Winery Overview
High in the Mayacamas Range, at an elevation of 1,700 feet above the Napa Valley floor, lies Spring Mountain and the Robert Keenan Winery and vineyards. The history of Keenan Winery started over 40 years ago. Certain that mountainside vineyards in Napa Valley could produce world class wines, in 1974 Robert Keenan purchased 180 acres in the Spring Mountain District, which became an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in 1993. The low vigor soils unique to the region were known to create a stressful environment for vine growth, setting up perfect conditions to encourage vineyards planted on the steep, rocky, mountainsides to produce wines of great concentration, structure, and pure varietal flavors. The original acreage Robert acquired included the crumbling Peter Conradi Winery, founded in the late 19th Century and one of the first pioneering properties established on Spring Mountain. Peter Conradi had originally planted the vineyards to Zinfandel and Syrah, but they declined when the property was abandoned during Prohibition, and by the time Keenan arrived in 1974, none of the original vineyards were producing. Robert cleared the estate of tree stumps and rocks, extended the original vineyard acreage, and replanted the property to Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. He built a new winery using the existing stonewalls from the old Conradi building, and celebrated Keenan Winery’s first harvest there in 1977. The history of Keenan Winery turned a new direction when Michael Keenan took over leadership of the estate in 1998. Shortly thereafter, he and the team made the decision to replant the vineyards to increase grape quality. In addition, they built a solar power system that went online in 2007 and now supplies all the estate’s energy needs, including the winery, administrative offices, visitor hospitality area, and the homes located on the property. The Napa Valley Vintners have recognized Keenan as a “green” winery, which is now proudly listed on Keenan back labels: Solar Powered and Sustainably Farmed. Today Keenan Winery produces four superb and distinctive wines exclusively from grapes grown at their Spring Mountain Estate: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Cabernet Franc and a Merlot Reserve from the Mailbox Vineyard. Keenan also offers wines produced from estate fruit blended with grapes grown in carefully selected Napa Valley vineyards. The Keenan family use a true collaborative approach to winemaking, with President Michael Keenan working in concert with General Manager Matt Gardner, Cellar Master Aristeo Garcia Martinez and Cellarhand David Cruz. Matt has been with the estate since 1995. Together, they along with Michael’s son Reilly Keenan, establish winemaking protocols, aging, and the finished style of Keenan wines. The combination of their long term and first-hand knowledge of the winery and vineyards is the key to producing exceptional wines that reflect a minimal, more natural and balanced style. In the tasting room and winery itself, Artistic Director Jennifer Keenan ensures that visitors enjoy not only the taste of the wines, but full experience of the winery, through her creative and playful interior design (see the yarn-bombed bike hanging above the fireplace, for example) and sumptuous event design. The winery enjoys a first-class reputation within the Spring Mountain community, for Keenan’s comprehensive knowledge of winemaking and grape growing, as well as the wonderful warmth offered in the tasting room. Finally, the winery building–incorporating the very walls of the original Conradi Winery–was impressively remodeled in 2014 by Jennifer Walker Keenan’s own father, the highly respected architect John C. “Sandy” Walker (of the renowned firm, Walker & Moody Architects, located in San Francisco). Beyond the winery, Keenan Winery President, Michael Keenan, and son Reilly Keenan, promote and pour the wines for events and winemaker dinners.