About August Briggs Winery
August Briggs Winery was founded in 1995 by August "Joe" Briggs, a Fresno State-trained winemaker who had spent years consulting for other producers before starting his own label (August is his given name; Joe is his middle name). He built a physical winery on the northern Silverado Trail inside the Calistoga city limits in 2003, and for years it ran as a genuine family affair, with his parents and nephews working the tasting room.
In 2011 Joe and his wife Sally stepped back, selling the winery building and the two-acre estate vineyard to another Napa Valley winemaking family while the August Briggs label went separately to a partnership of relatives and long-serving staff. Today the brand is owned and run by two of those former employees, Colette Milliman, who grew up in Occidental in Sonoma County, and Matthew Gacso.
Their approach is deliberately hands-on: Matt and Colette are both in the vineyard and cellar through harvest, with Matt handling sales and marketing and Colette running the business side the rest of the year, and guests who visit the tasting room often end up talking to one of them. The house philosophy is restrained, small-lot and sustainably farmed winemaking, or as they put it, wines of provenance rather than pretense.
The portfolio is unusually eclectic for its size, spanning single-vineyard and appellation bottlings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Malbec, Zinfandel, Petit Verdot, Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc, alongside the heritage varieties the winery is best known for: Pinot Meunier and Charbono. The Charbono came about almost by accident, after a grower kept pressing them to take it along with his Zinfandel.
Owner-run since the staff buyout: Pinot Meunier, Charbono and a downtown Calistoga terrace.
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Varietals you rarely see,Pinot Meunier and Charbono headline an eclectic single-vineyard lineup from Napa and Sonoma sites.
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Owner-poured,former employees Colette Milliman and Matthew Gacso now own the label and are often behind the bar themselves.
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Walk-ins Friday to Monday,no appointment needed, indoor and outdoor seating in downtown Calistoga, and the tasting fee waived with a bottle purchase.
"Owner-run since the staff buyout: Pinot Meunier, Charbono and a downtown Calistoga terrace."
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Featured Wines
Heritage Red
Charbono
One of the few California producers still working with Charbono, a nearly forgotten variety the winery took on after a grower kept pressing them to buy it alongside his Zinfandel.
Heritage Red
Pinot Meunier
A rare California bottling of the Champagne workhorse as a still red, and a signature August Briggs wine since the founder's era.
Reds
Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Malbec, Zinfandel, Petit Verdot
Single-vineyard and appellation bottlings from Napa and Sonoma sites, made in small lots with minimal intervention.
Whites
Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc
The white side of an intentionally eclectic list, made in the same restrained, provenance-driven style.
Production is small and bottlings rotate by vintage, so the current pour list changes. Check the winery shop or ask in the tasting room for what is open.
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Tasting Flight
A walk-in flight through the small-lot single-vineyard range, typically including the rarities the winery is known for, Pinot Meunier and Charbono, when they are open. Tasting fees are waived with a bottle purchase.
Fee waived with purchase
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Indoor or Outdoor Seating
The winery pours both inside the downtown Calistoga tasting room and outside, so you can take a flight, a glass or a full bottle at a table rather than standing at a bar.
Walk-ins welcome
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Tuesday by Appointment
The tasting room is open Friday through Monday without a reservation, and Tuesdays can be booked by appointment. Contact the winery to arrange a Tuesday visit or a larger group.
By arrangement
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Wine Club
The club is the most reliable way to get the small-lot bottlings, which are made in limited quantities and often sell out, plus member events through the year.
Membership
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