Kenefick Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon Chris's Cuvee Napa Valley 2014

Dr. Tom Kenefick's family were originally farmers in Ireland, and they later settled in the Midwest – first in Iowa and then in Minnesota. While Tom, a third-generation physician, farming was always a source of pride for the family, who valued its legacy of hard work and a closeness with the land. He headed to the University of Minnesota Medical School, after which he conducted his residency at the renowned Mayo Clinic. His training honed his strict attention to detail and disciplined approach, both of which influence Kenefick Ranch’s wine 50 years later.

Dr. Kenefick was a practicing neurosurgeon in San Francisco when he first visited the area in 1970 and fell in love with the Napa Valley. Eight years later, he found this remarkable property, a 250-acre Calistoga ranch. Tucked into the foothills of the craggy Palisades, the ranch looked out onto a beautiful valley set within two mountain ranges. 

“I must have had a great guardian angel,” he remembers, “...I didn’t know enough about viticulture at that point to make such a good decision.” With a longstanding interest in wines, particularly Bordeaux varietals, he began to pursue his new passion for winegrowing.