Brion Wise Has Acquired An 128-Acre Pritchard Hill Estate As The Future Home For BRION

Brion Wise is in acquisition mode! The new BRION Estate vineyard on Pritchard Hill is the newest property to join Wise’s growing portfolio of established, critically acclaimed wineries and vineyards. Not three months ago Wise made headlines with his June acquisition of Mark Herold Wines, keeping on Mark Herold as winemaker.

BRION is a Napa Valley winery founded in 2002 by proprietor Brion Wise, focusing on single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from distinct regions of Napa Valley and Sonoma – Yountville, Oakville, Pritchard Hill, Coombsville, and Moon Mountain. Selected for their unparalleled terroirs and superior farming, the vineyards of BRION produce wines of intense, concentrated flavor and aromatics that reflect place above all else. Wise believes that terroir includes the unique imprint of the winemaker, and pairs vineyards with established talent. The winemaking team at BRION showcases the talents of three acclaimed winemakers – Julien Fayard, Mark Herold and Massimo Monticelli – each focused on interpreting the designated vineyard sites that fall under their purview. BRION is also home to Napa Valley’s only in-house Master Cooper (America’s first and only) who makes French oak barrels specifically for Wise’s wines.

Situated at one of the high points on Pritchard Hill, this vineyard acquisition advances Wise’s commitment to producing the most authentic, high-quality wines possible. Pritchard Hill is known by serious wine collectors as having some of the most enviable terroir in all of Napa Valley, with its high elevation exposure and well-draining volcanic red soils that produce superlative Cabernet Sauvignon. Surrounded by highly sought names including Bryant Family, Chappellet, Colgin, Continuum, David Arthur, and Ovid, BRION Estate finds itself among just a handful of established neighbors with estates on Pritchard Hill. Given the region’s extremely limited real estate, acquisitions like this are a rarity.

“As a longtime collector of Pritchard Hill wines, I have long dreamed of building a marquee winery estate here,” said Wise. “This site is home to some of the best vineyards in what is already a rarified subregion of Napa Valley, and its grapes are immensely important to what we have already begun to build with BRION. I’m so grateful to [previous owner] Bob Long and the legacy he and his family have built up here over the years. How honored we are to be the next stewards of this crown jewel of a property.”

While the new BRION Estate is a sole proprietorship under Brion Wise, the site runs adjacent to an additional vineyard property called Upper Range, which is owned in a partnership between Wise and the Bettinelli family, who are also Wise’s partners in Sleeping Lady Vineyard. Plans to build a winery onsite and integrate the estate grapes into BRION’s acclaimed portfolio of wines, in addition to the estate single vineyard sites are already under Wise’s purview.