on the other side of the winery is The Amizetta Farmhouse, a handsome sizable country estate owned by the family that owns Amizetta Winery (the house and rooms can be rented out).
When Mark Herold opened their first tasting room in the city of Napa, nearly all of their wines were from non Napa Valley sources. It is almost expected that when you walk into a Napa Valley based tasting room one will find the obligatory Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. For several years after they opened, one would visit this tasting room and not be able to taste a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon; that has changed and now Mark Herold offers several Cabernet Sauvignons for tasting. A number of their wines used to be made with varieties not often found in Napa Valley. The tasting room often has select older vintages available for trying as well as purchasing.
Throughout his career, Mark has scoured California’s diverse wine regions sourcing the best possible grapes he can find. Over the years he has sourced from Mendocino and Lake Counties in the north to Lodi further south and east. Some of these grapes include the Spanish varieties Albariño and Graciano and additional varieties such as Carignan and Grenache. With the exception of their Sonoma Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Mark Herold focuses on producing wines from Napa Valley including from Oakville, Coombsville and Atlas Peak.
Mark spent his formative years in Panama and then moved to California where he went to school in Orange County (Southern California). He moved north for college to UC Davis. Mark was studying biochemistry and aquaculture at UC Davis and learning how to as he told us, “raise fish” when a professor convinced him to make a few barrels of wine. His initial professional foray in the wine industry was at Joseph Phelps where he studied phenolic profiles of grapes from all over Napa Valley but kept returning to grapes from the Coombsville region. This somewhat cooler growing region is located just east of the town of Napa (but with its own number of unique micro-climates). Mark has been working with grapes from this region since the mid 1990s and has identified some of this appellation’s top vineyards.
After working at Phelps, Mark started his own label with Erika Gottl in their garage and named it Merus, which in Latin means “undiluted, unmixed or complete” in regards to the wine. This name was an appropriate description of their wines right from the outset. Their first vintage in 1998 earned remarkable scores from wine writers and acclaim both domestically and internationally.
After selling Merus in late 2007 Mark needed his own “projects” to work on. He started a consulting business and now consults for a several premium mostly Napa Valley based producers. With the success of Merus, Mark also started his own namesake wine brand which included Acha, Flux and Collide. These labels gave him the “fun” of having a wide “latitude of terroir” to source from, by selecting regions in the north part of the state to work with varieties that grow best in their respective locations.
NOTE: Acha, Flux and Collide are no longer being produced by Mark Herold and are currently part of the 2Tier Trading portfolio of wineries and wine brands.
Mark helped usher in a new wave of primarily young Napa Valley vintners who live in Napa Valley but source a diversity of grape varieties from outside of Napa Valley. With that said, Mark has long been a proponent of Coombsville and has sourced grapes from this sub appellation for many years.
And the prominent elephant which is on the Herold wine labels and related marketing visuals, reflects both Mark’s outgoing and larger than life personality as well as his stature. Noted graphics designer Michael McDermott created this after Mark asked him to name the spirit animal he most identifies with.
Select Wines
Whites
The 2023 Herold Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma Valley, Uboldi Vineyard (near the town of Kenwood) is medium straw in color; minerally and floral, the bouquet offers aromas of honeysuckle, star jasmine, white nectarine, pineapple guava, passion fruit and a hint of chalk. As the wine evolves it reveals a light layer of pina colada. This is a pretty bouquet that is aromatically saddled towards a riper expression of the variety, but not over ripe. But the palate on the other hand, shows more herbal characteristics. Its flavors include honeydew melon, green apple, white nectarine, kiwi and a hint of lime. We love this wine’s texture; it is silky, creamy and almost briny, gliding gently across the palate while being complemented by a bright acidity. This wine was fermented and aged for 6 months in concrete egg.
The 2021 Herold Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma Valley, Uboldi Vineyard is 100% varietal. It was whole cluster pressed and then fermented in egg-shaped concrete vessels, followed by 6 months of aging in concrete before bottling. Whenever we pop a Sauvignon Blanc from a Napa Valley producer (and its very often) we always pay special attention to the aromatics as often the scents will immediately categorize the wine as being more green and grassy or riper and tropical. This wine is somewhere in between. It is medium gold in color; the bouquet offers attractive aromas of white peach, honeysuckle, jasmine, honeycomb, red apple and light notes of pomelo and grapefruit. Give this wine extra time to breath – the aromatics show more of a sweetly fruited note including of mango and pineapple. This wine is superbly balanced including a bright but not bracing acidity. Its texture is rounded and lightly creamy supported by energetic fruit flavors of apple, lemon/lime and some mineralities. Bring this bottling to a summer pool party and you will surely make new friends.
The 2014 Herold Sauvignon Blanc was sourced from the Blau Vineyard in neighboring Sonoma County (Knights Valley). The bouquet is inviting revealing tropical aromas with an underlying flinty and minerally character. The mouth feel is pleasing; it is creamy and rounded. One might think this wine is going to show a riper profile on the palate based on the aromatics but in actuality it has bright acidity with flavors of citrus. It was fermented in a concrete egg.
Reds
Uproar
The 2021 Uproar Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal; historically this wine was blended with small amounts of Merlot or Cabernet Franc. This wine is deep ruby and opaque; the ripe and sweetly fruited bouquet offers aromas of blackberry jam, boysenberry, dark cherry at the peak of ripeness, and dark plum. Its secondary scents include chocolate brownie and notes of all-spice. And if you get past all the generous fruit layers, there is a light note of dust in the background. Bright, energetic and layered, the palate offers flavors of dark plum, cherry, dark raspberry, mulberry and blackberry. The finish lingers with a notes of toasted cedar, a dusty character, dark chocolate and gravelly and rounded tannins. Crowd favorite wines by our definition are bottlings that hit upon a number of pleasure points including bright but balanced acidity, plenty of flavor, good oak integration, an integrated textural grip and importantly price point. The grapes for this bottling are from Oakville, Coombsville and a small amount from Yountville. 60% new French oak barrels with .
The 2019 Herold Uproar Cabernet Sauvignon, like all the other Mark Herold Red wines does not lack in color. This is a dark wine that is deep ruby in color with purplish tinges on the rim in the glass. It offers a bouquet of dark fruit that is somewhat briary along with scents of blackberry, a wood spice, olive, plum, dark chocolate, assorted baking spices and a light herbal note deep in the aromatics. The fruit becomes more expressive as the wine has time to evolve in the glass. This is a very approachable bottling showcasing a softer textural profile than some of the other Mark Herold Cabernet Sauvignons. The palate offers flavors of both red and darker fruits including cherry, dark raspberry and blackberry. The finish ligers with a light to moderate grip of pixelated tannins, dried herbs, dusty and darker spices. Both flavor and tannins are long lasting.
The 2013 Uproar is a blend of three vineyard sources in Napa (Atlas Peak, Coombsville and Oakville). A darker fruit aroma shows on the bouquet, including of plum along with a pleasant smokiness and ripe blueberry. The wine shows a satisfying texture on the palate both density of texture as well as of flavor. The tannins are dusty and fairly well integrated lingering with notes of toasted oak on the finish. While not as robust as some of the other Cabernets produced, this wine over delivers in quality based on the price.
Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2021 Herold Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby and very much opaque; elegant, the nose reveals some initial florals of violets and lilacs. This latter aromatic is fresh in the mind as we are tasting this in spring and recently nosed the lilacs growing in our parents front yard. Additional layers are blackberry, boysenberry, dark cherry, chocolate and a light hint of cocoa powder. Mouth filling flavor and a fully ripe expression of the variety from a cooler part of Napa Valley, its focus is on darker fruits including blackberry, boysenberry, Persian mulberry and dark plum. The tannins fully coat the palate with their dusty, chalky, gravelly and moderate, but long lasting grip. This wine is showing in a sweet spot right now, 3 years post vintage. The two primary vineyards are Caldwell and Bennett Family Vineyard, a site he was sourcing from when he was producing Merus.
The 2019 Herold Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby and opaque in the glass; the bouquet offers a light gamey/meaty scent along with aromas of light pepper, a subtle green pepper note, pink peppercorn, dust, violets and dark licorice. The palate is sweetly-fruited with a perception of ripe fruit including flavors of red plum, cherry and blackberry. The finish is rich and filled with both dusty textured tannins and long lasting flavor. The tannins show more on the front of the palate than the back and outpace the fruit on the finish. Sometimes we loosely categorize wines on a perception of pleasure delivered; this wine is clearly a crowd favorite.
The 2019 Herold Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby in color; the bouquet offers attractive aromatics, a pleasing union of both fruit and savory spices. It reveals scents of light green jalapeno, old leather, plum and a woodsy spice. Give this wine time, especially to evolve in the glass as the fruit becomes more expressive and displaces some of the light herbal notes. The palate features an intensity of flavor which holds up nicely to the robust, grippy and long-lasting tannins. They are broadly distributed, chewy and dense. The finish is juicy showcasing plum, blackberry and cherry. Lingers with toasted cedar and a drying character. If you like a well-marbled steak, you most certainly will enjoy pairing it with this wine.
The 2019 Herold Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby in color; the bouquet is dominated more by its fruit than barrel influence – the oak aging is a complementary characteristic. It reveals aromas of blackberry, boysenberry, Himalayan mulberry, dark cherry and Santa Rosa plum. There is also a hint of chocolate and assorted baking spices including cloves. This wine smells fresh. There is plenty to like about this wine in its youth but it will be even more intriguing to try it when its 10 and 20 years old – especially in regard to its texture. It is brimming with energy now (we tasted 4 years post vintage). The palate offers flavors of dark plum, cherry and blackberry. This is a robust bottling both with intensity of flavor and persistent grip of well-textured tannins. This wine stays in your mouth long after you swallow.
The 2013 Herold White Label Cabernet Sauvignon is from vineyard sources in both Oakville and Coombsville. Like the other Cabernet Sauvignons we tasted, this wine is very dark – showing a deep ruby color in the glass. On the nose it is highly aromatic with aromas of wet rock, a dustiness, tar and brooding deeper darker fruit notes including ripe plum. This is a robust wine both in flavor and structure and higher alcohol. This wine needs to breathe and as it does, it continues to show additional fruit layers on the palate as it opens with vanilla and mocha notes showing on the mid to the end of palate. Mouth filling robust tannins anchor a long finish.
And there is even another wine for serious hedonists to look for, a wine so rare that Mark only chooses one or two barrels of his best Cabernet Sauvignon lots from all his vineyard sources. He then exclusively bottles this wine in Magnums called the Mastodon.
The Herold House
For a short while, Mark Herold operated two tasting rooms in downtown Napa; one near the Oxbow Public Market and the Reserve Room by Mark Herold. Their primary tasting room in Napa closed in 2025. Herold House opened on Thursday April 17, 2025; all tastings of Mark Herold wines are hosted here. The interior of the Herold House was fully decorated by Brion’s wife, Ronda West Wise. Thankfully the giant marlin that Mark purchased on eBay hangs on the wall across from the wine bar; the paint job alone on this giant fish cost a pretty penny.
In addition to the Mark Herold wines, visitors can also taste wines from B Wise here. A courtyard in the front of the tasting room hosts guests when weather permits. Eventually a semi private space will be created for tastings to the rear of the main tasting space. And plans may include offering a garden tasting to the rear of the winery.
The property was previously planted to a small block of Merlot but this has since been ripped out. Plans call for eventually planting this to Sauvignon Blanc and ultimately bottling two Sauvignon Blancs under the Herold Wines label.
Mark Herold Wines are distributed nationally in select states including Texas, which has been one of their most popular markets. You can also purchase direct. For more information, to schedule a tasting, to purchase wine or to join their wine club, visit: www.markheroldwines.com
Former Napa Tasting Room
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