Scott Cellars Story

Open: Year Round

It started on a warm night in Los Angeles during the 1992 "LA/Rodney King" riots. As trundles of smoke dotted the horizon, and an eerie silence crept over my apartment complex in the San Fernando Valley, I asked myself, "What am I doing here at this time of my life?" Riots in your own back yard will do that to a person. I had a good job with a promising future in broadcasting, but my heart was not there. After a few glasses of a magnificent '86 Napa Cab, I came up with the crazy idea that I wanted to own and operate my own winery. One more glass of wine and it was a done deal.

Not having a trust fund to work with, I embarked on a series of jobs designed to teach myself about the different facets of the business of wine. After 10 years of holding jobs from wine store clerk to winemaker, I muddled together enough money to launch Scott Cellars in 2005. The focus has always been on making small lots of extremely high quality wine. I opened a tasting room in April of 2007 and shortly after that a severe downturn staggered the economy. The lessons were and still are good and the smart survive.

Purse strings were tight, but money was never an object when it came to grapes. Getting the best grapes and making the best wine is what it is all about. That is what I am passionate about. The vineyards I work with are some of the best and I make the wines in the most tactile way I can. Quality drives every winemaking decision and balance is the Scott Cellars mantra.

All the wines are big, full rich versions of each varietal and blend. That is the Scott Cellars style. The Pinot Blanc is rich in stone fruit yet refined and refreshing. The Sangiovese is wildly aromatic and sets a new benchmark style for the varietal. The blends are carefully crafted and tremendously complex.