Living Napa:
Perspective from the Valley
Napa Valley isn’t just a destination—it’s a rhythm, a way of seeing the land and its people. From morning fog over the vineyards to the quiet flow of the Napa River, this place shapes the way I approach wine, hospitality, and travel.
Wine as Connection, Hospitality as Craft
Every bottle tells a story, and every tasting is a moment to slow down. For me, wine is a conduit for connection—between people, seasons, and the land. Hospitality is more than service; it’s about crafting experiences that linger, where attention to detail matters more than spectacle.
A Journey Through Napa
I grew up in Chico, in the Bay Area, and studied at UC Berkeley. My first years in the wine industry shaped how I understand vineyards, terroir, and the rhythm of harvest. Moving to Napa in 2016 allowed me to live what I had only observed—making the valley my home and extending nearly 20 years of experience into a personal connection with this land.
Home, Family, and the Rhythm of Life
Life in Napa isn’t only about vineyards—it’s about family and community. Megan and I raise Jack (almost 4) and Ruby (1) here. Weekends are spent exploring Estate 8, visiting local farmers, or simply enjoying slow mornings at home. These moments shape how I see Napa—not as a backdrop, but as a living, breathing place.
The first thing we ever built together.
Before the winery was complete, before the Villa in the Vines existed, before any of it had a name — Megan and I built a farmhouse. We finished it in August of 2018, and it became Estate 8 Farmhouse: our first ground-up hospitality space.
We designed it for the kind of gathering that’s becoming increasingly rare. Unhurried. Around a table. With great wine and people who matter. Not a venue — a home that happens to host.
Every detail of that building came from us. It taught us how to create spaces that feel like they’ve always been there, even when they’re new. It was the beginning of everything that became Estate 8.
A family grown in this valley.
We live on a private estate here in Napa. Our son Jack is growing up learning what it means to watch the seasons turn in a vineyard — harvest as a rhythm, not a concept. Our daughter Ruby is just beginning to find her footing on this land. Megan and I are raising our family in the same place where we built our careers, and there is nothing more grounding than that.
We are part of this community in every sense. We shop at the same farms, know our neighbors by name, and feel every wildfire, drought, and exceptional vintage personally. This valley has given our family everything — which is why the Heart of Napa monument means so much to us. It is our way of giving something permanent back.
That’s the lens through which I write about Napa. Not as a destination to be packaged. As a living place I’m lucky enough to call home.
Twenty years of building in wine country.
From a 4 a.m. grocery aisle to a decade of building in Napa Valley — this is how it unfolded, step by step.
Oct 2005
The Idea
A Pink Ribbon at Ralphs
Stocking Campbell’s soup at 4am in a Ralphs in Southern California, I noticed a pink ribbon on a can. Every purchase helps fight breast cancer. Standing in that quiet aisle, the entire ONEHOPE concept arrived fully formed.
Apr 2006
FoundeD
ONEHOPE Incorporated
Inspired by a close friend’s blood cancer diagnosis, I incorporated ONEHOPE with five co-founders who’d become lifelong friends. We grew our families and our business alongside each other for the next two decades.
Oct 2014
Napa Becomes Home
The Rutherford Vineyard
Purchased our estate vineyard in Rutherford — next to BV where Tchelistcheff coined “Rutherford dust,” and adjacent to the legendary To Kalon vineyard. Megan and I made the valley our permanent home.
Aug 2018
First Build Complete
Estate 8 Farmhouse
Completed August 2018. The first space Megan and I built from the ground up together — a private farmhouse designed for slow, meaningful gatherings. The beginning of everything Estate 8 would become.
Dec 2020
Winery Complete
ONEHOPE Winery
Completed December 2020 on the Rutherford Bench. Soft-opened exclusively for ONEHOPE owners and their families 2021–2023. Public tastings by appointment began in 2024.
Oct 2025
Estate 8 · Second Build
Villa in the Vines
Opened 2025. A luxury stay nested within the estate vineyard itself — intimate, private, and designed to show what Napa hospitality looks like when it’s stripped of performance.
Aug 2025
Oakville Acquisition
Garden House Property
Acquired August 2025 — a six-room property in Oakville next to Mustard’s Grill, entitled as a bed and breakfast. The only B&B between Yountville and Oakville. Opening 2026 as Estate 8 Garden House.
Spring 2026
New Experience
Estate Lawn
A new outdoor gathering and event space on the estate opening spring 2026 — designed for the moments that define Napa at its best. Celebrations, sunsets, and the particular quiet of an estate evening.
Summer 2026
A Monument to the Valley
Heart of Napa
A permanent fieldstone monument designed by architect Hugh Summerour, unveiling summer 2026. An act of gratitude for a valley that has given our family everything.
The knowledge that only comes from living here.
01
The AVAs & Terroir
I can tell you not just what makes Rutherford different from Howell Mountain — but what that difference tastes like, and which producers are making the most honest wines in each appellation right now. I’ve been living and working on the Rutherford Bench for over a decade.
02
Winery Access & Hospitality
Having built and operated Napa tasting rooms for nearly twenty years, I understand the difference between a genuinely great experience and a transactional one — and which wineries are delivering it right now.
03
Where Locals Actually Go
There’s a Napa that visitors rarely find — the quiet Sunday restaurant, the winery that doesn’t market heavily but pours extraordinary wine, the viewpoint locals return to again and again. After a decade living here, I know where those places are.
04
Hospitality, Designed
From the Farmhouse to the Villa in the Vines to the Garden House in Oakville — I’ve spent years learning how to create spaces that feel unhurried, personal, and exactly right. That sensibility shapes every recommendation I make here.
Questions About Napa?
Reach out anytime, and I’ll help you navigate Napa with the perspective I’ve gained living here.
