In 2011, the Davis family purchased the century-old estate winery and began their ambitious restoration project to create a distinguished winery. Mike Davis has a long and fond association with the Napa Valley. Growing up in San Mateo County just south of San Francisco, his family spent summer vacations at the Napa Valley Ranch Club. Davis Estates is the culmination of a life long dream. Here the vision is carved from this historic site as an estate winery focused on wines of the highest pedigree.
Family
Davis Estates is a family owned and operated estate located in Calistoga, Napa Valley. We are intricately involved in the fabric of day-to-day operations and, together with our world-class team, are committed to building a sustainable property while crafting premiere Napa Valley wines to be enjoyed today and for generations to come.
Kara, Sean, Brandon, Erica, Chase, Sandy, Mike, and Lily Davis. Pictured from left to right, top to bottom
Director Of Brand Development
Brandon Davis has quickly become a utility player at Davis Estates. Becoming part of the family business one department at a time, he is taking no short cuts when it comes to learning the workings of owning a winery. The winery is more than just a family business to Brandon. In 2012 he got married at the property, and shortly after settled into a home located on one of the family’s vineyard estates in the Carneros AVA. He and his wife currently raise their two children along-side the estates Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines. Their two children and 3rd generation Davis’, Michael Chase and Lillian James each have a wine named after them, Classic Chase and Lily Fleur.
A pillar at all Davis Estates events and creative meetings since its inception, he didn’t begin working at the winery in an official capacity until 2019. Previously Brandon had been racing and coaching in top levels of world class sports car racing, but with the anticipated arrival of his second child, Brandon wanted to focus on the future. He is now learning from his father, Mike Davis, and continuing the legacy of Davis Estates’. A graduate of the University of Denver Business School, Brandon’s skill set now ranges from business management to hospitality to winemaking. The cellar blends into his role in the tasting room with in-depth knowledge and behind the scenes winemaking experience. Brandon’s favorite part of hosting guests is sharing an appreciation of the beautiful wines he’s helping to craft. The care and detail that goes into each wine from bud-break to harvest, fermentation to bottle, his passion for the wine is easy to bond over.
President
Jessica Link started her career path as one of the first three graduates from the Wine Business program at Sonoma State University. She came up through the ranks at Beringer Vineyards, Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards and Robert Young Estate Winery developing a broad-based experience in management, finance, sales, hospitality and customer service. Her out-going nature, insatiable curiosity and complete lack of inhibition to ask “who, what, why or how?” have exposed her to people and elements of the business well beyond the roles she’s held.
Continuing her immersion into the world of wine, Jessica lives on her family’s vineyard and manages the small family label. Selling their extremely boutique wine on weekends and vacations allows her to stay intimately connected to people who truly enjoy wine, and the accompanying experiences and stories. All of this has reinforced her belief that wine is about people, and sharing, and fun!
Jessica joined Davis Estates at the opening of the winery in May of 2016 and helped move the brand from infancy to excellence, with no intent to slow now! This journey takes strategic planning, fantastic wines and incredible hospitality, with a team that is provided the opportunity to grow and succeed through creative processes, education, training and cool toys!
Winemaker
Walter Leiva is a Napa native whose very first memories consist of picnics with his family at wineries in Napa and Sonoma. As time passed, his passion for wine turned into a career after graduating from Napa Valley College’s viticulture and oenology program. Walter has had the pleasure of working under the tutelage of some of Napa valley’s top winemakers and consultants. Residing in Calistoga near the winery gives him a bit more spare time where he can be found working on his garden or hiking and camping with his wife and baby.
In 2016, he was thrilled to join Davis Estates as part of its winemaking team. As winemaker, working under the general direction of consultant winemakers, he is responsible for all aspects of wine production on the estate. The enchanting blend of science, nature and art is something that deeply resonates with him.
Director of Events and Membership
Olivia Henpenn is a Sonoma County native, having grown up in west Sonoma County. She graduated from the University of San Francisco with a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management and her passion for wine brought her to back to her roots in wine country. Olivia now lives in Sonoma, again, with her husband and three young children. In her spare time she loves being with family, camping, spending time at the family farm or baking with the kids.
She joined the Davis Estates team, shortly after its grand opening, as the Director of Events and Membership. Olivia is the woman behind most all the communication to our loyal Davis Estates and Phase V members. From planning a corporate wine education dinner to helping our members get their wine, she is the one that makes things happen. Family is obviously important to Olivia, and she enjoys being a part of a growing, family-owned winery. “I love being a part of this small team, where new ideas are welcomed and given the opportunity to grow.”
Director of Hospitality
Peter Huls’ roots run deep in Sacramento where he worked for several high-end restaurants before falling in love with food and wine. After graduating from Sacramento State University with a bachelor’s in hospitality management, he decided to make the move to Napa Valley where he had the pleasure of working at several family owned wineries, ranging from casual to luxury (Niebaum Coppola, Rubicon Estate, Inglenook and Miner Family.) What started as a thirst and curiosity of wine could not be stopped, he continued to pursue a more formal wine education by becoming a Certified Sommelier through the court of Master Sommeliers in 2014.
In 2018 Pete joined the Davis Estates team as the Hospitality Manager, fostering the team to execute truly exceptional estate experiences. He strongly believes that the luxury wine business is all about relationships and enthusiasm. After spending just a few minutes chatting with Pete, it’s hard not to share his energy and passion and come away with a few new facts or tidbits about wine. The Calistoga AVA is one of his absolute favorites within Napa Valley and he looks forward to sharing it with guests.
Executive Chef
Mark Caldwell began his culinary path in the San Francisco Bay Area at a young age amongst his siblings in the family kitchen. Enjoying food with family in his youth led to the pursuit of a formal culinary education at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, an affiliate of Le Cordon Bleu. During his training he honed his technique in the kitchen and developed a passion for pairing. Chef Mark first put his training to use at Chateau Sovereign Winery before joining the team at J Vineyards, where he quickly rose to the position of Executive Chef. During his tenure he sowed the seeds of an emerging food and wine program which bloomed into a sophisticated dining experience.
At Davis Estates, Chef Mark continually searches for the perfect marriage of wine and food which is both supportive and complimentary. Surprising gastronomic combinations reveal new arrangements of flavors on the palate which paint the estate wines in a new light. The natural interaction of ingredients serves to delight guests of the Estate and to help inspire the discovery and pursuit of new epicurean confluences in their own homes and kitchens. As the pairing program evolves to showcase the first and freshest flavors of the season creativity is served one bite at a time with the view of Calistoga’s natural beauty as the perfect backdrop.