Mommenpop started tiny - 23 cases tiny - as a kind of weird thing happening in Napa. In 2017, winemaker Samantha Sheehan and her husband Michael were on a spritz kick, drinking them almost daily over the course of a particularly hot California summer.

A 35-acre naturally farmed vineyard, boasting a unique terroir of white volcanic ash, nestled in a small valley at the base of the Stag’s Leap Range.

Purlieu — “the edge of the forest” or “an outlying area” — is a reference to our home base in the new Coombsville AVA, at the edge of the forest and the Napa Valley.

The Promontory winery sits among the western hills of Oakville, overlooking the Napa Valley. In the early 1980s while hiking along Oakville’s southwestern ridge, H. William Harlan discovered an isolated territory. The hidden expanse—ancient and untamed—moved him deeply, but remained elusive until the Harlan family finally captured it in 2008.

For Steve & Jill Matthiason, winemaking is a natural extension of farming. We have both worked for many years in the sustainable agriculture and local food movement, and in 2003 we started Matthiasson Wines based on those values. Our wines are classical expressions of different grape varieties, some well-known like Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, and some rare like Ribolla Gialla and Refosco. The wines are refreshing, complement food, and are moderate in alcohol.

Fifth-generation Napa natives, Maggy and John began their endeavor in the 1970s planting The Judge vineyard on the Kongsgaard family land near Napa. The inaugural Kongsgaard wines came in 1996.

In the fall of 2006 Evan Frazier flew to France for his first harvest. I spent the next few months working in the small Roussillon village of Maury picking grapes, hauling boxes, processing fruit, and learning cellar work. The experience I had there with old vines, steep schist slopes, and of getting (literally) up to my elbows in fermentations, convinced me to move to Napa upon my return where I continued on with an apprenticeship in winemaking.

Tradition matters. It binds together families and friendships across backgrounds, languages, and continents. It informs values and deepens knowledge. It is also foundational to the philosophies of two storied wineries: Napa Valley’s Dalla Valle and Tuscany’s Ornellaia.

With a shared mission that Dalla Valle thrive for generations to come, this dedicated group stewards every aspect of the viticulture and winemaking with a level of meticulous care and detail reserved for the great First Growths.

A delicious, thought-provoking Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that will leave you asking “how did they get this into a bottle at this price?”