Quintessa

Agustin and Valeria Huneeus founded Quintessa when they acquired the estate in 1989. The first vines were planted in 1989, and Quintessa yielded its first vintage in 1994. Rebekah Wineburg is the estate's winemaker.

Located on the eastern edge of Rutherford at the foot of the Vaca Mountain range, the 280-acre estate in the Rutherford appellation includes 100 acres of preserved natural woodland and 160 acres planted across 26 vineyard blocks. The estate is farmed organically and biodynamically, growing Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Carménère. The winery is designed into the hillside contours to use gravity to bring grapes into the cellar. Grapes are harvested early in the morning, sorted, and gravity-fed into oak, stainless steel, or concrete tanks. Wines are aged separately by plot for up to two years in French oak, then bottled and laid down for a year before release.