2025 Wineries

Post & Vine Wines

PO Box 5142, Napa CA 94581
postandvine.com

Region: North Coast

Owner: Rebekah Wineburg

Winemaker: Rebekah Wineburg

About: Post & Vine is a North Coast-based winemaking project focused on sustainably-produced wines from historic vineyard sites. Founded by Rebekah Wineburg in 2012, Post & Vine works exclusively with sustainably-farmed old vines and implements a meticulous, low-intervention mentality in the cellar to produce small amounts of artisanal, site-specific wines that deeply reflect the unique places from which they come. All of our wines are produced from hand-harvested fruit, indigenous yeasts, and are bottled unfined and unfiltered. The resulting wines are joyful, honest, and deeply speak to their place of origin.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Carignane is my favorite “undiscovered” grape and is the focus of my work at Post & Vine. I have always been captivated by the depth and character that old vines bring to our wines. Old vines possess deep root systems that access nutrients and minerals from far below the surface. They are in perfect balance with their environment, needing few, if any, outside inputs, and this results in grapes with concentrated flavors and a unique expression of terroir. At Post & Vine, we are fortunate to work with Carignane grapes from vineyards that have stood the test of time. Old-vine Carignane exhibits remarkable depth and complexity, offering tasting notes of dark fruits, pepper, licorice, and savory spices. These old vines yield smaller quantities of fruit, but each grape is packed with intensity and character. The resulting wines are a true reflection of their heritage, offering a taste experience that is both rich and memorable.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? I was first introduced to Carignane early in my career while working in the cellar at Rudd Winery in Napa Valley during the 2003 harvest. One day, I noticed a darkly colored variety with large clusters and small berries being brought across the crush pad, destined for a port-style wine for their Edge Hill project. Intrigued by the bright acidity and the unique blend of fruit and spice flavors, I felt compelled to learn more. It turned out that the grapes were from old-vine Carignane grown at the Testa Vineyard in Redwood Valley, Mendocino. I reached out to the Testa (Martinson) family, kept in touch, and when I was ready to start my own brand in 2012, I decided to focus exclusively on old-vine vineyards, producing an Old Vine Field Blend from the Testa Vineyard for Post & Vine Wines.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? I love making wines from these lesser-known varieties. The old vine vineyards that I work with are able to express authentic and honest character and stay true to their origins. The wine represents the past, present, and future all at the same time and I am honored to be a part of their story.

San Rucci Winery

6201 Schirra Ct, Suite 7, Bakersfield, CA 93313
sanrucci.com

Region: California’s Central Valley

Owners: The Merz Family

Winemaker: Bill and Tony Merz

About: San Rucci is an urban winery based in California’s Central Valley. The name San Rucci is the combination of our two family names – the San Filippo’s and the Becherucci’s. Because we do not own any vineyards, we can work with grape growers throughout the state to craft a variety of wines, including some Italian varieties that are not often found throughout the New World. Salute!

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Montepulciano, because it is delicious!

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? I was at an industry event. The event had a tasting of wines made from lesser-known grape varieties. The variety that surprised me the most at the time was Graciano. Since then, it has been very fun tasting other lesser-known varieties that are being grown throughout California and the US.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? I think the thing I like the most about the forgotten grapes is the curiosity of what could be. There are so many forgotten grapes that are unique on their own, but then add terroir, and it’s fascinating. There will always be a place for grapes like Cabernet, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay, but there are so many other varieties that make interesting and delicious wines. It is fun to introduce the forgotten varieties to wine drinkers.

Starfield Vineyards

2750 Jacquier Road, Placerville, CA 95667
starfieldvineyards.com

Region: El Dorado

Owner: Tom Sinton & Rob Sinton

Winemaker: Rob Sinton

About: Starfield Vineyards is an estate vineyard and winery in El Dorado, halfway between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe — on the Highway 50 corridor near Placerville. Starfield Vineyards is known for its high elevation mountain vineyards in El Dorado and the fresh wines from rare varieties that exhibit the characteristic Sierra Spice from growing grapes in the pine forests of California.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Cinsaut is my personal favorite. It was hard to find varietal examples of it before we planted it and it looks almost like a table grape, but it produces a light red wine with vibrant strawberry notes and a hint of leafy-bramble. It’s great straight from the fridge on hot California summer days.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? I always felt like I gravitated toward lesser known grapes so it’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment. I remember going through Cabernet Franc and Assyrtiko phases before I’d ever made it to my Cab Sauv, Pinot, and Chardonnay phase.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? It’s still a rare day when I open a bottle of a variety that isn’t considered an “undiscovered grape”. These varieties offer new drinkers a rare opportunity to discover their own opinions about varieties without the vast input of decades of publications and critics so I think it’s easier to find your own wine-tasting voice when drinking these wines and played an important role in shaping my winemaking (and wine-drinking) preferences.

The Steven Kent Winery

2245 S. Vasco Rd, Ste C, Livermore, CA 94550
stevenkent.com

Region: Livermore Valley

Owner: Steven and Beth Mirassou

Winemaker: Steven, Beth, and Aidan Mirassou

About: The Steven Kent Winery in the Livermore Valley is the preeminent producer of Cab Franc in the US.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Cabernet Franc, because it is the most alluring, beguiling, delicious, sexy, food-friendly grape…and it is criminally undiscovered.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? Though I had known of Cab Franc, tasting Loire Valley versions in 2000 opened my eyes to a whole different way of thinking about winemaking and the most important parts of those (and all) wines. Keep the wines as pure as possible and help to shepherd in the most authentic and inherently valuable qualities each grape contains.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? Bottomless allure and complexity, Cab Franc is the sexiest grape alive.

Tablas Creek Vineyard

9339 Adelaida Road, Paso Robles, CA 93446
tablascreek.com

Region: Paso Robles

Owners: The Haas and Perrin families

Winemaker: Neil Collins

About: Tablas Creek Vineyard, in the Paso Robles Adelaida District, is a pioneer of the American Rhone movement and the first Regenerative Organic Certified™ winery in the world.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? It’s unfair to ask us this! So, let’s go with the two rarest grapes we grow. On the white side Picardan. When we planted our half-acre it increased the world’s footprint by 40%. And on the red side, Vaccarese, where when we bottled it in 2019, we think it was the first 100% Vaccarese from anywhere in the world in 50+ years.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? My first wine tasting memory — the first time I remember tasting a wine and understanding what the adults were talking about — was Gewürztraminer. It really did taste like rose petals, which I thought was so cool.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? They offer an incredible variety of flavors and character, thrive in a variety of climates and soils, and can be remarkably valuable in blends as well as on their own.