Amici Cellars is a Napa Valley winery creating premium quality wine, and we welcome guests to our tasting room in Calistoga by appointment. At Amici we focus on quality, not quantity. Because we insist on keeping our production small, we can carefully control the process of creating each wine, crafting what we like to consider a small work of art in each bottle.
Rare wine specialist and wine auctioneer Fritz Hatton founded Arietta in 1996 in partnership with winemaker John Kongsgaard and his wife Maggy. The partnership was born of a shared passion for fine wine and classical music. The vinous inspiration for Arietta was an extraordinary 2.3 acre block of Cabernet Franc on the Hudson Ranch in Napa/Carneros. The fruit from this block of Cabernet Franc serves as the core of the Arietta Red Wine.
Artwork by Wine Artist Agata Zaborowski – Agata Art Gallery
The staff was extremely nice and explained the process of making their hard liquor as well as their wine. The wines were tasty and the liquor was fantastic. There was an easy, go with the flow feeling of the tasting and a great welcoming feeling of being among friends.
With passion and patience, Fiona and Hal Barnett created this vineyard and winery in 1983 with the intent of producing small amounts of hand crafted Cabernet Sauvignon wines from their estate. Since the first vintage of Barnett Vineyards, Spring Mountain has proven to deserve it's own AVA and become known as a unique mesoclimate, producing exceptional Cabernet Sauvignons and Merlots.
In 1914, Eliza and Mads Peterson purchased a 100-acre property situated on the floor of Napa Valley at the mouth of Dutch Henry Canyon. Both Eliza and Mads had immigrated to the United States in the late 1800s—Eliza from Ireland and Mads from Denmark—and, like many others of that era, ventured westward in search of a place to call home.
The property, nestled just off the Silverado Trail between St. Helena and Calistoga, was home to a small Zinfandel vineyard. However, with the onset of Prohibition in 1920, prunes quickly became the dominant cash crop in Napa Valley. In response, the Petersons planted a plum orchard to help support their large family. Caring for the orchard, along with a large vegetable garden and numerous farm animals, became a full-time job for the entire family, including their six sons and three daughters.
When the time came to pass the property on, it was the daughters—not the sons—who took on the responsibility. Vera, Carrie, and Mae worked diligently to preserve the family legacy, maintaining the buildings, plum orchard, vegetable garden, and livestock. Vera tended to the land, Carrie managed the books, and Mae returned each summer to assist with the harvest.
Jim Barbour was raised on his family’s ranch in Rutherford where he learned the life of farming, a passion for land, and the understanding that hard work breeds success. In 1992, he planted his own vineyard and in 1995 produced just 50 cases of his first vintage of his eponymous Barbour Cabernet Sauvignon. Barbour is an estate wine handmade by Celia Welch and produced from dry-farmed and sustainably grown grapes from Barbour Vineyard.
High on a hill, Rutherford Hill Winery commands a spectacular view of the Rutherford bench in Napa Valley. Drawing from a select handful of Napa's finest vineyards, Rutherford Hill continues its tradition of crafting legendary wines. In 1972, as the world was just beginning to recognize the potential of Napa Valley, Rutherford Hill's founders identified a unique opportunity. They saw that the valley's climate and soil, akin to those of Pomerol, were ideally suited to Merlot and became pioneers of what would become one of Napa's premier varietals.
In 1996, the Terlato family acquired the winery, bringing with them a legendary commitment to quality over quantity. Their pursuit of excellence started with a thorough review of the property, leading to significant enhancements that enriched the portfolio with wines of remarkable complexity and character.
Bill and John Terlato continue their father Anthony Terlato’s legacy by working closely with Rutherford Hill’s winemaker to tackle the challenges of consistently improving the wine, year after year. The exacting standards applied by the Terlato family to all their ventures were evident at Rutherford Hill from the moment of acquisition.
Building on Tradition To prioritize quality, Rutherford Hill created an environment where reserve wines could receive the time, care, and attention they deserved within the winery’s portfolio.
A new, state-of-the-art facility dedicated to the production of reserve wines—a "winery within a winery"—began construction in the spring of 2000 and was operational by that year’s harvest. This $7 million, 5,100-square-foot addition features 24 fermentation tanks ranging from 1,500 to 6,000 gallons. It is fully self-contained, equipped with its own press, refrigeration capabilities (with tanks jacketed for both warming and cooling glycol), and a dedicated harvest crew.
Creating the Ideal Wine-Storage Environment Rutherford Hill pioneered the use of caves and a pallet-stacking system within those caves in Napa Valley. Year-round, 8,000 wine-filled French and American oak barrels age in an optimal storage environment of 59ºF and 90 percent humidity. This setup significantly reduces wine evaporation, leading to wines with lower alcohol concentrations. The improvements made to the caves since 1999 exemplify the Terlato family's broad vision and steadfast commitment to quality.
We Believe in growing quality over quantity, paying attention to detail and respecting the soil by farming sustainably. Grassi Cabernet is our expression of this philosophy.
Excellent red wine. Huge, fruit forward modern cabs... Napa style
In 1979 R. Thornton Boswell founded Chateau Boswell and under the direction of André Tchelistcheff began producing Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1997 Susan and RT Boswell planted the estate hillside vineyard in virgin soils that continue to be maintained organically. The Chateau Boswell caves, 65 feet below the estate hillside vineyard, were designed by Susan to green building specifications with the desire to continue to be responsible stewards of the land, reducing the impact upon the environment through green business practices which reduce energy and water use. As the first certified Napa Green Winery, Chateau Boswell continues to preserve and protect the Napa Valley through their practices and through their active participation in support of sustainable initiatives.
