Arnot-Roberts

Arnot-Roberts was founded in Healdsburg, California in 2001 by childhood friends Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts. The project began with a single barrel of wine made in their basement, and the first commercial vintage followed in 2002. Both founders grew up in Napa Valley with exposure to older, more restrained California wine styles, which shaped their conviction that cool, maritime-influenced sites could produce wines of reserved elegance rather than power. From the outset, they focused on identifying vineyard sources that were, at the time, completely unknown or unheralded, and building relationships with those growers over the long term.

• Founded 2001 in Healdsburg, California; first commercial vintage was 2002.
• Started with one barrel of wine produced in their basement before growing slowly through grower partnerships.
• Founders grew up in Napa Valley and were influenced by older, more restrained California wine styles.
• Vineyard sites including Clary Ranch, Fellom Ranch, Trout Gulch, and Luschinger were largely unrecognized before Arnot-Roberts began working with them.

Arnot-Roberts remains firmly in the hands of its two founding partners. Duncan Arnot Meyers serves as the primary winemaker, while Nathan Lee Roberts functions as both cooper and co-winemaker. Nathan's family background is deeply rooted in California wine culture: he is the grandson of Margrit Biever Mondavi, and his father was a co-founder of a California cooperage. Nathan brings this cooperage heritage directly into the winery's production, personally constructing every French oak barrel used to age Arnot-Roberts wines. Wines are released four times per year exclusively to an allocation mailing list, reflecting the winery's deliberate approach to keeping production intimate and demand-driven.

• Duncan Arnot Meyers is the primary winemaker; Nathan Lee Roberts serves as cooper and co-winemaker.
• Nathan is the grandson of Margrit Biever Mondavi and draws on his family's cooperage background.
• Nathan personally builds all French oak barrels used in aging the winery's wines.
• Wines are sold only via four annual allocations to an estate mailing list; no general retail distribution.

Arnot-Roberts holds no vineyard ownership as a winery, instead building its portfolio through long-term sourcing agreements across some of California's most distinctive cool-climate sites. Sources range from the Sonoma Coast and Santa Cruz Mountains to Napa Valley, Sierra Foothills, Santa Rita Hills, Clear Lake, and Mendocino. Key sites include Clary Ranch and Baker Lane on the Sonoma Coast for Syrah, Trout Gulch in the Santa Cruz Mountains for Chardonnay, Fellom Ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains for Cabernet Sauvignon, and Watson Ranch in Napa Valley. The one exception to the no-ownership rule is the Que Syrah vineyard on the Sonoma Coast, which Nathan Roberts and his wife Jenn purchased and have owned since 2013, with Arnot-Roberts managing the site.

• Vineyard sources span seven California regions including Sonoma Coast, Santa Cruz Mountains, Napa Valley, Sierra Foothills, Santa Rita Hills, Clear Lake, and Mendocino.
• Arnot-Roberts does not own any vineyards as a winery entity; the portfolio is built entirely on grower partnerships.
• Que Syrah vineyard on the Sonoma Coast is owned by Nathan Roberts and his wife Jenn; Arnot-Roberts has managed it since 2013.
• Key sites include Clary Ranch and Baker Lane (Syrah, Sonoma Coast), Trout Gulch (Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains), and Fellom Ranch (Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains).

The house style at Arnot-Roberts is defined by restraint and transparency. Whole-cluster fermentation is standard practice, native yeasts are used throughout, and wines are typically bottled without fining or filtration. New oak is used sparingly and primarily for Cabernet Sauvignon bottlings; all barrels are French oak and, notably, built by Nathan Roberts himself. Alcohol levels are kept modest, typically falling between 12 and 13 percent, reflecting the cool, maritime-influenced character of the vineyard sites selected. Annual production runs to roughly 2,000 to 5,000 cases spread across 13 to 17 distinct wines, with each wine made in batches of only 3 to 5 barrels.

• Whole-cluster fermentation and native yeasts are standard; wines are typically not fined or filtered.
• New oak is used minimally and primarily for Cabernet Sauvignon; all barrels are French oak handbuilt by Nathan Roberts.
• Typical alcohol levels range from 12 to 13 percent, reflecting cool, maritime-influenced vineyard sites.
• Total production is approximately 2,000 to 5,000 cases per year across 13 to 17 individual wines, each made in 3 to 5 barrel lots.

Arnot-Roberts represents one of the clearest expressions of the new California wine movement, demonstrating that the state can produce wines of genuine site specificity, restraint, and longevity. By identifying and championing previously overlooked vineyard sites and producing wines at micro-scale with minimal intervention, the founders have influenced a generation of California winemakers. Their presence on the lists of The French Laundry, SingleThread, and Eleven Madison Park confirms their standing within the fine dining world. The winery's range of varieties, from Syrah and Pinot Noir to Trousseau, Gamay, and Cabernet Franc, also signals a willingness to look beyond California orthodoxy and explore what the state's diverse terroir can genuinely offer.

• Wines appear on the lists of The French Laundry, SingleThread, and Eleven Madison Park.
• The winery helped pioneer the new California movement emphasizing cool-climate sites, restraint, and minimal intervention.
• The portfolio includes Trousseau, Gamay, and Cabernet Franc alongside more familiar California varieties, reflecting a broad terroir-driven approach.
• Micro-scale production of 3 to 5 barrels per wine preserves site transparency and drives strong allocation demand.