THE WINERY

How we got started?

Lured by its small town character and lovely setting, we came to St. Helena in 1976 to raise a family of six children. Unlike many others who arrived in the past 30 years, there was no forethought of our ever joining the wine business. Little did we suspect that the decision to move to the Napa Valley was the first step in doing just that. And looking back we must have been clueless not to recognize the seeds of this life change all around us. First, our new address was in fact Cabernet Lane. Also, unbeknownst to us, the land we purchased happened to be located on the Rutherford Bench- Napa's prized Cabernet growing district. The property included five acres planted with old, dry-farmed Cabernet Sauvignon vines. Framing our view of the valley from our 1868 farmhouse were the stone walls of an abandoned winery built in 1883. For a winery-minded person, this was a more or less picture perfect setting to begin winemaking.

We pretty much ignored all these signposts and chose simply to hire a farming company to care for our vineyard, selling our grapes to various wineries until 1984. By that time we had learned a few things and were emboldened by the fact that notable wineries were always in pursuit of our grapes, We became proud of our fruit and, intrigued by the possibilities of winemaking, took a few college courses. The commitment of serious capital and total career change are choices not to be taken lightly. However with a leap of faith we finally decided to do what now seems we were supposed to do all along. We've never looked back since and feel deeply grateful that the opportunities were there to participate in such an enjoyable family business.

Today the Livingston Moffett winery continues to specialize in Cabernet wines. Among these are the Gemstone Vineyard Cabernet blend, our Estate Moffett Vineyard Cabernet and Stanley's Selection bottlings which have earned "big league" and "top echelon" accolades in national wine reviews. Our wines are primarily sold to our mail list and in limited out of state markets.