David Abreu is the gold standard of viticultural practice in California. The majority of the great modern Napa wineries (planted from the 1980s onwards) have David’s name on them; from planning to execution to maintenance, nobody does it like David. Over the years in the process of seeking out and planting sites for wealthy, passionate and top-quality minded future vineyard owners, David has found a few special sites - some of which he keeps to himself. Abreu farms around 80 acres of vines in 4 prime locations throughout the Valley: Madrona Ranch and Capella, both of which are found in and around the town of St Helena (around two-thirds of the way up the Valley at the foot of Spring Mountain), Thorevilos, which is a collection of hillside plots to the east of the other sites level with St Helena, and Las Posadas which is further up the hillside on Howell Mountain. Words can hardly describe the natural beauty of these vineyard sites. Of these sites only a tiny fraction is actually reserved for David’s own label wines – the rest are sold to the biggest and greatest names of the region for the highest grape prices in Napa. David’s winemaker is Brad Grimes. This trained chef has worked across the spectrum of David’s business but his naturally calm, analytical but creative mind led him to winemaking. Brad’s task is to make sure the finished wines express the unique sites on which these incredible grapes grow.
