Driving up to the massive iron gates of Promontory Winery set upon a hillside about Napa Valley was an intimidating experience. However, once inside the gates, we were welcomed by Will Harlan and the rest of the afternoon was a magical visit as we learned more about his vision for the future.
The Story of How Promontory Winery Was Established
In the early 1980s, before Will Harlan was born, his father, H. William (Bill) Harlan, was hiking in the mountains above Napa Valley and stumbled upon a hidden valley. It was isolated and wild, home to a long-abandoned mine-shaft, a bootlegging still and steeply sloped hillsides studded with trees, rocks and vegetation.
Bill Harlan knew immediately that he wanted to purchase the land, but it wasn’t until nearly 30 years later, in 2008, that the remote valley came up for sale. Harlan snatched up the property, adding it to his other successful wine enterprises, Harlan Estate and BOND. The new venture was called Promontory, in honor of the natural formation that hides the valley from the rest of Napa.
“While I have been overseeing Promontory since 2015, my father asked me in 2020 to take over leadership of the family domain, which also includes Harlan Estate, BOND, and The Mascot,” Will Harlan told me when I visited him at Promontory recently. His father remains in the role of Chairman and Founder.
During our afternoon together, which included a tour of the winemaking cellars and a tasting of 8 different vintages of Promontory cabernet sauvignon wines, I grew to understand that Will Harlan is a visionary on his own terms. Working with his team of more than 80 employees, Will and winemaker, David Cilli, are revolutionizing vineyard practices with a strong respect for nature, the human touch and integrated technology where it makes sense.
“We are using technology to empower and not replace the human element. This human interface with the land is critical, so we don’t lose the soul of the vineyard.”Will Harlan, Managing Director of Promontory and the Harlan domain
“We are using technology to empower and not replace the human element,” he said. “This human interface with the land is critical, so we don’t lose the soul of the vineyard.”
Listening to Will talk about all of the innovations they have made at Promontory, I must admit that some of the concepts are so groundbreaking that I was in awe. Perhaps it is his degree in philosophy (from Duke University), rather than winemaking that has inspired these breakthrough ideas, or maybe it is the hidden valley of Promontory itself.
“The soil and site of Promontory are unlike any other place in Napa Valley. We had to forget certain aspects of what we knew from crafting wines at Harlan Estate and BOND, because these practices weren’t always resonating with Promontory,” Will explained.
Their efforts seem to be paying off, because Promontory wines are some of the most sought-after in Napa Valley, with a current price point of $850 per bottle, to an allocated customer list.
Promontory wines also taste quite different from the cabernet-based wines made at sister wineries of Harlan and BOND. They have the structure and pulsing energy of a mountain wine, but also a linearity, elegance and ethereal quality, all wrapped up in enticing flavors of blackberry, anise, bay leaves, spice, and hints of stone and savory earth.
“It is because we have two fault lines running through our property and, in addition to the normal volcanic and sedimentary soil found throughout Napa Valley, geologists found that we have metamorphic soil here. It is a combination of schist, shale, slate, and clay, and helps to contribute to the unique identity of Promontory,” said Will.
Innovations in Viticulture and Winemaking at Promontory
So what new practices have Will and his team adopted to respect the unique differences at Promontory? They include a combination of ancient vineyard practices and technology, with four of the more unique philosophies described below:
#1) Rolling The Grass and Weaving the Vines
Promontory encompasses 840 acres of land, and it came with an old vineyard planted in the mid-1980s that managed to survive naturally without irrigation throughout the years. When the Harlan’s purchased the property they harvested cabernet sauvignon grapes from the old vineyard for their first few vintages, but have since replanted the majority of the vines.
Today Promontory is comprised of 80 acres of vineyards (Harlan Estate only has 40 acres of vines), leaving 90% of the valley as natural habitat.
“We are farming with sustainable, organic, and regenerative farming practices (but are not certified),” explained Will, “and have recently adopted rolling instead of mowing our cover crop, and we also weave the vine shoots instead of hedging them.”
What? Why roll a cover crop instead of mowing? The reason can be found in the concept of ‘permaculture,’ which advocates leaving natural grass and cover crops in place so more microbes and worms can flourish, providing natural nutrients. Gently rolling the cover crop is less invasive than mowing it, and creates layers over time that contribute to soil health. Plus it supports regenerative viticulture, which promotes non-tilling of the soil – also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Weaving of vine shoots rather than hedging them is also an ancient practice, still used in some parts of the world today, such as Santorini, the Canary Islands and at Domaine Leroy in Burgundy. Will explained that it is a less invasive practice and allows the vine to focus on ripening clusters and sending energy to its roots, rather than trying to regrow the vine shoot when it is cut off.
“It is said that the tip of each shoot is like a tiny brain, and if you cut it off, the vine goes into shock and focuses its energy on trying to grow a new shoot,” Will said.
Because of these practices, Will reported the vines ripen their grape clusters earlier in the season, but with excellent phenolic ripeness and balance – contributing to the high quality of the wine and avoiding the threat of early autumn wildfires.
#2) Development of Empowered ‘Vine Masters’
In order to farm the vineyard in such an intriguing way, Promontory has designed a cutting-edge training program for vineyard workers, called ‘Vine Masters.’
“We realized that the metamorphic soil changed every few feet and it was harder and harder to delineate the separate blocks,” stated Will. “We recognized that each vine had to be understood individually, so we created a curriculum like an old-time guild to train the vineyard workers.”
With the program, vineyard workers can cycle through the various tasks within a block, learn new skills, earn promotions and salary increases, and eventually reach the top position of a ‘Vine Master.’ The master is given his or her own block to manage through the whole season, including tasting the fermenting grapes in the winery and the finished wine. In this way they are full-time employees who are part of the whole process, versus seasonal workers who are only brought into harvest and prune.
“The result has been amazing and we love seeing the sense of ownership and pride they have developed for the individual blocks,” enthused Will. “It has provided a strong sense of motivation and purpose, and helps them to elevate their craft. We compensate them quite well and invest heavily in them.”
#3) Each Vine As a Bonsai Masterpiece With GPS
In order to help the Vine Masters hone their viticulture skills even further, Promontory has added an individual GPS for each vine and provided Ipads for workers.
“Photos are taken of each vine during different seasons so we can track the progress of the vines for that vintage, and compare this with previous years,” said Will.
This also serves as an organizational repository of knowledge for future generations, and provides the workers with more information about the vines under their care. In addition, weekly meetings are held so that the Vine Masters can discuss the status of their blocks, share best practices and learn from one another.
“We see our vineyard workers as true craftspeople or artists. They are sculpting each vine and understanding it as a separate living being that can live a long time, with the same care and attention of a bonsai tree,” said Will.
The results of the vineyard innovations at Promontory have been so positive in terms of worker engagement and enhanced quality, that they are now starting to implement them at Harlan Estate. Though probably not practical or affordable for many wineries, those that operate in the ultra-luxury domain, such as Promontory, can achieve a healthy ROI, according to Will.
#4) Austrian Oak Tanks and Magnificent Stone
Another unique element of winemaking at Promontory is the use of large Austrian oak barrels versus the traditional French oak barrels that most high-end wineries use.
“We used French oak for some of the earlier vintages, but discovered it was covering up the fruit. Due to the special metamorphic soil, in the beginning the wines are very tight and take some time to open. The large Austrian barrels are neutral and egg-shaped so the wine receives less oak influence, and can age and evolve for a longer time,” explained Will.
Indeed each bottle of Promontory wine is aged 4.5 to 5.5 years before release. The current release is the 2020 vintage, which they were able to harvest before the wildfires that year due to their innovative viticulture practices.
“We believe the purity of the site with its metamorphic rock comes through with the Austrian oak,” Will stated.
To emphasize the significance of the metamorphic rock in the vineyard, they dug out a magnificent 7-ton piece and had it polished. It now makes a stunning masterpiece and wine tasting table in the cellar, surrounded by the custom-made Austrian oak barrels.
Highlights of the Vertical Tasting at Promontory
The wine tasting took place in a large room overlooking a vast open space of mountains with the peak of the promontory in the far distance beyond Harlan Estate winery. The imposing winemaking facility and by-appointment tasting venue, were constructed in 2015 and 2017, respectively. They are designed in a modern California barn architecture with high ceilings and breathtaking views.
The actual hillside vineyards of Promontory are not visible from the winery, because it is situated in the hidden valley with a challenging windy dirt road to gain entrance. Instead visitors are shown a large bronze model of the vineyard.
Will led the tasting, explaining the difference in each of the 8 vintages, ranging from 2009 through 2019. All were stunning, with the unique stony minerality, linearity and pulsing energy apparent in each vintage.
A few of the special highlights for me were the 2010 Promontory with its intense blackberry, boysenberry, espresso and muscular tannins. Likewise, the 2016 (reviewed in a recent Forbes article), with its dark stone minerality, blueberries, anise, and focused tannins was equally compelling (the first vintage produced in the Austrian oak barrels).
The 2018 Promontory captivated with a perfumed nose of violets, following through on the palate with cassis, cocoa, espresso and beautifully textured tannins. The 2019 was magnificent, with its powerful structure, black cherry, tobacco, herbs and streaks of black stone.
All of the wines are designed to age for decades, and many have increased in value over time, achieving prices of up to $1400 per bottle.
A 200-Year Business Strategy at Promontory
“Perhaps one of the most amazing things about my father is his long-term outlook. He created a 200-year plan for our family based on the winery Domaine model in Europe. The hope is that his family domain will be around for hundreds of years,” said Will.
To support this, Will described the succession plan of always having three generations available for each major job. These include: 1) the incumbent in the job; 2) the retiree, who becomes emeritus and an advisor, and 3) the person in training who is being mentored by both of the others.
“We don’t want to lose the wisdom and continuity, so we set things up this way. We will always stay family-owned,” stated Will.
Currently, the Harlan family is succeeding very well in implementing this strategy. Will is married with one child and another on the way. His sister, Amanda, is also involved in the family business and manages the two other Harlan enterprises of Meadowood Resort and The Napa Valley Reserve – a private winemaking club.
NOTE: Portions of this article were originally published in Forbes.com. Republished here with permission.
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