Someone once said that the best wines are those which you drink with friends. Located in Knights Valley (that stretch of heaven on the Napa-Sonoma border), Rich and Carol Moran farm just 1,000 vines on about 1 acre of grape vines. They love growing grapes and making wine, with a goal of producing wines that we can drink with their friends, and that you want to share with your friends.
Rich and Carol bought the house and the surrounding twelve acres in 1996 and started two projects: the development of a small winery and the restoration of the house.
As they did more research about the house and the property, they discovered that as early as 1870, there had been grapes growing on the property for the production of wine. As Knights Valley is home to some of the most prestigious and coveted red wines in California, they decided to plant a vineyard on the property again.
With the initial intent of making a Bordeaux-style blend, they planted a variety of red grape vines. The vineyard now consists of approximately 65 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 20 percent Merlot, 10 percent Cabernet Franc and 5 percent Petit Sirah vines. Their first vintage of Anagram, a classic red blend, was released in 2002, and the family has been learning and growing and going strong ever since.
Their son, Brady Moran recently took over winemaking and vineyard management at his parents’ estate.
Brady has over 20 years of experience in the wine business, including sales, hospitality and managing his family vineyard. A summer job working vineyards in the Santa Cruz mountains after high school, coupled with his family planting their own small vineyard in the late 1990s, created a life-long passion for connecting to people through grapes. After studying at UC Davis and Humboldt State University, Brady came to Napa County in 2005, where he spent 9 years in hospitality, before venturing to Oregon for a 5 year stint in the Willamette Valley. The pull to return to Northern California remained strong, and Brady and his family returned to Sonoma County and Red Car in the summer of 2017. Brady continues to organically farm his family vineyard in Knights Valley, and 100% took over the winemaking in 2020.
The family offers wine tastings by appointment only.
