McCollister Estates is a two coast project built on one belief: great wine is a clear expression of place, guided by intention and made without shortcuts.

After nearly four years of planning, we planted our home vineyard in Southampton, New Jersey in 2019. With guidance from close friends in Napa, we selected our clones and rootstock, then built the vineyard around what New Jersey demands. We planted in tight clusters like Bordeaux to help manage vigor in a wetter climate, trained the vines low, and farm without irrigation so the site can speak honestly through each vintage.

In 2020 we launched our Napa project with fruit from Howell Mountain, but the fires swept through and we lost the crop. In 2021 we produced our first vintage from both coasts. In 2022, soil testing in New Jersey confirmed we do not have phylloxera, which led us to shift to non grafted, own rooted vines a change that has proven highly successful.

Today, New Jersey is home to more than 4,000 vines across Poppy Vineyard and Primrose Vineyard, with Bella Vineyard being planted this spring. Our plantings focus on Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, with a small amount of Riesling that will eventually have its own release. In Napa, Maayan Koschitzky stewards the west coast side of the project.

We produce Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc from each coast, plus a red blend from Napa and a red blend from New Jersey. Two climates, two expressions, one signature.

Kelly and I began our wine journey in 2012 after opening our first 100 point bottle, the 2010 Château Léoville Barton. That spark led to formal study through the Court of Master Sommeliers and WSET, and to making wine in New Jersey starting in 2014. Those years of learning became the foundation for what McCollister Estates is today: a focused pursuit of excellence, coast to coast.

Cheers!

Dan and Kelly McCollister