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Donum Estate Celebrates How Wine, Art And The Land Unite To Form Unique Wine Tourism Experiences

Richard Hudson's Heart Sculpture 'Love Me' Dominates Vineyards at Donum Estate in Carneros. DONUM ESTATE BY GREGORY GORMAN When Angelica de Vere Mabray took on the position of CEO at Donum Estate winery in mid 2019, little did she know that the visitor’s center and tasting room would effectively be shut down for nearly a year during the pandemic. But thanks to her 20+ years in the wine industry, a strong background in digital marketing, and a talented staff that was cross-trained to assume a variety of winery positions, Mabray and her team were able to create some of the [...]

By |2022-10-09T13:31:50-07:00October 9, 2022|
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The Untold Story Of Helen Bacigalupi’s Wild Drive Over The Mountain To Deliver Sonoma Chardonnay To Chateau Montelena

Helen Bacigalupi at Age 96, Co-Founder of Bacigalupi Vineyards & Winery, Sonoma County, CA. BACIGALUPI VINEYARDS I really enjoyed reconnecting with Helen Bacigalupi again after all of these years. I first met her 9 years ago to interview her for my Call of the Vine book when she was 87, and now she is 96! She is still filled with intelligence, grit, drive, and a fun sense of humor. This story below was first published on Forbes.com, with permission to republish here. Go Helen! There is a well-known story in Sonoma County, California that the majority of the grapes that [...]

By |2022-09-19T15:47:34-07:00September 19, 2022|
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Tasting History In A Glass With Historic Napa/Sonoma Wineries From The ‘Cool Class’ Of 1972

A Few of the Class of 1972 Wines Served at 2022 Tasting. L. THACH This past week at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, six historic wineries from Napa and Sonoma gathered to celebrate five decades of fine winemaking as part of the ‘Class of 1972.’ Considered by some to be the ‘cool kids of California wine,’ these wineries were part of a cohort that helped to put California wine on the map. With such famous players as Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Burgess Cellars, and Jordan, many of these wineries were established fifty years ago this year, or within [...]

By |2022-08-11T17:17:25-07:00August 11, 2022|
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From Foot-Stomping Grapes To Robots, Clos De La Tech Winery Embraces New And Ancient Technology

Clos de La Tech Pinot Noir Vineyard in Santa Cruz Mountains with Pacific Ocean in Distance. THACH In the 1990’s, T.J. Rodgers visited the tiny village of Vosne-Romanée in France and fell in love with the Pinot Noir grape used to make red Burgundy wine. Inspired by the taste of these wines, he decided to plant one acre of Pinot Noir grapes in the Santa Cruz Mountain AVA (appellation) near his home in Woodside, California. However, as the CEO of Silicon Valley based Cypress Semiconductor, he made the novel decision of combining ancient winemaking practices, such as foot-stomping of grapes, [...]

By |2022-07-02T15:17:18-07:00July 2, 2022|
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Caprio Winery’s Unique Business Strategy Encourages Customers To ‘Pay It Forward’

Dennis Murphy, CEO of Caprio Cellars and Hayden Homes. CAPRIO CELLARS - GREG LEHMAN Dennis Murphy’s earliest memory of the joy of giving was when he was a child and would wrap up his favorite toys as Christmas gifts for his brothers and sisters. That same sense of generosity stayed with him when he launched his first company, Hayden Homes, with best friend Hayden Watson. Based in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, with every home sold they contribute 10% of profits to charity, resulting in more than $32 million to charitable causes through 2020. So when Murphy decided to expand on [...]

By |2022-06-04T16:29:46-07:00June 4, 2022|
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Napa Valley ‘Inspire” Event Raises Over $1.5 Million to Support the Alzheimer’s Association

Inspire Napa Valley Auction to Raise Money to Support Alzheimer's Association. PC: Inspire-Main The 3rd annual Inspire Napa Valley Spring Wine Weekend, presented by Rolex Watch USA, raised more than $1.5 million to support the Alzheimer’s Association. The event has quickly become a staple in the Napa Valley community, bringing together wine industry leaders and enthusiasts to raise awareness and funds to support Alzheimer’s Association research, care and support programs for families affected by the disease in Northern California and across the country. “This event reaches new goals year after year with more guests, more support, and more motivation to continue reinforcing the [...]

By |2022-05-03T14:07:30-07:00May 3, 2022|
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Crafting High-Elevation Wine at Jackson Hole Winery

The Grand Teton Mountains Near Jackson Hole Wyoming. Photo Credit: GETTY This past summer my husband and I had a chance to visit Jackson Hole Winery, just a few minutes drive from the downtown elk-horn plaza in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. My former wine business student, Anthony Schroth, started the winery, and I was so pleased to see how successful it has become over the years. Following is the story of how Anthony established the first winery in Jackson Hole, and one of only a handful of wineries in Wyoming. Anthony Schroth grew up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, spending his free [...]

By |2022-04-13T10:15:43-07:00April 13, 2022|
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Ceja Winery – Celebrating Mexican-American Wine Heritage and Strong Female Leaders

At the age of five, Dalia Ceja remembers walking behind her father, uncles and other vineyard workers, picking up fallen grape clusters and putting them back in the harvest bins. As a second generation leader in one of the first Mexican-American wineries in Napa Valley, Ceja Vineyards, Ceja is currently the SVP of Marketing & Sales, and is looking forward to taking the family winery to the next level. In honor of International Women’s History Month, the story of Dalia Ceja and the other strong female leaders in her family, lends inspiration to other women trying to build new companies [...]

By |2022-04-01T11:23:18-07:00April 1, 2022|
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How Bonterra Winery Leapfrogged Ahead Of Other Businesses To Achieve Climate Neutral Certification

Recently I had the chance to drive the 2-hour drive from Southern Sonoma County to Bonterra Winery in Mendocino County. It was my first time to visit the organic vineyards and taste Bonterra wines in the original old barn that serves as a by-appointment-only tasting room. It was very inspiring to see the cows and sheep in the vineyards, an owl flying through the trees, and the biodynamic free flow fountain to create the biodynamic preps. While there, I interviewed most of the people quoted in this article. What prompted my visit was Bonterra's Climate Neutral Certification that they received [...]

By |2025-02-02T16:22:47-08:00January 31, 2022|
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A Brief History of Wine in America

According to historical sources, the first wine in the US was made by French Huguenot immigrants in Florida in 1565 using the native American grape, Muscadine (Bates et al, 1989). Though successive European immigrants brought cuttings of vitus vinifera winegrapes from their homeland to the East Coast of the US, the majority did not survive due to phylloxera and other native pests. Greystone Cellars in Napa Valley, CA (now the Culinary Institute of America) - Established 1889. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons It wasn’t until the 1620’s that Spanish explorers successfully made wine from vitus vinifera grapes in what is now [...]

By |2022-02-17T13:26:36-08:00November 19, 2021|
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How Quintessa Winery Honors The Passing Of Grapes Through The Value Chain

Harvesting grapes by hand. Photo Credit: L. THACH During harvest in wine regions around the world, it is useful to examine some of the practices that go into picking the grapes and transforming them into the delicious wine in your glass. One winery that has a unique practice is Quintessa, nestled in the Rutherford AVA of Napa Valley. Here they perform a harvest opening ceremony to pass the grapes through the value chain. “It’s a practice that we have been doing for many years,” reports Rebekah Wineburg, Winemaker at Quintessa. “Early in the morning, as the first delivery of grapes is [...]

By |2021-10-18T17:40:43-07:00October 18, 2021|
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Materra-Cunat Family Vineyards – A Unique Napa Valley Destination Known for White Wines

Entrance to Materra Cunat Family Vineyards in Napa Valley. Photo Credit: NapaWineProject Napa Valley is known world-wide for its famous wines made from cabernet sauvignon and cab blends, so it is unusual to find an estate winery in Napa that doesn’t grow cabernet sauvignon. Instead, Materra, located in the Oak Knoll AVA, a mere 10-minute drive north from the town of Napa, is known for its white wines. “Many visitors come here because they hear that we have a good selection of white wines,” says winemaker, Chelsea Barrett. In fact their 39 acres of vineyards are planted not only to [...]

By |2021-06-30T12:32:59-07:00June 30, 2021|
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Migliavacca – Resurrected Napa Winery Focuses on Italian Varieties

“What does Migliavaca mean?” I asked, sitting at the kitchen table of Katie Migliavacca, founder and co-owner of Migliavaca Winery in Napa Valley. We were tasting the wines of her family’s newly resurrected wine brand, Migliavacca. “Roughly translated it means ‘thousands of cows,’” replied Kate, “but it is a common surname in Italy.” “Fascinating,” I said, delighted to have the opportunity to participate in another Covid-safe winetasting during the pandemic. Katie had carefully spaced us 6 feet apart, opened the patio doors and windows wide, provided hand sanitizer, and insisted we wear masks until it was time to taste. “Tell [...]

By |2021-04-19T17:03:16-07:00April 17, 2021|
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