Schrader Cellars

Schrader Cellars was founded in 1998 by Fred Schrader. In 1988 Fred Schrader was a dealer in the world of art and antiques when his friend Brian Cole, a Christie's auctioneer, invited him to the Napa Valley Wine Auction. He began his wine career as a partner with Ann Colgin at Colgin-Schrader, and his first Cabernet on his own came from grapes bought in 1998 from Gaudeamus Vineyard on Atlas Peak, with John Kongsgaard as winemaker. In 2000 Fred Schrader tasted a barrel sample of Cabernet whose source he traced to the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville, and he went to the office of grape grower W. Andrew Beckstoffer to secure grapes; the partnership began with a small selection of vine rows. He made his first 100 cases of Beckstoffer Cabernet in 2000. Thomas Rivers Brown joined Schrader Cellars as winemaker in 2000, having never made a bottle of Cabernet, only Zinfandel. Constellation Brands bought Schrader Cellars in 2017. The deal, announced June 16, 2017, covered Schrader's vineyard sourcing and inventory, with Brown staying on as winemaker and Fred and Carol Schrader remaining involved with the brand. At the time Schrader owned no vines of its own. The winery's website carries a 2026 Constellation Brands, Inc. copyright.

• 1998: Schrader Cellars founded by Fred Schrader
• 2000: first grapes from Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard; Thomas Rivers Brown joins as winemaker
• 2017: Constellation Brands buys Schrader Cellars; Brown continues as winemaker
• 2017: Schrader owned no vines of its own

Schrader's team is two people: Thomas Rivers Brown, Winemaker, and Blake Wood, Vineyard Manager. Brown was born in South Carolina and developed an interest in wine while attending the University of Virginia; he began his Napa Valley career at Turley Cellars. He met Fred Schrader in 2000 while working at a local wine shop, and he oversees all aspects of vineyard management and winemaking. Wood is a Napa native and a licensed Pest Control Advisor with a B.S. from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and also holds the title Director of Vineyard Operations at To Kalon Vineyard & Schrader Cellars. Jason Smith, Master Sommelier, was General Manager of Schrader Cellars when the move to Robert Mondavi Winery's To Kalon fruit was announced. Carol Colesworthy Schrader designed the Old Sparky label, which uses Fred Schrader's nickname.

• Thomas Rivers Brown: Winemaker since 2000; oversees vineyard management and winemaking
• Blake Wood: Vineyard Manager; also titled Director of Vineyard Operations at To Kalon Vineyard & Schrader Cellars
• Jason Smith, Master Sommelier: signed the To Kalon sourcing announcement as General Manager
• Fred Schrader: founder, 1998

Schrader's benchmark wines are made from grapes grown on Napa Valley vineyard estates. To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville was first planted in 1868 by Hamilton Crabb. For more than two decades Schrader sourced from Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, which is planted to three clones, 4, 6 and 337, and the CCS bottling comes from 100% Clone 4 in the C1 Block. In 2017 Schrader began a partnership with Robert Mondavi Winery to source from a selection of blocks and clones among the 455 acres of its To Kalon Vineyard, and beginning with the 2022 vintage 100% of Schrader's To Kalon fruit comes from that vineyard. The Robert Mondavi vineyard team converted its To Kalon Vineyard to a certified organic vineyard starting with the 2023 vintage, and Schrader has adopted organic farming practices. Within To Kalon, the Heritage Clone comes from a single block planted to a clone isolated in the 1980's in a UC Davis project; its 2024 release is 100% Clone 31. The Monastery Block sits on the western edge of To Kalon against the Mayacamas foothills, next to the Carmelite monastery that gives it its name, and is dry farmed; its 2024 wine uses clones 685, 31 and 169. Outside To Kalon, Wappo Hill Vineyard in the Stags Leap District was first planted in 1969, and its 2024 wine is 100% Clone 685. The Morisoli Vineyard in Rutherford, farmed by Gary and Christopher Morisoli, gave its inaugural Schrader vintage in 2024, and Brown introduced a Garra Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon with the 2024 offer from a four-acre parcel beside the site of the LPV bottlings. In 2017 Schrader's Cabernet came from Beckstoffer To Kalon, Beckstoffer Georges III in Rutherford and Las Piedras Vineyard in St. Helena.

• Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, Oakville: source from 2000; clones 4, 6 and 337; CCS from Clone 4 in the C1 Block
• Robert Mondavi Winery's To Kalon Vineyard, Oakville: partnership from 2017; sole To Kalon source from the 2022 vintage
• Heritage Clone and Monastery Block: blocks within To Kalon
• Wappo Hill Vineyard, Stags Leap District: first planted 1969
• Morisoli Vineyard, Rutherford, and Garra Vineyard: new with the 2024 vintage

As of September 2026 Schrader's recent vintages are 2024 Heritage Clone, WH, TKS, Morisoli Vineyard, To Kalon Vineyard, Monastery Block and Old Sparky; the 2023 Old Sparky 25th Anniversary Limited Edition; 2021 Beckstoffer To Kalon, CCS, Colesworthy, GIII, RBS and LPV; and 2019 T6. Old Sparky is crafted from a selection of the finest barrels of the vintage and is offered in 1.5L format. In 2017 Old Sparky and CCS, the latter named for Carol Colesworthy Schrader, were made at roughly 80 cases each and bottled only in magnum, and the winery produced between 2,500 and 4,000 cases of Cabernet a year. TKS, a wine sourced 100% from To Kalon Vineyard, was introduced with the 2023 vintage, and the 25th Anniversary Old Sparky was limited to 250 bottles. Double Diamond is the Schrader second wine; it started in 2001, and 10,000 cases of the 2019 were made. The 2023 Double Diamond Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon is crafted by Brown from vineyard lots exclusively in Oakville, and Double Diamond also offers a 2024 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc.

• To Kalon wines (2024): Old Sparky, To Kalon Vineyard, Heritage Clone, Monastery Block, TKS
• Other single-vineyard wines (2024): WH (Wappo Hill) and Morisoli Vineyard
• Beckstoffer-sourced wines (2021): Beckstoffer To Kalon, CCS, RBS, GIII, LPV, Colesworthy; T6 (2019)
• Old Sparky: finest barrels of the vintage, 1.5L; 25th Anniversary edition of 250 bottles in 2023
• Double Diamond: second wine started in 2001; Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon and a Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc

Fred Schrader and Thomas Rivers Brown worked on the style Fred hoped to achieve, which the winery describes as "big, fruit-forward, and abundant with exceptional purity as well as enduring structure." Brown puts it this way: "When I'm making wine for Schrader, the style we're aiming for is something where all the elements of the wine are concentrated, very amplified, but balanced." Wine Spectator wrote in 2017 that the Schraders had created "a distinctive style of opulent, ageworthy Cabernets based mostly on Fred's palate." TKS reflects Brown's exploration of Cabernet Sauvignon isolated to a single block or clone. The 2024 wines are aged in 100% new Darnajou and Taransaud French oak barrels.

• The winery's stated style: big, fruit-forward, with purity and enduring structure
• Brown's aim: concentrated, very amplified, but balanced
• Wine Spectator in 2017: opulent, ageworthy Cabernets based mostly on Fred Schrader's palate
• 2024 wines: 100% new Darnajou and Taransaud French oak barrels

In 2022 an extreme heat wave in early September brought vineyard temperatures up to 110 degrees for several days in a row; some lots, including those intended for Old Sparky, did not meet the winery's standards, and the 2022 offer was limited to the Heritage Clone, Monastery Block, Wappo Hill Vineyard and To Kalon Vineyard bottlings. Old Sparky returned with the 2023 vintage, which the winery marked as its 25th Anniversary. Wine Spectator named the Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Double Diamond 2019 its Wine of the Year for 2022. As of September 2026 the winery hosts tastings at the To Kalon Collective within the Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville, beginning Spring 2026.

• 2017: Constellation Brands buys Schrader; partnership with Robert Mondavi Winery begins
• 2022: September heat wave; offer limited to four wines
• 2022: Wine Spectator names Double Diamond 2019 its Wine of the Year
• 2023: 25th Anniversary vintage and the return of Old Sparky
• Spring 2026: tastings at the To Kalon Collective, Robert Mondavi Winery, Oakville

Primary sources (producer's own site and its linked Double Diamond brand site): https://schradercellars.com/, https://schradercellars.com/pages/about-schrader, https://schradercellars.com/collections/recent-vintages, https://schradercellars.com/pages/visit, https://schradercellars.com/pages/faq, https://schradercellars.com/blogs/team/thomas-brown, https://schradercellars.com/blogs/team/blake-wood, https://schradercellars.com/blogs/journal/2022-sourcing-update, https://schradercellars.com/blogs/journal/2022-vintage-update, https://schradercellars.com/blogs/journal/an-updated-on-vintage-2023-from-jason-smith-ms, https://schradercellars.com/blogs/journal/celebrating-25-years-a-commitment-to-sustainability-at-schrader-cellars, https://schradercellars.com/blogs/journal/presenting-the-2024-vintage-thomas-rivers-brown-winemaker, https://schradercellars.com/blogs/journal/wine-spectator-highlights-2019-schrader-cellars-release, https://schradercellars.com/products/2024-to-kalon-vineyard-old-sparky-1-5l-in-wood-box, https://schradercellars.com/products/2024-schrader-to-kalon-vineyard-heritage-clone-750ml, https://schradercellars.com/products/2024-schrader-to-kalon-vineyard-monastery-block-750ml, https://schradercellars.com/products/2024-schrader-to-kalon-vineyard-tks-750ml, https://schradercellars.com/products/2024-schrader-wappo-hill-750ml, https://schradercellars.com/products/2024-schrader-morisoli-750ml, https://schradercellars.com/products/2023-to-kalon-vineyard-old-sparky-25th-anniversary-1-5l, https://schradercellars.com/products/2021-beckstoffer-to-kalon-vineyard-ccs, https://doublediamondwines.com/. Secondary sources: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2017/06/16/napa-valleys-schrader-cellars-sold-to-constellation-brands/, https://www.winespectator.com/articles/constellation-buys-napa-cabernet-star-schrader-cellars, https://top100.winespectator.com/2022/wine/no-1-schrader/. Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.