Winery Story

Cathiard Vineyard

When Florence and Daniel Cathiard acquired a historic Rutherford hillside estate in January 2020, the move marked far more than a transatlantic expansion. For the owners of Château Smith Haut Lafitte in Pessac-Léognan, it represented the culmination of a Napa Valley ambition that had been forming for more than two decades.

Bold, Bright New World

Renamed Cathiard Vineyard, the 220-acre property occupies a striking position on the western edge of Rutherford, rising into the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains on the front side of Bald Mountain. The site—once home to Napa Valley pioneer Louis M. Martini and later part of the Flora Springs estate—offered precisely the combination the Cathiards had...