Domaine Carneros is a winery that one won't easily miss seeing while driving through the Carneros region of Napa Valley. The winery looks very European and is perched high on a hill, so it is easily seen from the well-traveled Highway 12. As a result, weekends combined with good weather can make for a very busy tasting experience. We have visited many times; … [Read more...]

Lail Vineyards was founded by long time Napa Valley vintner Robin (Daniel) Lail and her family. Robin's history in Napa Valley is significant and deeply rooted. Her great-grand uncle was Gustave Niebaum the founder of Napa's iconic Inglenook Winery. Her father was John Daniel, Jr. (died at age 63 in 1970) who inherited Inglenook winery from his father, also … [Read more...]

Ehlers Estate is located about 2 miles north of St. Helena on the east side of Highway 29 on Ehlers Lane. This location is in the heart of the north part of Napa Valley, is quite scenic and well removed from the often-busy wine strip of Highway 29, especially to the south of St. Helena. As a result of their historic setting, intimate tasting experiences and … [Read more...]

Black Cordon was founded by the husband wife team of David and Karen Dunphy with their first vintage from 2007. Both are from Minnesota. David has been a self-admitted "wine geek" since the age of 18. His wine journey began with French wines, followed by Spanish bottlings and then wines from Italy. His epiphany wine was a 1969 La Tache he acquired for $12. … [Read more...]

Conn Creek Winery was founded in 1973 by Bill and Kathy Collins (Bill died in early 2017 at age 89 and Kathy passed in late 2023 one day short of age 94); this is one of the older continuously operating wine brands in Napa Valley. Bill and Kathy purchased 54 acres of Zinfandel (finding the property listing in the Wall Street Journal's real estate section) … [Read more...]

Pott Wine (Aaron, Claire & daughters) was started by long time Napa winemaker Aaron Pott. He and his wife Claire own several sizable and rugged pieces of land on Mt. Veeder. Their first property (76 acres) was purchased in 2004, a former prune orchard at about 1600 feet. They started with only 1/3 of an acre of vines and later planted out a total of … [Read more...]

Kelleher Family Vineyard. The Kelleher Family (Don and Donna) produce a limited number of wines each year, bottled under the brand Kelleher. They also own Brix Restaurant located on Highway 29 about 2 miles north of Yountville. Brix opened on March 28, 1996. Don would often visit Napa Valley in the 1980s and 1990s; he would try to get a reservation last … [Read more...]

Big Cat Wines was founded in 2018 by Jose Tenorio and Brian David Kulich. Jose is the sole proprietor of Big Cat; he also operates another wine brand called Huino (pronounced like 'we know'), both under the parent company of Jo Ten Beverage. Big Cat Wines sources grapes primarily from premium vineyards in Napa Valley, although some of their bottlings are … [Read more...]

ELLMAN Estate Winery was founded by two brothers, Neil and Lance Ellman. Both were born in South Africa and moved with their family to the United States when they were very young (to the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area) in 1974. Their grandfather Nathan Ellman started Softex in 1954, a pillow and bedding manufacturing business in South Africa (the family grew … [Read more...]

Vice Versa Wine. Founder Patrice Breton was born in Ottawa; during his youth he gravitated towards art, books and later wine. And at age 19 (the legal drinking age in Ottawa is 18) he wasn't able to afford many wines but was able to try a particular sauternes, a 1983 Château Guiraud. Hooked but without a large budget he began to purchase books on wine to … [Read more...]