History
A Woman on the Verge of Great Vineyards
Laura Zahtila knows the many challenges of establishing a boutique winery dedicated to crafting small quantities of fine wine in the Napa Valley. She has experienced them all in her demanding, yet delicious, journey from fledging winery to award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel producer.
A long-time wine enthusiast, Owner and Proprietor Laura Zahtila purchased the Calistoga winery estate that would become Zahtila Vineyards from the Traulsen family in 1999. At the time, Laura was a sales specialist with Cisco Systems in San Jose. It was a career that required intimate knowledge of high-tech product application. Knowing how the technology worked was critical to her success in selling the product.
Today, Laura's tenacity for learning systems and science is directed at running her small winery and vineyard estate dedicated to limited-production, premium red wines. Since 1999, Laura has managed all winemaking processes from grape sourcing to the logistics of launching and operating a winery. Her zeal to understand winegrowing at its root has her pruning, picking, irrigating and collecting soil samples in the vineyard. A thirst for winemaking knowledge encourages her participation in crush, pump-overs, racking and bottling.
"I do it all," says Laura. "It's so important that I work alongside every member of the Zahtila team from the temporary harvest help to my associate winemaker. I'm not one to stand on the sidelines, and fortunately because we are as small as we are, I can be actively involved in every aspect of this business."
An experienced and talented vineyard and winery team including Vineyard Manager Placido Garcia and Associate Winemaker Ignacio Blancas supports Laura in her goal to handcraft rich, red wines that reveal the best of northern California winegrowing. A firm believer in the wisdom of mentors, Laura also has forged important relationships in her community. "My winery neighbors have been willing to share so much and to help guide me through the white waters and avoid the pitfalls of a new wine business," she explains.
Laura's commitment to quality wines from distinguished vineyards is a winning winemaking philosophy. Her 2001 Zahtila Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Beckstoffer Vineyards, Georges III took home gold medals from the 2005 San Francisco Wine Competition and the Orange County Fair. Her 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley also won the gold in Orange County. Additionally, her wines have received high scores from top industry publications. The 2001 Beckstoffer Cabernet received a 93 from Wine Enthusiast and a 90 from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, while both her 2002 Beckstoffer and 2002 Napa Valley Cabernets received 90s from Wine News.
Zahtila Vineyards is devoted to making robust Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel that marry well with food. The winery also makes a refreshingly fruit-forward Chardonnay, but its plans for the future remain small. "We'll never produce a thousand cases of any one varietal," says Laura. "We just want to continue making great limited-production Cabernet and Zin for people who share our passion for handcrafted California wine."