Experienced Napa Vintner Tom Gamble Pioneers a New Wine Brand: The Mill Keeper 

“I remember fondly the days of negociant-style California wines of the 1970s and 80s being shared at my parents’ table,” says Gamble. “Over the last several decades, Napa has continued to reach higher levels of excellence. As quality and reputation have grown, so has demand, and increasingly wines from the Napa Valley have become wines for a special occasion. But Napa Valley’s roots are humble and the Mill Keeper is designed to honor that heritage and bring California Cabernet back to the everyday dinner table.”

The Gamble family’s historic relationships with farmers allows The Mill Keeper to source fruit from generational vineyards and give second life to smaller, overlooked sites with the goal of preserving family-owned farms. In so doing, The Mill Keeper sources responsibly grown fruit to create high quality, environmentally conscious wine at a value. Like the first settlers of Napa, The Mill Keeper strives to be a steward of the land and pledges to safeguard its health and surrounding ecosystems for future generations through strategic partnerships with sustainable agencies.

Today, The Mill Keeper is a proud sponsor of Napa’s State Historic Park, Bale Grist Mill, which served as part of the early inspiration for the brand. The mill was established in 1849 by Dr. Edwin Bale, an Englishman and chief military surgeon to General Vallejo. An untimely death left his widow, María Ignacia Soberanes Bale, to become the new mill keeper. She successfully operated the mill and became a pillar of the early Napa Valley community. Inspired by the legacy of Soberanes Bale, The Mill Keeper Multi Vintage Chardonnay and The Mill Keeper Cabernet Sauvignon labels feature artwork that commemorates the female artisans who crafted some of the earliest wine in the Napa Valley.

“The hard work of these men and women and their dedication to the land transformed the Napa Valley into a thriving, prosperous community,” says Gamble. “The Mill Keeper brand embodies that pioneering spirit and the Gamble Family’s desire to bring the virtues of their dedication and the resulting agrarian bounty of California’s wine country to consumers in the United States and globally.”

The artist behind The Mill Keeper labels is Mark Summers, who specializes in classic scratchboard techniques—a medium once popular in printed publications that became essentially obsolete by the 1970s. Summers has dedicated his three-decade long career to reviving the popularity of these art techniques, using his own pen and knife to work with brands ranging from Rolling Stone Magazine to the United States Postal Service. The Gamble family, recognizing the painstaking dedication that such an art style requires, commissioned Summers for The Mill Keeper artwork to reflect the hard-working virtue of the original Napa settlers.

Beyond the labels, The Mill Keeper wines are packaged in lightweight bottles with sugarcane corks and forego the use of foils. In addition to the multi-vintage offerings, The Mill Keeper also produces the 2020 The Mill Keeper White Wine (SRP $35), a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay; the 2019 The Mill Keeper Red Wine (SRP $60), a classic Bordeaux Blend; and the 2019 The Mill Keeper Cabernet Sauvignon (SRP $80).

These wines are available for purchase at www.themillkeeper.com and are distributed throughout the country in select markets. For specific locations, please contact Jarvis Communications.