At a time when Napa Valley wineries compete for attention with grand architectural statements, celebrity winemakers, and $500 tasting experiences, Nemerever Vineyards is a testament to operating by your own set of rules. For nearly 28 years, this 10-acre Oakville estate has produced fewer than 250 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon annually, hosted visitors in a 4,000-square-foot cave without charging tasting fees, and built a collection of library vintages that now spans back to 1998.
The winery and its offerings feels like a time capsule; a window into what Napa Valley looked like before velvet ropes and reservation waitlists.
“The main objective is what we produce—high quality Cabernet Sauvignon. We don’t charge for tastings, because we’re confident that the wine speaks for itself, and guests are always purchasing bundles at the end of their experience.” says Bill Nemerever, the Boston-based money manager who founded the winery with his wife Ginger in 1997. In today’s Napa, where high-cost experiences have become standard, this philosophy feels almost radical in its simplicity.
The story begins with a newspaper ad and good timing. When Ginger spotted a listing in the St. Helena Star for a 10-acre property just off Oakville Cross Road, they were the first to respond. The site was an old dairy farm with only three acres planted to Cabernet—vines selected by their neighbor and family friend Justin Meyer, the legendary co-founder of Silver Oak Cellars…