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Camalie Vineyards is a family owned retreat on Mt. Veeder, six miles northwest of Napa.  Purchased as a getaway from the hustle and bustle of the peninsula it has become an adventure in grape growing, winemaking and sustainable living.   The name Camalie which rhymes with "family" comes from the names of our children Cameron and Natalie.   

The Vineyard, Grapes and Wine

Camalie Vineyards is comprised of several blocks totaling 4.4 acres which produce 12 tons of fruit on average, about 2.7 tons/acre. Most of our grapes, 95%, are sold to wineries but 5% of the best grapes go into our home wines.  In 2006 we shipped the first grapes from a replanting of the vineyard done in 2003.

Our home made wine is primarily pure Cabernet Sauvignon, but since 2007 we have been making blends with Carmenere and Merlot also grown on the Camalie Vineyards estate.  In 2010 we blended Syrah from one of our neighbors. One block of 200 original Cabernet Sauvignon vines is now 36 years old thanks to their St. George roots surviving the new strain of phyloxera and penetrating deep enough into our clay soils that they no longer need irrigation. Camalie wines are vinted and aged on the estate in a Cave that was dug in 2004. 

Our Cabernet Sauvignon vines planted in the Spring of 2003 are the best ENTAV French clones, types 337,338 and 191.  We also planted 166 Merlot and 166 Carmenere vines at the same time.   See the Cultivar Map for their locations.   The total vine count is now 4200 vines including the 150 "old gentlemen" vines.   Grape growing and informal home winemaking with some of our friends is as far as we plan to go.   The scale of our home winemaking is ~200 gallons/year -- about 80 cases.   

The quality of the grapes from Camalie Vineyards is world class based on numerous blind tastings we have done in the process of making our winemaking.   See my Winemaker's Reports on the vintages 2014, 2013, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2005N 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001 .    Some pictures of Winemaking 2007, 2008, 2009.  The  Bacchus  Cave was completed in April 2007.

The vineyards cover 4.4 acres while native oak/madrone/redwood forest covers the remaining 18 acres, sequestering carbon at a phenomenal rate. 

    MapsPanorama's Old Vineyard, Konrad Vineyards

Viticulture, Soils, Grape Grower's Report 2007, Mark's Monitors,   Napa County Monitors

Our Story - Every Winery and Vineyard has one.

Camalie House Green Home by Arkin-Tilt Architects 

   Construction   

Camalie Networks LLC 

Camalie Networks LLC is the wireless sensor networking enterprise of Camalie Vineyards started up in 2008.  Its mission is to provide grape growers with advanced irrigation information technology to help them optimize grape quality and yield while minimizing water use, pumping energy and risks like irrigation system failure and frost.    The Wireless Sensing system we sell and support was conceived, prototyped and field tested at Camalie Vineyards.  It provides us with detailed real time soil moisture data  and irrigation system status which enables us to optimize our water and energy use to improve yields and fruit quality.  In the upper right corner of this page are a number of links to live data being acquired by the three wireless networks currently active at Camalie Vineyards and two of its neighbors. The Marks-Dash link provides access to data from 8 vineyards distributed across the Napa Valley. The latest News from Camalie Networks is on the Camalie Networks Website.  

Miscellaneous Stuff

Mark's Wine Notes

Recognition for our wine.   Wine Making 20042008

Other Events in the past;  Topping Tasting, Barrel Mix Tasting, Harvest etc. AJ's 30th birthday 

Gary's Website for the Forest Ave. Wine Coop   Lots of pictures of the process and the fun.

Original Winemaking Proposal

New Home Construction        Plans

Garage Remodel

Cave Development        Plans

Site Infrastructure

Mount Veeder Appellation Web Site      Mt. Veeder Geology and climate

Homewine.com where we are listed along with many other Napa home winemakers.  

If you are interested in learning more or in getting a taste send me some e-mail at mholler@pacbell.net or give me a call at 650-799-6571.   I and my wife Cindy own Camalie Vineyards.  Expert Grower Ramon Pulido manages the vineyard for us.  I am the lead winemaker but,  I do get a lot of help from my family and friends.  Camalie Vineyards is a private estate with winemaking still at the home winemaking scale.  It is not open to the general public.  

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 Last updated 6/10/10.  Webmaster mholler@pacbell.net   MboxII  Polka Joe  W&Varticle AJ30 WMnotes BMW