Chrissy Wittmann came to winemaking in an unconventional way. After earning a B.S. in Ecology and Systematic Biology at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, the future winemaker found her love for wine while analyzing soil and waste water samples in a lab. After serving time as a laboratory enologist, Chrissy returned to Cal Poly, achieving her master’s degree in Agriculture.

Niki Williams grew up in a central Illinois farming community, where she honed her land management skills from an early age. Niki also worked for a European travel company, through which she visited the top winemaking regions of France and Italy, discovering a deep love of wine along the way. When presented with the chance to return to school in 2008, Niki committed herself to her growing passion by earning a B.S. in Viticulture & Enology at the University of California, Davis in order to pursue a career in winemaking.

Brett Young grew up in Lodi, home to many of California’s oldest Zinfandel vineyards. With a clear passion for the kitchen, he enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York City. From there he worked in diverse kitchens such as The Ritz-Carlton Millennia in Singapore, Mix Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, and Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts in Napa Valley, all of which shaped his thinking about all things food, wine and exceptional hospitality.

At The Prisoner Wine Company, Chef explores a range of preparations, such as open-fire cooking, serving primal cuts, roasting whole vegetables in ash, creating flavorful pastas, and smoking heads of cabbage over binchotan charcoal from Japan. He experiments with bold flavors such as berbere spice from Ethiopia, fermentations of an array of unusual ingredients, and techniques including Japanese yakitori grilling, all adding complexity and interest to the local Bay Area market bounty. In every case, Young’s dishes pair harmoniously with the personality of The Prisoner Wine Company wines.

Bruno Solari and his four siblings, Giulia, Diana, Tony and Kelley are 3rd generation farmers in Calistoga. The Solari’s farm with old school sensibilities and new school techniques. We have been fortunate enough to purchase Zinfandel for The Prisoner from this vineyard since 2005. It produces small yet immensely flavored berries.

Owned by Jack and Kathy Pagendarm, this vineyard has been part of their family for over 100 years and is situated in the heart of St. Helena. Kathy is known for her daily ritual of walking the length of the vineyard and caring for the vines. We have sourced fruit from this special vineyard since 2005.

Planted and farmed in the 1970’s by Larry Bettinelli and his father-in-law, Irv Tiedemann. Keeping the family tradition alive, he now farms the land with his son, Giancarlo Bettinelli and his son-in-law Paul Goldberg. Working with this family business has been a truly special experience. The vineyard is a perfect showcase of both head trained and wire-trained Zinfandel, and has been in our family of growers since 2004.

York Creek Vineyard is located high on the south facing slopes of the Spring Mountain District in St. Helena. We source Zinfandel and Petite Sirah from this vineyard but they grow 15 different varieties on this rugged site. Fritz Maytag of Maytag Blue Cheese and Anchor Steam Brewing purchased the land in 1968 and planted grapes in amongst the native forests and rambling streams that flourish there. The vineyard produces deep colored wines, full of spice and dark fruit flavors.

Mattern is located on the rich, red soils of Talmage Bench in Mendocino County. Originally planted in the 1930’s and '40s and owned by John Mattern, this biodynamically grown vineyard is an extremely warm site — perfect for Zinfandel.

Originally planted from 1980-81 by Joe Aparicio, the “Goblet” style vineyard perfectly performs year after year. This old-world pruning style allows the grapes to hang freely, get ample air flow, and bathe in perfectly filtered light. Extremely unique soils for this region, its bright red and rocky soil holds a rich volcanic history.

Situated at 1,000 ft above the Dry Creek valley floor, this head trained Zinfandel vineyard sits on iron rich, red volcanic soils. The vineyard is on the western ridge of the Dry Creek appellation, and benefits from the cool afternoon breezes which roll in from the Pacific Ocean, tempering the warmth of a typical Dry Creek Valley summer day.

Patrick and Eivor Taylor treat each one of their Zinfandel vines as one of their children, meticulously tending to all its needs. The vineyard is a patchwork quilt of different row directions, different ages of vines, and different exposures to the Dry Creek Valley sunlight. This diverse topography translates into prime opportunities for blending to create a truly unique expression of this vineyard.

Joel and Martine Herche have raised their five sons amongst their beautiful 80 year old, head trained Zinfandel vines, just outside of Victor, California. As a family, they have spent countless hours tending the vines and treating the vineyard as the 6th son or brother. Fine sandy soil unique to the area creates very low yielding vines that are naturally well balanced, showcasing concentrated and dark fruit flavors.

The Sangiacomo family has been farming in the Carneros and Sonoma Valley areas since the 1950s. We work with three different blocks of this vineyard to add to the complexity and structure of Blindfold. Another source for the wine is one of the oldest estates in Sonoma Valley – the Kunde family which has over 100 years of history in the area. We source Viognier from a West facing slope of the vineyard which adds floral notes to the wine.

We source Viognier from the Rodgers vineyard located in Yountville which adds intensity and a floral component to the wine.

Obsidian Ridge Vineyard is situated in the high Mayacamas at 2,640 feet above sea level and is regarded for its red volcanic and obsidian-rich soils. The soil and location provide excellent drainage, added light refraction and heat retention, to produce full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with soft tannins.

Cabernet Sauvignon loves a view, and the vines at Bella Vista Vineyard overlook the town of Calistoga while Mount St. Helena is visible throughout the ranch. Planted over 30 years ago by Bob and Jackie Hayes, the vines show a maturity that can be rare to find in Napa Valley hillsides. Still today, Jackie and her daughters have kept this a family affair. Since this vineyard is located on the western side of the Napa Valley, it benefits from the early morning sun and a cooler afternoon as the sun dips behind the mountains, creating berries full of flavor and fine tannins.