Napa Valley
Anthem Winery and Vineyards proprietor and CEO Julie Arbuckle fell in love with Napa when she and her then future husband first visited the valley after graduating from University of California at Berkeley. Shortly after having their first child, they found their Mt. Veeder estate, which they both thought it was a little slice of heaven on earth. They carefully chose clones, planted Cabernet and Merlot, and set out to become first generation vintners with the hope of enticing one or more of their three children to join the family business.
Anthem Winery and Vineyards currently has 6 acres of vines planted high on a hillside ridge at 400 feet of elevation in the Mt. Veeder AVA. The vineyard is managed by John Truchard who grew up in Napa Valley and worked alongside his father Tony Truchard, who is known for developing vineyards in the Carneros area in 1974. John credits much of his knowledge to his father but also to Napa legends Andre Tchelistcheff, Joe Heitz, and Warren Winiarski. John’s vineyard management company is called Farm Napa Valley and through it he manages many small, family-owned vineyards. When not growing grapes for his clients he also makes his own wine under the John Anthony, Butter, Serial, and Weather brand names.
The winemaker is Jeff Ames who spent most of his childhood in Memphis, Tennessee and his teenage years in Mobile, Alabama. He graduated from University of Alabama with a B.A. in history but was bitten by the wine bug when he worked at a small wine shop in Memphis. His first harvest was at Penner-Ash in Oregon and in 2001 he worked as an assistant winemaker under Thomas Rivers Brown. He became the head winemaker at Tor in 2003 and began making wines for Anthem in 2009 and continues to this day.
The vineyard and winemaking team are very dedicated to ecology and sustainability and allow those guidelines to shape every decision they make from the vineyard to the grape to the bottle. They utilize a deep root irrigation system to deliver water to the vine at its roots therefore conserving water and developing heartier, drought-resistant plants. The team also uses large herds of Peruvian sheep to graze between the vines and naturally fertilize the soil.
In addition to Anthem Winery and Vineyards 2019 Mt. Veeder Estate Cabernet Sauvignon the team also makes Riverbound Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, Mt. Veeder Estate Vineyard Merlot, and Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.
A tasting room is planned for the very near future, so keep a watch on the winery website for news of the grand opening.
