St. Helena’s Vineyard 29 announces a change in leadership

Keith Emerson has been promoted to president and CEO of Napa Valley’s Vineyard 29, a St. Helena winery owned by Chuck and Anne McMinn.

Emerson, who joined Vineyard 29 in 2005 and held the position of vice president of Winemaking and Viticulture, will step in for Chuck McMinn who announced his retirement, the company stated.

The ownership of the company will remain with the McMinn family.

“In 2000, I connected with Vineyard 29 at just the right time – I was ready for a new challenge, and Vineyard 29 needed to grow. The previous owners were ready to wind down, it made sense for us to wind up,” stated Chuck McMinn in the announcement. “Now, we are ready to step back and let new leadership grow the winery’s legacy even more.”

Emerson was named director of winemaking and viticulture and in 2018 vice president of winemaking and viticulture.

Emerson earned an enology and viticulture degree at U.C. Davis in 1999, spent a year at Cakebread Cellars and then became the enologist and associate winemaker at Gundlach Bundschu.

In 2005, the company stated, he launched his own label, Emerson Brown. Other academic accomplishment include earning a degree from Syracuse University and Brown University in addition to an MBA from Harvard Business School.

The company stated Vineyard 29 will add about two new estate vineyards in St. Helena in 2023, the Railroad Estate and Winner Estate, adding 12 acres of additional grapes to the portfolio.

Show Comment