When you look at the label of the cowboy kicking back in his boots, you probably wouldn’t guess that PB Hein Vineyards is an urban wine. Paul Hein probably wouldn’t consider himself urban either. Paul is a good ol’ Napa Boy. One of the few (like me) whose family was not into the wine business. Although his grandfather a few generations back had vineyards on Mt. Veeder, the current generation of Hein’s limit their wine expertise to consumption.

However, like many in this valley, you can only drink so much wine before the wine bug bites. For Paul Hein that was 2002 when he began fooling around with home winemaking. After winning a few competitions he decided to go commercial in 2005.

Paul does EVERYTHING by hand. No big stainless steel vats, no mechanical pump overs..as a matter fact, as little mechanical intervention as possible is Paul’s philosophy.  This is one reason his Charbonno is so delicious. Charbonno can be quite harsh and tannic, but the hands-on method and the patience (it stays in the barrel 39 months) that are part of Paul’s winemaking make this monster red a feisty teddy bear. The tannins are tame, but the bold spices still shine through. Another favorite of ours is the Syrah from Suisun Valley.

PB Hein Vineyards is not open the public. But as you know, Small Lots Big Wines has access to great and unique wineries such as PB Hein Vineyards. If you are coming to Napa and would like to visit the Urban side of PB Hein Vineyards (or his country side) let us know.