Few places in the world make the grade as a perfect place for producing the Cabernet Sauvignon grape like Winfield Vineyard at the base of Napa Valley's Mount Saint Helena in Napa Valley.

It is that special combination of volcanic soils and cobbled rocks, warm days and cool nights, and naturally small crops. Under the watchful stewardship of a dedicated team, the land expresses this paradise in a rare wine of balance, eloquence and complexity. Pull a cork and taste the place. Be local…enter THE GRADE!

Growers Tom Thornton and Brenda Mixson entered the California wine industry in 1997 with the purchase of their 32 acre ranch in the Calistoga district. While still pursuing their respective careers in architecture and commercial real estate finance, they focused on the success of their 12 acre Cabernet vineyard, which they named Winfield Vineyard, and expressing its incomparable character in a wine glass.

For several years, they have been selling its desirable Cabernet Sauvignon fruit to some of the finest wineries and winemakers in the valley. Entrusting a few tons from the 2004 harvest to their own winemaker, they began their own label - THE GRADE - a phrase taken from a passage by Robert Louis Stevenson in "The Silverado Squatters" in which this famous writer chronicles his

travels past their vineyard location on the Toll Road. Their company, The Grade Cellars, was underway.

Winemaker Rudy Zuidema has crafted magnificent representation of this estate vineyard in THE GRADE. Combining Old and New World fermentation techniques, Rudy "makes" THE GRADE as a balanced fusion of concentrated fruits, rich aromatics and seamless textures.

In addition to estate grown THE GRADE Cabernet Sauvignon, The Grade Cellars is also releasing a new Sauvignon Blanc in May 2009 under the label SEA-FOG - also named after a passage in Stevenson's book.

THE GRADE has been enthusiastically received in the short time since its release in 2008. The Bounty Hunter, a nationally-recognized purveyor of rare wines and luxury lifestyle goods, calls THE GRADE "a rising star" in its catalogue. Acme Fine Wines in St. Helena recently described THE GRADE in its newsletter as follows:

"The wine is simply impressive. The wine truly fits into our Acme portfolio. We make a point of finding enticing, quality-driven wines for our clients in every price range so long as they deliver. DAMN is it nice. Blueberries, brown sugar, rich and creamy. Find a new favorite - we did."