Meet the Team

Richard and Cris Partridge | Owners

Born and raised in the Midwest, Richard and Cris Partridge moved to Orange County, CA in the early 80's to found a manufacturer's representative company for major back up power and power generation equipment. Still keeping their day job, weekends in Napa Valley led to a plan to make wine, and in 1996 Richard and Cris purchased property in Napa for what would become Partridge Cellars. Although the winery began with a focus on Cabernet Sauvignon, Richard did agree to make a few hundred cases of Chardonnay each year so Cris would go along with the idea. Today, Partridge Cellars exists with one main goal in mind: to make a small amount of the very best wines possible.

Jeff Fontanella | Winemaker

Jeff is a graduate of the University of California at Davis and holds a degree in Viticulture and Enology. Jeff began his winemaking career working in the cellars of Opus One and ZD, and soon after took a position at one of Napa’s great cult wineries, Saddleback Cellars. At Saddleback, Jeff sharpened his winemaking skills under the tutelage of Nils Venge whom Robert Parker named as one of the 20 most influential winemakers in the world. Jeff is intimately involved with the viticulture practices used in our vineyards. It is from this vantage point that Jeff is able to extract the true potential of each vineyard through the delicate and strategic process of shepherding the grapes from crush to bottle.