Inman Family

As a third-generation Napa Valley native, it’s no surprise that Kathleen developed an interest in wine. However, it wasn’t until she attended a wine tasting seminar as a college student at UC Santa Barbara that she took an active interest in her revered grape: Pinot Noir. When she returned home to Napa in the summer before her junior year, she took a job at Napa Creek Winery, which was a small startup winery on the Silverado Trail. At Napa Cre...

In developing our Olivet Grange vineyard, we preserved the majestic oak trees that grace the property and avoided sterilizing the soil, in order to maintain its natural ecology. Today, we use only organic fertilizers in the vineyard. Among these is “Four- Course Compost,” so named because it derives from table scraps discarded by high-end San Francisco restaurants and hotels such as The Slanted Door, Boulevard, The Fairmount, Farallon, Hotel N...

The key to quality winemaking is harvesting properly ripened fruit. Unlike many California wineries today that strive for maximum concentration and power (a trend inspired largely by a few influential wine critics), we do not let our grapes hang on the vine past the point of ripeness. Over-ripeness produces wines that are overly alcoholic and low in acidity. In order to achieve balance in such wines, winemakers must literally water down the mu...