Pronounced "she-andri." Remember that. Because when Coombsville finishes its slow, inevitable ascent to the top tier of Napa Valley appellations — and it will — you'll want to say the name correctly.
Sciandri Family Vineyards is one of Coombsville's hidden gems, located at the edge of rolling hills bordering the 850-acre wilderness of Skyline Park. Ten minutes from the city of Napa. Feels like fifty. Hillside vines, volcanic soils, cooling bay air that extends the growing season weeks past the rest of the valley. And a family that has been farming this land since before anyone outside Napa had heard of Coombsville.
From San Francisco to Coombsville
Ron and Roberta Sciandri were born and raised in South San Francisco. Italian heritage, generations deep. In the late 1980s, they invested in a small motel in Napa Valley — the Wine Valley Lodge — and fell in love with the region while renovating and running it. After years of searching, they settled in Coombsville, a hidden gem that was not yet an official wine appellation at the time. They bought a 20-acre parcel of land, started their own vineyard, and named it Sciandri Family Vineyards.
Ron planted his first Cabernet Sauvignon in 1999. For the first several years, he grew fruit and sold it to other winemakers — some of Napa's most prestigious names took Sciandri grapes and folded them quietly into wines that earned acclaim without attribution. Ron watched and waited.
The family produces approximately 500 to 800 cases annually. Ron used to say Mondavi spills more during filtration than Sciandri makes in a year. He said it with pride.
In 2006, the Sciandris released their first wine under their own label: an estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon from the Coombsville AVA. It was exactly what they had been building toward for seven years.
The Land
The dominant soil types are Hambright-Rock outcrop complex and Coombs gravelly loam — stony soils at their highest concentration in the Coombsville AVA. This well-drained, gravelly volcanic soil is the reason Coombsville Cabernet tastes the way it does: structured, layered, unhurried.
The Sciandri hillside vineyards are rocky. The grapes and clonal choices planted on site produce small fruit with concentrated flavors. Small berries mean more skin relative to juice — more color, more tannin, more of everything that makes wine worth aging. The Coombsville region sits closer to San Pablo Bay than any other Napa AVA, and the bay's cooling influence extends hang time dramatically. Some Coombsville growers pick Cabernet Sauvignon into the first week of November.
Tucked into one corner of the property, away from the main blocks, Ron planted thirty vines of four different Italian varieties in celebration of his North Italian ancestry. Every harvest, his grandchildren helped pick the fruit, adding a cluster to each bin from the main vineyard.
Don Baker and the Philosophy of Restraint
Don Baker graduated from UC Davis's Enology program in 1980. He has made wine at Joseph Phelps, Vichon, William Hill, Merryvale, and Parducci. He built a winery in Chile for Kendall-Jackson. His philosophy fits on one line: "Let the fruit show the way with little intervention by the winemaker. Leave it alone."
In the Coombsville context, this restraint is not passivity — it's confidence. When your fruit comes from hillside volcanic soils with natural drainage, long cool hang time, and concentrated berry character, the winemaker's job is to not ruin it.
Rebecca and the Next Generation
Ron Sciandri passed away in 2015. The winery continues because his daughter Rebecca built it that way.
Rebecca Sciandri Griffon was instrumental in obtaining Coombsville's sub-appellation status, granted in late 2011. She was president of the Coombsville AVA Vintners and Growers Association. She is the only full-time employee of the winery she grew up on. Her brothers Ron Jr. and Ryan contribute. Her sons help during harvest. This is a third-generation operation now.
Rebecca made the wines expand beyond what her father originally envisioned. Ron's position on white wine was resistant. Rebecca wanted a rosé and a Sauvignon Blanc. She presented the idea through winemaker Don, who presented it to Ron as his own. The wines exist. The story is better for it.
The Wines
The Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is the foundation — 100% estate fruit, pure Coombsville expression, structured for aging but accessible young.
The Coombsville Cuvée blends 65% Cabernet Sauvignon with 35% Syrah. The Syrah adds a savory, spiced dimension that Cabernet alone can't provide.
Nello — four barrels only, named for Ron Sr.'s father — is the wine the family makes for itself first and the public second. Named for the man who taught the family what it means to be a good steward of the land.
When the 2017 fires swept through Napa and destroyed the Cabernet harvest, Sciandri didn't stop. They turned a crisis into an opportunity, creating a new blend called "E Li" — blending finished wines from different varieties and vintages, using their artistry to achieve a perfect balance.
Why Sciandri
Wine Country Corner features wineries that represent the best of what Napa Valley actually is — not just the names on the tour bus itinerary, but the producers doing serious work in appellations that deserve more attention than they get.
Coombsville is one of Napa's newest AVAs and one of its most interesting. Sciandri sits at the heart of it, making wines with 500-800 cases of annual production that carry 25 years of accumulated soil knowledge. The appointment-only tastings, hosted at a family home that doubles as a winery, will always feel personal in a way that larger operations cannot manufacture.