Pine Ridge Winery - Located on the Silverado Trail north of downtown Napa. Very helpful staff in the tasting room, and a beautifully landscaped picnic area (normally available to club members only, but they let us use it anyway...). We had their incredible rich Dijon Clone Chardonnay with lunch, and things only got better from there. We now carry several of their products on our wine list - Dijon Clone Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc-Viognier Blend, Crimson Creek Merlot and Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon - all of which have a signature Pine Ridge herbaciousness. This was one of the biggest "finds" of the trip.

Looking to the most esteemed winegrowing districts of France for our answer, we found that the greatest of the great embrace three principles: pride of ownership, profound stewardship of the land, and a relentless dedication to quality. These values were already reflected in our vineyard management and our winemaking-in our dense plantings, meticulous pruning, and hand harvesting; in our artistic blending and careful selection of coopers—but our goal was to surpass our best.

Building on the groundwork laid by the founders, we set out with ardor and high aims for our vineyards, our winery, and our wines. We would care for every vine as if it were our only vine and design a grape reception and sorting process second to none. Within a year of starting, we rebalanced the vines and completely revamped our grape-handling procedures. Every vintage since has been testament to the success of our viticultural and