Post by Franklin Alioto

It's been 50 years since my grandparents, George and Evelyn Tournahu, bought a seven‑acre vineyard just north of St. Helena as a family retreat, not a winery: a home surrounded by Napa Gamay vines back in the 1970s. My father, Nunzio Alioto, married into this family and this land. Long before he was known as a Master Sommelier, he was already studying what this gravel and river rock could become. In 1987, he sat for one of the first Master Sommelier exams ever held in the United States. Twenty‑five candidates were invited. Only three passed. He was one of them. He brought that expertise home. As Napa Valley's reputation flourished through the 1990s, he guided George and Evelyn through a pivotal decision: in 1998, they replanted the entire vineyard to Cabernet Sauvignon, planting Blocks 1 and 2 to Clones 15 and 7, selections he knew were right for the Perkins soils, an alluvial fan of gravel and river rock soils. Nearly twenty years later, in 2016, he worked with our vineyard manager Josh Clark to replant Blocks 3 and 4 with tighter spacing, 420A rootstock, and American heritage clones, sharpening the expression of our terroir and preparing the vineyard for the decades ahead. For years, our fruit quietly found its way into some of Napa's most respected wines; a testament to the instinct and discipline my father brought to this land. Alioto‑Tournahu Estate Wines is the next chapter. We're bringing Old World sensibility to our wines, managing acidity, tannins, and alcohol starting in the vineyard, without losing the character, grit, and soul this site has always given us. Dave at The Napa Wine Project just published our full story. Yo can read it here: https://lnkd.in/emgr-u4Y #AliotoTournahu #StHelenaAVA #NapaValley #MasterSommelier #EstateGrown #CabernetSauvignon