Chris & Pauline Tilley
Chris and Pauline Tilley founded V Madrone Cellars in St. Helena, California at the site of a pre-prohibition winery (also known as a “ghost” winery) whose foundation was originally laid in 1887 and then shuttered before the onset of Prohibition in 1920. Though continuing a long-term restoration of the buildings on the V Madrone campus, the Tilleys opened a tasting room after the completion of the first phase in December 2008.
In 2001, Chris and Pauline planted a 3.5 acre estate cabernet vineyard adjoining the winery and released their very first vintage, V Madrone Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, in 2004. The vineyard is situated on a slope just west of Highway 29 in the St. Helena appellation approximately 2 miles north of the Town of St. Helena and along a narrow bench of land that is home to several prestigious vineyards and wineries. V Madrone produces 1200-1400 cases of wine per year, half of which is Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and the remainder is approximately 200-300 cases each of Petite Sirah, Old Vine Zinfandel and Carneros Chardonnay.
Chris, born and raised in Napa Valley, had always dreamed of being a “farmer.” He spent 28 years in the property casualty insurance business in New York, where he met his wife, Pauline. An attorney who had spent 25 years on Wall Street and other financial guaranty insurance firms practicing public finance law, Pauline, native to Dublin, Ireland left the east coast with Chris and headed to Napa in 2008. Before they knew it, they were full time “vintners” and haven’t looked back!
Chris and Pauline have four children between the ages of 23 to 30, and last year their daughter, Charlotte joined the V Madrone team full-time. Now entering their fourth year of operating the V Madrone Tasting Room and offering their ninth vintage of V Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon, the Tilleys have begun work on the restoration of the original winery house. They hope to open it to the public during the summer of 2012.
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