Terra Valentine

Winemaker Sam Baxter, has always had a keen focus on the grapes in the vineyard to achieve ideal ripeness and flavor development, leading to a winemaking style marked by minimal intervention. The yield of this approach is evident in our Terra Valentine wines that reflect a sense of place while showing the intensity of mountain grown fruit and balanced elegance.

Sam Baxter stands tall among an esteemed few, of the next generation of Napa Valley winemakers. Baxter literally grew up in the grapevines, trailing father Phil, whose winemaking made a legendary mark in the late '60s when the Napa Valley first experienced international notoriety as a respected winegrowing region.

After graduating from University of California, Davis with a degree in fermentation science in 1998, Sam extended his experience with a pivotal internship position at Sterling Vineyards and stints abroad in Australia. His first encounters with Terra Valentine were cultivated during the early years at the winery, dubbed the "cowboy" era (1999-2001) due to the rough-and-tumble condition of the winery and its vineyard land, which allowed for barely enough energy to run the lights, but no hot water. Working under these off-the-grid conditions went a long way in building Baxter's strong winemaking foundation.

Sourced from the Sangiovese from Piero Antinori’s vineyard located at 1600 feet elevation in the Atlas Peak appellation in the eastern hills of the Napa Valley. At the time of blending, we blend in small amounts of Syrah to ll out the palate and create a seamless blend that showcases the characteristics of Sangiovese.

“Early, even and excellent” are three words being use to describe this year’s growing season and the Napa Valley wine grapes that have come from it, reecting the consistent quality for which this world famous wine region is known.