Featured Winery: La Pelle Wines

In 2016, La Pelle Wines was founded by three partners connected through the wine industry - Maayan Koschitzky, a former winemaker at Screaming Eagle and Atelier Melka winemaking team leader, Miguel Luna, a long-time viticulturist, and Pete Richmond, who runs Silverado Farming Co, a Napa-based vineyard management company.

La Pelle pays homage to both the vineyard and the cellar with respect to a tool that is used in both areas. It is said that Miguel would frequently joke about returning to California to start his own brand, simply calling it the shovel. La Pelle produces single vineyard wines, as well as wines from their Bien Nacido, Napa Valley vineyards and a Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - a barrel selection which varies each year.

Featured Winery: For Your World

For Your World was started by Erin Wiehe and Rhiannon LaForest, two Michigan residents who share a passion for Italian wine.

Their goal is to connect small lesser-known wineries with the dining tables of the USA - telling the stories of their community, their family and their terroir. By doing this, they hope to deliver an experience, and enable the consumer to really “taste Italy”.

Erin started her journey to Italian wines more than 20 years ago when she lived in Rome during her undergrad studies.

She returned in 2018 to take a year long sabbatical, this time sheltering between the Tuscan hills and extending her passion for wine. While teaching English and learning Italian Erin’s love of Italy grew to where she would turn a passion into a business.

Rhiannon grew up in England. She received a BS in European Business with Technology and spent these precious years studying and living in both England and Italy. Italy, however, was to become her home for another 8 years and the rolling terrain of Piedmont cultivated her love of wine and the Italian way of life.

New Brand: Hertelendy Vineyards

We are pleased to announce that we are now carrying wines by Hertelendy Vineyards. Hertelendy Vineyards specializes in producing Bordeaux varietals from premium mountain fruit, including Oakville, Pritchard Hill, Howell Mountain, Atlas Peak, Coombsville, and its very own 4+ acre Crystal Springs mountainside 1365 ft elevation “Rockwell Ridge” estate vineyard (35 ft below the Howell Mountain AVA) planted in 1993. They also produce a Russian River Valley Chardonnay from the legendary Ritchie Vineyard. With a limited total annual production of 750 cases, the winery’s focus is on producing unparalleled wines of superior quality with a commitment towards excellence. 

Featured Winery: Purlieu Wine

Purlieu in the literal sense means “the edge of the forest” or “an outlying area.” For Purlieu Wines, “purlieu” symbolically refers to the their approach to winemaking, to exploring the outskirts and navigating the boundaries of what one may expect of a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon.

Purlieu Wines hail from the most prolific vineyard sites in the Napa Valley, and are finished in the hands of world-class winemaker - Julien Fayard. With more than two decades of winemaking expertise, Julien Fayard is one of Napa Valley’s most respected winemakers producing California varietals with French finesse. He believes in producing wines with an identity, exploiting what makes each one unique. Julien’s wines are a pure expression of their terroir, highlighting the specificities and characteristics of the fruit, vineyard management, soil and climate.

Featured Winery: Covert Estate Wine

Covert Estate uses traditional Bordeaux winemaking techniques combined with Californian creativity. Tucked away on a steep hillside in the heart of Coombsville, Napa Valley, Covert Estate is a unique terroir perfect for winemaking.

The team harvests by hand in the cool early mornings and sends the grapes through two rounds of rigorous sorting—first as whole clusters, then again as de-stemmed individual berries. After cold maceration, the fruit is fermented by naturally occurring wild yeasts for three to four weeks. Once this initial fermentation is complete, they gently crush the grapes with a vertical press directly into barrels for a secondary malolactic fermentation. The wine then spends 18-26 months in barrel, as needed for each vintage. They rack at most twice per year, and bottle without fining or filtration.

Featured Winery: Maison Marcel

Maison Marcel produces quality wines that truly capture the essence of French winemaking and traditions.

They consider themselves much more than a wine brand - but celebration of love, laughter, and happily ever afters. Maison Marcel's founder was inspired by the epic love story of his grandparents, Marcel and Helene, and continue to carry on their legacy with every bottle produced.

Maison Marcel vineyards are located in the sun-drenched south of France, where they infuse each bottle with a blend of tradition and playfulness. The wines capture the essence of the region, with flavors that are perfect for every occasion, from casual gatherings to romantic dates.

Carrying four signature wines, including Marcel Hearts, Sparkling Hearts, Ocean Bound and French Velvet.

New Brand: Andis Wines

As an avid wine enthusiast and Napa frequenter, Andis Wines founder to Janis Akuna discovered the Sierra Foothills, where the soil and microclimates are capable of growing a vast selection of varietals, including grapes traditionally considered obscure to California. 

In 2009, Janis and her husband, Andy Friedlander, found their own stretch of land to replant portions of the vineyard originally planted in the 1970s, while seeking out the highest quality vineyards to buy additional fruit. Working closely with Sage Architecture and Sunseri Construction, they built a state of the art winemaking facility with two tenets; design a sustainable winery to produce world class wines that is attractive, but different from all others. 

Janis left her job for a new career in winemaking, following the hire of Lorenzo Muslia in 2014, who eventually became National Sales Manager, as well as a partner for Andis - joining partner, Jenae Plasse. Within those formative years, they contracted with renowned wine consultant Philippe Melka, who helped ensure the quality of wines met Lorenzo’s standards and liking. Later, fellow visionary Mark Fowler joined the team as Estate Winemaker.

All are a driving force behind Janis’ vision -  to handcraft world class wines that celebrate the pure expression of its soil.

Featured Winery: Spagnol

Spagnol is a prominent winery located in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy. With a rich history dating back to 1926, Spagnol has established itself as a respected producer of high-quality wines, particularly Prosecco.

The winery is situated in the heart of the Prosecco production zone, benefiting from the region's favorable climate and exceptional vineyard sites. The Spagnol family's commitment to traditional winemaking practices, combined with modern techniques, results in wines that exemplify the unique character of the region.

Spagnol offers a wide range of Prosecco wines, crafted from the Glera grape variety, along with other indigenous grapes. The winery is known for its attention to detail throughout the winemaking process - from vineyard management to harvesting and fermentation. 

Spagnol’s Prosecco gives notes of crisp green apple, citrus, and floral notes, accompanied by delicate bubbles and a balanced acidity. In addition to Prosecco, Spagnol also produces reds, whites, and rosés. 

Featured Winery: Fulldraw Vineyards

Fulldraw began in 2012 when Connor McMahon jumped on the opportunity to acquire a 100-acre vineyard site in the Templeton Gap of west side Paso Robles. Connor and his wife Rebecca work closely with crew members to follow organic and regenerative farming practices in order to best take advantage of the site’s demanding soil and extreme exposures.

Fulldraw creates a sustainable and healthy environment for each and every vine in order for the resulting fruit to translate into beautifully balanced wines that fully express the unique place that is their home.

Featured Winery: Arkenstone Vineyards

Owners Ron and Susan Krausz purchased the property on Howell Mountain, Napa Valley in 1988. With the goal of producing the best wine possible from this beautiful site, in 2008 the property became a true Domain Estate, where an underground winery along with the Estate vineyards planted in 1998 allows the owners total control over all winemaking.

Using the best of old world practices along with the newest technology, Arkenstone Winery produces the highest quality vintages - from vine to glass! The Arkenstone winemaking philosophy is based on consistency and elegance. During harvest, they use gravity to move the fruit gently from the above ground crush pad into fermenters below, while natural temperatures in the cave allow for optimal fermentations and barrel aging.

Julien Fayard Winemaking

Originally from Provence, Julien Fayard is one of Napa Valley’s most respected consulting winemakers producing California varietals with French finesse. Formerly of Chateau Lafite Rothschild, he lends two decades of winemaking expertise to more than a dozen different brands, including the highly-rated Le Pich and Purlieu wines, as well as his own labels - Azur, Covert Estate and Empreinte.

At Julien Fayard, they focus 100% on varietal Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc that are balanced and precise renditions of these noble varieties.