Arrow&Branch Breaks Ground On New Napa Valley Winery

NAPA VALLEY, CA — The proprietors of Napa Valley’s Arrow&Branch Estate Vineyard in Coombsville, Steve and Seanne Contursi, this week announced their plans for a new winery on the 10-acre L'attitude Vineyard they purchased in 2020.

A formal groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 12, at the property in the Oak Knoll American Viticultural Area along state Highway 29 in Napa, at the base of the Mayacamas Mountains.

"Our building plans were delayed by the pandemic, but we are now moving full-speed ahead," Steve Contursi said in a news release. "This will be the new home of Arrow&Branch, including a hospitality area for visitors’ tastings. We have a permit to produce 30,000 gallons per year, the equivalent of about 12,500 cases of our wines."

The new winery, which is expected to be operational by next August, was designed by Taylor Lombardo Architects. The layout, as well as the equipment selection, were overseen by winemaker extraordinaire Jennifer Williams, while the general contractor selected to build this white-glove winemaking facility is Nordby Construction, Contursi said.

Arrow&Branch was established by the Contursi family in 2008 beginning with the purchase of a 3.5-acre vineyard from renowned winemaker Tony Soter in the Coombsville AVA area. They added another 1.5 contiguous acres in 2011 as well as sourcing grapes from four of Napa Valley’s most iconic vineyards. In 2020, they acquired the L'attitude Vineyards from Bob and Joni Williamson, producers of Ideology Cellars wines.

Arrow&Branch currently performs its winemaking and hospitality at Brasswood Cellars in St. Helena. The brand offers single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons from Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard, Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard, and an expected release in 2024 from Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard. Other Arrow&Branch wines include their flagship Right Bank Bordeaux Blend that features their estate Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Sauvignon Blanc, all sourced from historic vineyards in Napa Valley.

The name Arrow&Branch is a reference to numismatics, which is the study or collection of coins. Since 1975, Steve Contursi has personally invested in and traded historically significant, museum-quality, ultra-rare United States coins.

Contursi once owned the first gold coin struck in the United States, the legendary 1787-dated Brasher Doubloon that he sold for $7.4 million to a Wall Street investment firm in 2011. Part of the design on that early American gold coin, and a motif used on many other U.S. coins since then, features an eagle holding an olive branch and arrows in its talons. It signifies that the United States is a nation of peace but ready to defend itself. That enduring design inspired the name, Arrow&Branch, he said.