Peter Michael Winery

In 1982, after six years of searching for land that could serve as both vineyard and family retreat, Sir Peter and Lady Michael purchased 630 acres of volcanic ridges on the western face of Mount Saint Helena in Knights Valley, in the far northeastern corner of Sonoma County. The land, previously called Sugar Loaf Ranch and spanning just over 600 acres, was a largely abandoned ranch of mountainside wilderness; a nearby town had burned down in the 1960s, and the area remains without hotels, tasting rooms, or a post office, with local wineries using a Calistoga mailing address. Sir Peter paid $1 million for the ranch. Vines went into the ground the following year, and Sir Peter's son Paul, then 18, helped plant the first 16 acres of the Les Pavots vineyard in 1989. Sir Peter established his eponymous winery in 1987, and the winery building, still the only winemaking facility in Knights Valley, began construction in 1989.

The purchase was guided by Sir Peter's "100x100" vision: 100 percent family ownership for at least 100 years. Sir Peter Michael, born in 1938 and raised near Croydon in South London, made his fortune as an entrepreneur in microelectronics and other media technology before turning to wine; in 1989 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Today the winery is guided by his son Paul and Paul's wife Emily, who first visited the ranch in 1996 shortly after their engagement; the couple married in 1997 and have three children, Elliot, Anna, and Mylo, who have visited the ranch every year since infancy. Lady Michael, known as Maggie, oversees pedigree herds and organic crops on the family's farm in Berkshire, England and takes a close interest in the winery's farming. Paul and Emily taste all the estate's parcels individually but leave blending decisions to the winemaking team.

Peter Michael Winery farms three vineyard estates totaling 1,191 acres, with 201 acres planted to vines; the remainder is preserved as wildlife habitat. The Knights Valley Ranch, home to the winery itself, spans nearly 750 acres with 149 planted on the slopes of Mount Saint Helena between roughly 900 and 1,900 feet, on rocky, volcanic-origin rhyolite soil. Its named blocks include the Les Pavots vineyard (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, planted 1989-1999, 900-1,400 feet) and four single-vineyard Chardonnay blocks: Ma Belle-Fille (planted 1999, 1,700-1,900 feet, named for Paul's wife Emily), Belle Cote (planted 1990, 1,700-1,800 feet), La Carriere (planted 1994, 1,200-1,700 feet), and Mon Plaisir (1,700-1,800 feet); together these blocks produce six Chardonnay bottlings, including Point Rouge and Cuvee Indigene. The Seaview Estate, in the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA on the Sonoma Coast, covers 400 acres with 28.5 planted to three Pinot Noir vineyards at 1,000-1,450 feet; the family bought the property in 1998, and it took eight years before the first vines went in due to the remote, rugged terrain and environmental permitting. The Oakville Estate in Napa Valley's Oakville AVA covers 41 acres with 26 planted on the benchland to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot; the family bought the vines in 2009 on the former Showket vineyard site. The winery has also sourced Pinot Noir fruit from the Pisoni Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA since 2003.

Les Pavots, the Cabernet-based Bordeaux blend from Knights Valley, debuted with a small lot from the 1988 vintage and remains the flagship; L'Esprit des Pavots is a second Cabernet blend from the same fruit. The estate also produces the white Bordeaux blends L'Apres-Midi and Coeur a Coeur, both Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon from Les Pavots vineyard; Sauvignon Blanc first debuted in the 1991 vintage. From the Seaview Estate come three Pinot Noirs, Ma Danseuse (named for Lady Michael), Le Caprice, and Clos du Ciel, first released with the 2009 vintage. Le Moulin Rouge, a Pinot Noir first made with the 1997 vintage, is sourced from the Pisoni Vineyard. Au Paradis, a Cabernet Sauvignon from the Oakville Estate, debuted with the 2011 vintage, and Le Chapeau Blanc is also produced from Oakville fruit.

Helen Turley made the winery's earliest wines, including the debut 1988 Les Pavots, produced at the Vinwood Cellars custom-crush facility in Geyserville. Mark Aubert succeeded her as winemaker. Vanessa Wong joined as Aubert's assistant winemaker in 1996 and became winemaker for the 1999 and 2000 vintages before leaving in 2001 to found Peay Vineyards with her husband, Nick Peay. Luc Morlet, who had arrived in the United States in 1993, was full-time winemaker from 2001 to 2005 and continued consulting afterward. His brother, Nicolas Morlet, joined the winery in 2005, following Luc into the winemaker role; Nicolas grew up in Epernay, where their family has owned Champagne Pierre Morlet for five generations. Robert Fiore, who trained in geophysics and previously worked with Tim Mondavi's team at Continuum, was the newly appointed winemaker as of late 2021.

Since 1997, eight Peter Michael wines have placed on Wine Spectator's Top 100 list, three of them in the Top 10, and the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Au Paradis was Wine No. 1 on Wine Spectator's 2015 Top 100, scoring 96 points. The vineyard behind that wine was planted in 1988 by Kal and Dorothy Showket, who sold it to Peter Michael in 2009. Wine Spectator has described the flagship Les Pavots as routinely earning classic ratings of 95 points or higher on its 100-point scale. Sotheby's global wine business head Jamie Ritchie has credited the winery with helping set a benchmark for California Chardonnay and for classically structured California Pinot Noir. In 2021, the winery began working with the Bordeaux negociant CVBG to sell its flagship Les Pavots and Au Paradis through the Bordeaux Place. The family also owns The Vineyard, a wine-themed luxury hotel Sir Peter opened 40 miles west of London in 1996, whose restaurant wine list has received Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence.

Primary: petermichaelwinery.com (home, our-story, land, land/knights-valley-estate, wines, journal/the-founding-of-peter-michael-winery). Secondary: Club Oenologique, "Sir Peter Michael's journey from Silicon Valley to Knights Valley" (Nov 24, 2021); Wine Spectator, "Peter Michael's Quest" (Nov 15, 2014); Wine Spectator, "California's New Generation: Vanessa Wong" (Aug 15, 2003); Wine Spectator Top 100, "Wine No. 1 of 2015" (Peter Michael Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Au Paradis 2012). Last verified 2026-09-14.