Quivet Cellars

Quivet Cellars is named in honor of Quivet Neck, an area of Dennis, Massachusetts located on the bay side of Cape Cod.  Quivet Neck is as unique as the wines that bear its name.  Originally settled in 1637, it was here that salt was commercially extracted from seawater around the time of the revolutionary war. 

Salt was a valuable commodity in colonial America, and the area prospered until the discovery of salt deposits and mining.  It then became home to a vibrant shipbuilding industry.  The original Clippers, called Shivericks, were built here with the last launched in 1863.  According to local history, native sons from the area captained eight of these fine ships.  The captains returned home with whale oil and pineapples that became a symbol of hospitality.  The result of these captains' legacy is that Quivet Neck is home to many examples of captains' homes, national historic landmarks, and open spaces such as Crowe's Pasture.  The Cape, much like Napa Valley is an area rich in history and from which several of the founders of Quivet Cellars have had strong family ties.  Our focus is to seek out premium undiscovered vineyards to showcase our single vineyard wines.

Our Winemaker and Quivet partner Mike Smith has always had a passion for fine wine and decided to move to Napa Valley and pursue his career in making ultra premium Cabernet, Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc.  He started his winemaking career as an Assistant Winemaker for Thomas Brown and helped produce the premium wines of Schrader Cellars, Maybach Family, Outpost, Rivers Marie and his own label Myriad Cellars.  Mike branched out on his own in 2006 and now makes wine for several premium wineries in Napa Valley.  Quivet Cellars is custom crushed along side these great wines at the Carter–Envy winery in Calistoga, California.

The Tench Vineyard sits off the Eastern Oakville bench located in the historic Camus Tract in the Napa Valley.  The vineyard’s initial grapes were planted prior to Prohibition.  John and Joan Tench purchased the fallow land in 1965.  As history states, John’s Great Grandfather was the first breeder of Hereford cattle in England.  John and Joan continued the family heritage and farming practices and started out using the property as pasture land for Hereford cattle.  In 1971 nine acres were planted with Cabernet Sauvignon and, over the years, additional acreage was planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc.  Of the total 60 acres, the farmed portion now amounts to 42 acres.  Tench Vineyards is located in the Oakville AVA and the present owners are Brian and Adair Tench and family.

Tench Vineyards has a unique and special "terroir."  On the eastern side the property consists of red rocky soils of clay and volcanic rock, which produces excellent Cabernet Sauvignon.  Towards the western side of the vineyard, the soil is grayish loam clay on which both Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc have thrived.  Quivet Cellars is privileged to source exceptional Sauvignon Blanc fruit from the western block replanted in 1998.  These 13 year old vines produce a Sauvignon Blanc highlighted with a citrus zest and a fine grained volcanic minerality.

Over the years the grapes grown in the Tench Vineyards have been sold to numerous famous and prestigious wineries, often receiving high scores from well-known wine critics.  The property is surrounded by well known vineyards and wineries in the famous Oakville AVA; directly bordering Screaming Eagle, Joseph Phelps Winery Backus Vineyard and Rudd.  The Tench Vineyards share some of the finest vineyard land in the Napa Valley.