About Burgess Cellars
Burgess Cellars was founded in 1972 by Tom Burgess, a former Air Force pilot, on a Howell Mountain hillside first planted to vines in the 1870s by Swiss-Italian immigrants. Winemaker Bill Sorenson crafted Burgess wines for 41 consecutive vintages, one of the longest tenures of any winemaker in Napa Valley history.
The original winery and much of its older library was destroyed in the September 2020 Glass Fire, just weeks after Gaylon Lawrence's Lawrence Wine Estates had purchased the property; the vineyard itself, now called Sorenson Vineyard, survived. Burgess now pours in a new Oak Knoll District tasting room, and Lawrence Wine Estates also owns nearby Heitz Cellar and Stony Hill Vineyard.
Tom Burgess's 1972 Howell Mountain estate, whose original winery burned in the 2020 Glass Fire weeks after a change in ownership.
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41 vintages, one winemaker,Bill Sorenson made Burgess's mountain Cabernet Sauvignon for 41 consecutive years, one of the longest single-winemaker tenures in Napa Valley.
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Destroyed by fire, weeks after a sale,the original hillside winery burned in the 2020 Glass Fire just weeks after new owner Lawrence Wine Estates completed its purchase, though the vineyard survived.
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Part of a growing Napa portfolio,Burgess now shares ownership with nearby Heitz Cellar and Stony Hill Vineyard under Lawrence Wine Estates, led by Master Sommelier Carlton McCoy Jr.
"Tom Burgess's 1972 Howell Mountain estate, whose original winery burned in the 2020 Glass Fire."
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Featured Wines
Current Releases
Wines change with each vintage
For an accurate list of current-release wines and library bottlings from Burgess Cellars, please check the winery's official website or contact the tasting room directly. Howell Mountain producers typically rotate vintages and offerings seasonally.
Tasting Experiences
Visit Website →1943 Stone Cellar Mountain Appointment
Appointment in one of Howell Mountain's most historically continuous and architecturally authentic stone cellar estates (1943), estate Howell Mountain Cabernet and Napa Valley Chardonnay from the volcanic terrain that Tom Burgess identified as distinctive mountain Cabernet country before the AVA existed in 1972.
From $45
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