Our Story
Heritage in the Napa Valley
At Girard, we are passionate about wine, dedicated to the land, and proud to call Napa Valley home.
For more than forty years, Girard has been singularly focused on balance — wines that show richness and complexity in equal measure. Decades-long relationships with growers, small-batch fermentation, and meticulous blending produce wines that are consistently award-winning, sip after sip. Our facility and our techniques are built around one idea: take the time each wine needs to express its true character.
Our Vineyards
Napa Valley is steeped in tradition, built on the work of grower families who pioneered this region. Winemaker Glenn Hugo has cultivated decades-long friendships with many of them — families whose ancestors were among the first to plant here, and whose vineyards we have fallen in love with.
Each vintage, we choose fruit from the best sites — mountaintop Cabernet Sauvignon, valley-floor Sauvignon Blanc — to bottle wines that are authentically Napa. Pride sits at the heart of these relationships: their fruit, our craft, one wine.
Our Winemaker
Much as we are rooted in Napa Valley's history, our winemaking team is rooted in Girard's history. Winemaker Glenn Hugo joined Girard in 2006 as a harvest intern and rose quickly to Cellar Master, Assistant Winemaker, and finally Girard Winemaker.
A native Texan, Glenn spent twelve years in the restaurant industry before moving to Napa Valley in 2003 with his wife Pam to pursue his dream of becoming a winemaker. That culinary background informs his artisanal approach — wine as part of the meal, the table, the experience.
By the AVA
High in the Vaca Mountains at roughly 1,600 feet, this vineyard yields wines with dense, focused structure and bold, chewy tannins — a profile that rewards (and often requires) cellar age.
Key attributes — Cool mountain climate, 10–15°F cooler than the valley floor in summer. Elevation 400–2,600 ft, ~34 in. annual rainfall. Shallow, basaltic red volcanic soils.
Grapes sourced — Cabernet Sauvignon
The sub-appellation where winemaker Glenn first learned the differences between Napa's growing regions. Wines from here carry the unmistakable mocha-powder essence locals call “Rutherford dust.”
Key attributes — Warm, with peak summers in the mid-90s°F and strong diurnal swing. Elevation 100–500 ft, ~38 in. annual rainfall. Sedimentary, gravelly and alluvial soils in the west; volcanic to the east.
Grapes sourced — Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot
One of the first AVAs we turned to for the Mountain Series. Iron-rich volcanic soils produce age-worthy wines with well-developed tannins — bold, intense, built to cellar.
Key attributes — Moderately warm with a smaller diurnal range due to elevation. 400–1,800 ft, ~50 in. annual rainfall. Fine-grained soils — a mix of uplifted volcanic and weathered sedimentary.
Grapes sourced — Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cabernet Franc
Known for bold tannins balanced by lush fruit and earth — wines that walk the line between heady and hedonistic. We bottle Oakville only when the harvest is exceptional.
Key attributes — Moderately warm with mid-90s°F summer peaks; moderate fog cools the vines in the evening. Elevation 75–500 ft, ~35 in. annual rainfall. Gravelly alluvial loam in the west; heavier, volcanic soils to the east.
Grapes sourced — Cabernet Sauvignon
A long-standing favorite source — consistently high-quality, well-balanced fruit with vivacity and character. The backbone of our premium blends, Napa Valley Cabernet, Artistry Red Blend, and Sauvignon Blanc.
Key attributes — Warm, with surrounding hills blocking fog and wind. Summers can peak in the mid-to-high 90s°F. Elevation 150–600 ft, ~38 in. annual rainfall. Sedimentary gravel-clay south and west; volcanic north and east.
Grapes sourced — Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Petit Sirah
Our home AVA, in the northern end of Napa with views of the Mayacamas and Vaca ranges. Ample sun, wide day-to-night swings, and exceptional old-vine sites produce wines with depth, focus, and character.
Key attributes — Warm to hot, with summer peaks well into the 90s°F and brisk 50s°F evenings from afternoon marine breezes. Elevation 300–1,200 ft; rainfall ranges 38–60 in. Uniformly volcanic soils — rockier on hillsides, gravelly on alluvial fans, clay-silt on the valley floor.
Grapes sourced — Mixed Blacks field blend, Mixed Whites field blend, Old Vine Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon
Some of Napa's earliest plantings, but an AVA established only in 1999. Insider access to distinctive vineyards yields fruit for our Artistry Red Blend and stand-alone Malbec.
Key attributes — Moderate, with marine influence and morning fog. Summers can reach 90°F, with afternoon breezes preserving acidity. Elevation just above sea level to 100 ft. Primarily gravelly, sedimentary soils.
Grapes sourced — Malbec, Merlot
Gentle morning sunshine and a mix of volcanic and sedimentary soils encourage even ripening — wines marked by firm minerality, softer tannins, and elegance with great aging potential.
Key attributes — Cool to moderate; most vineyards sit above the fog line. Summer peaks rarely exceed 85°F. Elevation 500–2,600 ft, ~45 in. annual rainfall. Shallow, well-drained sandy-loam, sedimentary in origin.
Grapes sourced — Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc
One of Napa's most distinctive AVAs, perched above the fog line beginning at 1,400 feet. Sun-drenched slopes and volcanic soils produce dark, powerful, deeply aromatic wines with structure that only deepens with time.
Key attributes — Warm, dry, with little marine influence. Elevation 1,400–2,600 ft. Shallow volcanic soils, low in fertility. Up to 50 in. of annual rainfall.
Grapes sourced — Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel
Our Wines
Devoted. Focused. Passionate. This is what it takes to craft wines we can stand behind — vintage to vintage, bottle to bottle.
From long-standing grower relationships to meticulous winemaking practices, honoring the true character of each wine is the goal. Every technique we use and every choice we make in the cellar is built around giving each wine the time it needs.
Our commitment to Napa terroir in one collection. What began with Atlas Peak and Diamond Mountain has grown into a lineup of single-AVA Cabernets, each showing what makes its sub-appellation unique. These wines are variable by design — if a vintage isn't perfect, it isn't made.
Our 100-year-old Calistoga vineyard is a tribute to California's winegrowing heritage — to the immigrant families who arrived with cuttings from home and planted the field blends shared between neighbors and traded across villages.
A nod to old-world blending tradition, Artistry is built from 80+ small lots kept separate until blending day. Glenn likens the process to painting on canvas — each lot a shade, the final wine the composition.
We evaluate barrels the way we evaluate vineyards: on merit and on compatibility with each wine. What suits Howell Mountain Cabernet may not suit Yountville Malbec — and what worked last vintage may be bettered the next.