Prime Cellars
Ted & Lisa Henry – Winemaker/Owner PRIME Napa Valley
A fourth generation San Francisco Bay Area native, Ted grew up on his family’s ranch, where he was immersed in agriculture from a young age. Building on his interests in science and agriculture, Ted attended UC Davis, where he soon dedicated himself to studying enology and viticulture. While earning his degree in fermentation science, Ted worked in the lab of famed sensory chemist Dr. Ann Noble, as well as in the lab of noted plant biochemist Dr. Douglas Adams. After graduation, he joined Trinchero Family Estates as part of a team dedicated to establishing a luxury wine program, focused on Trinchero’s Napa Valley estate vineyards. Quickly distinguishing himself, Ted was rapidly promoted from enologist to assistant winemaker and ultimately to associate winemaker, before moving on to Artesa Winery and Vineyards, where he oversaw winemaking for the acclaimed Ridgeline Vineyard. With the 2005 vintage PRIME was launched with 130 cases of Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon. At that time Coombsville was not an approved AVA so right at label printing time the term “District 4” was coined for the wine (named after the 4th grape growing district in California, AKA, Napa Valley).
In 2008, eager to dedicate himself to exclusively making small-production, estate-grown wines, Ted joined Napa Valley’s Jarvis Estate as winemaker. There, he earned a reputation as a talented winemaker with a gifted palate, and an ability to craft beautifully balanced, vineyard-driven wines. While at Jarvis Estate, Ted also had the opportunity to learn from famed consulting winemaker Dimitri Tchelistcheff.Since being named winemaker for Clos Du Val in 2016, Ted has started a transformation of the iconic Stags Leap District winery. With a drastic reduction in quantity and a new focus on quality the wines at both Clos Du Val and PRIME will continue to improve vintage after vintage.
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