Non Nocere Wine. Non nocere literally translates to, "first, do no harm" and is derived from a version of the Hippocratic Oath. Founder and winemaker Peter Hopkins tries to apply this principle to all avenues of his business including eliminating packaging excesses (no foils and minimizing bottle weights). His wines are both vintage and data driven. And as a … [Read more...]

PROMISE Wine is a boutique producer, founded in 2004 by proprietor Stephen McPherson. Stephen was introduced to wine early on in his life. His family was living in Paris where his father was the headmaster for the American School in Paris. Stephen's father was passionate about wine - even taking classes from Steven Spurrier the British wine expert and wine … [Read more...]

Grace Family Vineyards (not to be confused with Grace Vineyards in China or Grace Wines in Japan) was our 500th visit with a Napa Valley based winery or brand and as a result was a significant personal milestone. We had researched this winery for a long time; besides the top reviews of their wine, we knew about their remarkable international humanitarian … [Read more...]

Carter Cellars, not to be confused with Carter Estate Winery and Resort in Temecula, CA, was founded in 1998 by Mark Carter, a longtime resident of Eureka, California. Today Mark divides his time between Eureka, Napa Valley and Kentucky. During harvest especially he helps oversee winemaking operations at Envy Cellars which is where Carter Cellars is … [Read more...]

Seavey Vineyard is located along Conn Valley Road in the eastern hills of Napa Valley - about 15 minutes from the valley floor. A drive out here is a refreshing change of pace from the vineyard covered flatlands of the valley floor. Although located a short distance from the valley floor a visit seems worlds apart from the hustle and bustle of Highway 29. … [Read more...]

Dunn Vineyards dates from 1979 when Randall (Randy) and Loralee (Lori) Dunn purchased their original 14-acre property high on the slopes of Howell Mountain and produced their first wine that same year. The property was already planted to Cabernet Sauvignon at the time. The home on site dates from 1890; it was used as one of the Stagecoach stops between Pope … [Read more...]

Zeitgeist Cellars was founded by winemaker Mark Porembski; both he and his wife, Jennifer Williams, also a winemaker oversee the brand but also consult for several other small and local brands. Mark moved to Napa Valley in 2000 and began working as assistant winemaker at Anomaly Vineyards in 2002; he has been their head winemaker since 2005. Jennifer's first … [Read more...]

Red Cap Vineyards were founded by husband and wife Tom and Desiree Altemus. They oversee a 6-acre vineyard nestled among the Ponderosa Pine trees, high on the ridge line of Howell Mountain at about 1,900 feet. One doesn't need to drive far from the floor of Napa Valley for a completely different feel, both in terms of soils, elevation, vegetation, smells and … [Read more...]

Amici Cellars was started after winemaker, Jeff Hansen and friends crushed a few tons of grapes in 1991 for their own personal use. "This was good wine", they unanimously agreed and soon thereafter released their first commercial vintage. The name Amici means "friends" in Italian and is a tribute to the friends who started this winery as well as to their … [Read more...]

Gandona is a winery built on a property which has a long well-regarded vineyard history in Napa Valley. This is Pritchard Hill, a small hillside part of Napa Valley in the Vaca mountains, characterized by iron rich, rocky and red soils. It was named after Charles Pritchard who homesteaded the top of this knoll and planted vines in the 1880s (where … [Read more...]