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    • Case production: 1,000
    • Planted acres: None; all fruit is purchased
    • Grapes used: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel
    • Employees: 1
    • Contact: 1426 Coombsville Road, Napa, CA 94558
    • (707) 255-4064 - www.tulocay.com

 

Bill Cadman is a character and a half, with a quick wit and easy charm—and his wines have the same feel. Each is memorable and distinctive for its own reasons, and each has everything it takes to stand the test of time.

    • Case production: 4,000 Lancaster Estate; 5,000 Roth
    • Planted acres: 53 acres total, Cabernet Sauvignon (65%), Merlot (26%), Cabernet Franc (4%), Malbec (4%) and Petit Verdot (1%)
    • Additional grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel
    • Employees: 10
    • Contact: 15001 Chalk Hill Road, Healdsburg, Calif.  95448
    • (707) 433-8178 - www.lancaster-estate.com

 

“Sure, I read reviews,” confesses Lancaster Estate winemaker Jennifer Higgins. “I can’t help it; everyone here reads them, so I see them whether I want to or not. But they never influence what I do, simply because there’s such a delay between grape and glass that I’d be chasing my tail. You just have to trust the 100 small decisions you make every day and do what you feel is best for the wine.”

 

    • Planted acres: 15
    • Varietals: Chardonnay
    • Employees: 1
    • Contact: 1054 Bayview Ave., Napa, CA 94559
    • (707) 252-4005

 

Jack Tognetti is the owner and winegrower at Aloise Francisco Vineyards in the Carneros region of Napa. He’s also in his early 90s—but looks and acts decades younger. He lives with his wife, Camille, in a modest farmhouse surrounded by fruit trees and vineyards. There are figs, plums, pears, apples, peaches and his well-tended Chardonnay vineyards, the fruit from which is sold exclusively to Schramsberg Vineyards. Aloise and Francisco are Camille and Jack’s middle names.

 

    • Case Production: 8,000 - 10,000

    • Planted acres: 101
    • Varietals: Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc
    • Contact: 1183 Dunaweal Lane, Calistoga, CA 94515

                        3000 Westside Rd., Healdsburg, CA 95448
    • (800) 505-4850  •  www.twomeycellars.com

 

What would you do next if you owned and operated a cult winery with a three-decade long track record? A winery where customers lined up frightfully early on release day to purchase your coveted wine? You’d certainly take pride in your success and, maybe best of all, you and your friends would surely enjoy drinking that great wine. But if you were the Raymond Duncan family, you’d also found another winery.

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