Ramey Wine Cellars the tasting room is just a simple conference room, and the wine making area looks like a shipping facility. but the staff was friendly, and the wines are quite tastey. The reds we tried were bold and complicated. The whites were dry and earthy.

Cantiga Wineworks is a small family winery nestled in California's Sierra Foothills. They craft wines using classical methods that are rarely seen today, reviving the art of winemaking designed for long-term cellaring. Their focus is on producing food-friendly wines, reclaiming wine's traditional role at the dinner table. Cantiga’s wines are made through gentle, minimal intervention techniques, and are fermented without malolactic fermentation to preserve the natural varietal character, acidity, and balance. They also use minimal sulfites and avoid unnecessary processing.

Winemaker Rich Rorden has been involved in winemaking for as long as he can remember, learning much of his technique from his father, Bud. In making wine for Cantiga Wineworks, Rich seeks to preserve the family’s winemaking methods while adapting them to meet the unique challenges of commercial production. Before founding Cantiga, Rich worked as a mechanical engineer in the aerospace industry. A graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, he spent over a decade at TRW in Manhattan Beach, designing satellites for both commercial and government projects. Rich now applies the same meticulous attention to detail to his winemaking craft.

Betty O’Shaughnessy Woolls & Paul Woolls: Proprietors

Betty O’Shaughnessy Woolls grew up in rural Minnesota, where she developed a strong connection to the land. After completing college, she balanced raising a family with a successful career in real estate investment and development in Minneapolis. Her entrepreneurial spirit and passion for food and wine eventually led her from owning and teaching at a cooking school in Minneapolis to establishing a winery in Napa Valley.

Upon arriving in Napa, Betty was captivated by the region's natural beauty, vineyards, and favorable climate. In 1990, she purchased a parcel of land in Oakville, which included vineyards and a home site. This land allowed her to reconnect with her love for the soil and the fruits it yields. Over the next few years, she expanded her holdings by acquiring additional vineyards on Howell Mountain and Mount Veeder, providing a diverse source of grapes. By the early 2000s, Betty had constructed a cave, crushed grapes into wine, and designed a winery structure, with the project completed just in time for the 2003 harvest.

Beyond her winery endeavors, Betty remains deeply involved in her community as a volunteer and philanthropist. In 2009, she took on a new role as a Trustee for Napa's Queen of the Valley Medical Center, furthering her commitment to the area.

Paul Woolls, like Betty, has Midwestern roots. He was born near Indiana University and later moved to New Mexico. It was there that he first developed an interest in wine, though he now humorously admits that the brands he initially enjoyed would not be embraced by serious vintners today. His passion for wine grew during college, where he would forgo basic necessities for a month to afford a meal at the only French restaurant nearby. His time in law school and subsequent legal practice further fueled his interest in wine, culminating in a fateful wine tasting event where he met Betty.

Together, Betty and Paul share the ambitious goal of crafting the best possible wines from the exceptional vineyards they manage. They are also blessed with a large family, including numerous daughters and a growing number of grandchildren, predominantly boys. As partners in life and winemaking, Betty and Paul continue their joyful journey at O’Shaughnessy Estate Winery.

We booked the 10am tour and tasting and I was very impressed. The tour was about an hour and a half. We started in the front tasting room, went outside to the vineyards, to the caves where they store the barrels and finally to the room with the tanks. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. She was willing to answer any questions we had. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who wants the full winery experience!