Continuum Estate

Continuum Estate was founded in 2005 by Tim Mondavi, his sister Marcia Mondavi Borger, and their father Robert Mondavi, the year after the 2004 sale of Robert Mondavi Winery to Constellation Brands. The family describes that sale as forced: the long-term work of fine winemaking, in their telling, was a poor fit with the quarterly demands of a publicly traded company. The first vintages, 2005 through 2007, were made from To Kalon Vineyard fruit while the family searched for permanent land. In 2008 and 2009 the family acquired contiguous parcels on the slopes of Pritchard Hill, combining two existing properties, Versant (founded by former architect Richard Martin) and Cloudview (founded by former marine biologist Leighton Taylor), into what became Sage Mountain Vineyard. The winery, designed by Backen, Gillam and Kroeger Architects, opened in time for the 2013 harvest, the first flagship vintage vinified on site.

• Founded 2005 by Tim Mondavi, Marcia Mondavi Borger, and Robert Mondavi, the year after the sale of Robert Mondavi Winery to Constellation Brands
• First three vintages (2005-2007) produced with To Kalon Vineyard fruit while the family searched for permanent land
• Pritchard Hill property acquired in 2008 and 2009, combining the former Versant and Cloudview parcels into Sage Mountain Vineyard
• Winery by Backen, Gillam and Kroeger Architects; opened for the 2013 harvest, the first flagship vintage vinified on site

Tim and Marcia Mondavi Borger's families lead Continuum today, continuing four generations of Mondavi winemaking that trace back to Cesare Mondavi's first grape-sourcing venture in 1919. Tim, born in 1951 and trained in enology and viticulture at UC Davis, led the winemaking team at Robert Mondavi Winery from 1974 to 2004; in that time he developed the Opus One joint venture with Chateau Mouton Rothschild and helped create the Luce (Italy) and Sena (Chile) joint ventures. The fourth generation works in the estate day to day. Carissa Mondavi guides communications, marketing, hospitality and sales. Dante Mondavi, a fourth-generation winegrower, joined Continuum in 2007 managing the cellar and now oversees West Coast sales. Dante co-founded RAEN winery on the Sonoma Coast in 2013 with his brother Carlo, who also co-founded the autonomous-tractor company Monarch Tractor and is not directly involved in Continuum day to day. A fifth sibling, Dominic, is a graphic artist and designer and is likewise not directly involved. Chiara Mondavi, Tim's daughter, painted the shadow painting reproduced on Continuum's label and is the winegrower leading Sentium, the fourth generation's own Sauvignon Blanc project. In 2018 Tim brought on viticulturist Ashton Leutner and winemaker Steven Nelson.

• Tim and Marcia Mondavi Borger's families continue four generations of Mondavi winemaking, back to Cesare Mondavi's 1919 grape-sourcing venture
• Tim Mondavi, UC Davis-trained, led Robert Mondavi Winery's winemaking team from 1974 to 2004, including developing Opus One with Chateau Mouton Rothschild
• Carissa Mondavi works across communications, marketing, hospitality and sales; Dante Mondavi joined in 2007 and now handles West Coast sales
• Chiara Mondavi painted the estate's label art and leads the family's Sentium project; winemaker Steven Nelson and viticulturist Ashton Leutner joined the team in 2018

Continuum's wines come from Sage Mountain Vineyard, a 173-acre property on Pritchard Hill on Napa Valley's eastern side. Of that total, 71 acres are under vine in 45 separate 1- to 2-acre blocks, each farmed individually for its own soil, aspect and elevation. Vineyard elevations run from 1,325 to 1,600 feet, above the valley fog line; at night warm air rises from the valley floor over the vines, and by day cool San Francisco Bay breezes temper the sun. Soils are red, rocky and volcanic, low in fertility, forcing the vines to struggle. Current plantings are 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 10% Petit Verdot and 5% Merlot. Yield figures differ by source and year: a June 2023 Wine Independent profile by Lisa Perrotti-Brown cited an average of around 1.8 tons per acre, down to as little as half a ton per acre in the difficult 2015 vintage, while a 2025 Wine Spectator feature put yields at typically around 2.5 tons per acre after farming changes that followed that low point. The estate also grows about an acre of olives, more than 553 trees of six varieties (Frontaio, Redding, Sevillano, Picholine, Mission and Pendolino), hand-harvested and pressed locally since 2008. Robert's Grove, a planting of 100-year-old olive trees outside the winery, honors Robert Mondavi.

• 173 total acres on Pritchard Hill; 71 acres planted, divided into 45 separate 1- to 2-acre blocks
• Elevation 1,325 to 1,600 feet on rocky, low-vigor volcanic soils above the fog line
• Current plantings: 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 10% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot
• Yields: as little as half a ton per acre in 2015 and around 1.8 tons per acre on average (Wine Independent, 2023); typically around 2.5 tons per acre (Wine Spectator, 2025)
• About an acre of olives, 553-plus trees of six varieties, hand-harvested since 2008; Robert's Grove of 100-year-old olive trees honors Robert Mondavi

Continuum's portfolio centers on two wines: the flagship blend of Cabernet family varieties and a second wine, Novicium. All grapes are hand-harvested and hand-sorted, then fed by gravity into oak and concrete fermentation vessels, including Taransaud and Francois Freres oak foudres of 2.5 to 8 tons and concrete vessels of 3 to 6 tons; stainless steel is used only for racking or blending. The wines age in French oak barriques, about two-thirds new, typically for 20 to 22 months, and are bottled unfined and unfiltered. Estate fruit came to define the flagship gradually: the 2008 vintage was 71% estate fruit, 2011 reached 98.5%, and every vintage from 2012 onward has been 100% estate-grown. No flagship wine was produced in 2020; the Wine Independent attributes this to the proximity of that year's Hennessey Fire, while the Napa Wine Project attributes it to smoke taint from the Glass Fire. Novicium, first made in 2010, draws on fruit from younger estate vines and has typically carried a large share of Cabernet Franc; recent vintages have moved toward a more classic Cabernet Sauvignon expression, and the 2023 Novicium is 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Merlot. The 2023 flagship Continuum, Tim Mondavi's 50th vintage as winemaker for the family, is 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot. The winery, designed with architect Howard Backen and UC Davis's Roger Boulton, harvests roof rainwater for its winemaking needs and hosts early carbon-capture research trials. As of 2025, roughly 11,000 square feet of caves have been tunneled into the hillside for barrel aging, and a hospitality-space remodel is underway, both expected to be complete by 2027.

• Hand-harvested, hand-sorted, gravity-fed into oak foudres and concrete vessels; aged in French oak (about two-thirds new) for 20 to 22 months; bottled unfined and unfiltered
• Estate fruit share rose from 71% (2008) to 98.5% (2011) to 100% every vintage from 2012 onward
• No flagship wine made in 2020; sources differ on whether the Hennessey Fire or the Glass Fire was responsible for that year's smoke exposure
• Novicium launched with the 2010 vintage from younger estate vines; 2023 Novicium is 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, up from a blend historically weighted more toward Cabernet Franc
• As of 2025, about 11,000 square feet of caves tunneled into the hillside, with a hospitality remodel underway, both expected complete by 2027

Continuum Estate holds a distinct place in Napa Valley: a single-minded, family-led Pritchard Hill estate centered on a flagship wine and a second wine, Novicium, sold to collectors through its own mailing list and allocation program and distributed in select US markets and parts of Asia and Europe. Continuum carries four generations of Mondavi winemaking onto a hillside vineyard the family bought in 2008 and 2009. Recent vintages have drawn strong critical scores: James Suckling scored the 2021 vintage 99 points and the 2022 vintage 98 points, and named the 2021 to his Top 100 World Wines of 2024. A July 2025 Wine Spectator feature framed the estate's story as the learning curve required to adapt Tim Mondavi's winemaking, developed on the Napa valley floor, to the low-vigor, high-elevation volcanic conditions of Sage Mountain Vineyard. Cabernet Franc makes up 30% of plantings and 41% of the 2023 flagship blend, and since 2012 the flagship has come entirely from that one hillside above the Napa fog line.

• A Pritchard Hill estate centered on a flagship wine and a second wine, Novicium, from volcanic hillside soils distinct from the valley floor
• 2021 vintage scored 99 points by James Suckling and named to his Top 100 World Wines of 2024; 2022 vintage scored 98 points by James Suckling
• Cabernet Franc: 30% of plantings, 41% of the 2023 flagship blend
• Sold to collectors through the estate's own mailing list and allocation program, and distributed in select US markets and parts of Asia and Europe

Primary: continuumestate.com (home, foundation, our-site, winegrowing, wine, wine/novicium, wine/sentium, wine/olive-oil, hospitality, trade, wine/continuum-past-vintages, wine/sentium-past-vintages, plus Tim Mondavi, Carissa Mondavi and Dante Mondavi biography PDFs, the Mondavi family timeline PDF, and James Suckling score cards for the 2021 and 2022 vintages hosted on the trade page). Secondary: Napa Wine Project (napawineproject.com/continuum-estate), The Wine Independent (Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, June 2023), Wine Spectator (James Molesworth, July 2025, PDF reprint hosted on the producer's trade page), and JamesSuckling.com's Top 100 World Wines 2024 feature. Last verified 2026-10-12.