Kristian Story, a Napa Valley, California winemaker, employs Ancien winemaking techniques to create his hand-crafted, unfiltered and unfined wines, fermented with French yeasts. Focused on the limited production of red Bordeaux varietals and small lots of Chardonnay, Merlot and Petite Sirah, Kristian believes the minimalist approach preserves and expresses the true varietal character of Kristian Story Wines.
"To make supple wines that are accessible in their youth, but suited to cellaring – the fruit, tannins, acidity and alcohol must be balanced and in harmony." Kristian Story has been making artisan wines since 2000 with grapes grown, vinted and bottled on the Story family’s estate vineyard, St. Helena Winery
Wine mentors have been Mark Herrold (Merus), Sarah Gott (Joseph Phelps, Quintessa & Blackbird), Francois Bugue (Cain), and his own father Peter Story (St. Helena Winery).
His passion and focus has resulted in plush, rich, layered and unabashedly seductive Bordeaux blends, rooted in old world techniques yet distinctively Californian. Not bad for the Second-Story winemaker, half-French son of a Jersey boy!
