The Story
Starting in 2006, Julien Fayard, originally from France, learned the Napa Valley winemaking trade under a mentor, who instead of a salary, gave him clients to handle on his own. By 2013, Julien went solo, running his own consulting and winemaking business.
In 2015, Brion Wise, the mastermind behind Brion Wines, brought Julien on to add diversity to the estate’s wine list. He found his inspiration in the Sleeping Lady Vineyard’s barn, a rare type of 19th-century “bank barn,” built into a hillside so it can be accessed from both the ground floor and the upper level. Historically, that design let hay be loaded in from the top and fed down to the animals below by gravity, no machinery needed.
Julien reused that same principle for his winemaking: instead of pumping grapes and juice through the building mechanically, he lets gravity move everything through the process naturally; grapes come in high, and gradually make their way down through each stage of vinification. Less handling, more natural process, better-preserved aromatics.
Cross-cultural wine-making
Julien adds that the winemaking rules are similar between France and California, but the environment, and therefore the constraints, vary. In Napa, winemakers know how to manage high alcohol levels, smoke taint, and blocked maturity due to high temperatures.
A second difference: in France, winemakers wait for sugar levels, or “technical maturity,” to rise before harvesting. In California, winemakers also wait for phenolic maturity to find the right balance between alcohol and acidity. Julien sees his approach as blending French-style terroir precision with California’s practical tools, like irrigation, for consistent quality despite tougher conditions.
When asked which of his wines readers should try, Julien’s answer is simple: all of them. My personal favorites: the Ecotone 2021 and the Sleeping Lady, well-rounded with some spicy notes. Julien celebrates Americans getting more serious and curious about food, and naturally about wines. It’s one of the more promising shifts he sees coming in American food culture.
Brion Wines
Brion Wines was started in 2002 by Brion Wise, a chemical engineer turned wine entrepreneur, who grew up on a cider farm. Three winemakers are split across the estate: Julien dedicated to Napa, Massimo Monticelli focused on the Sonoma sites, and Mark Herold splitting time across both. All three bring their own signature to their wines: an earlier harvest for more acidity for Julien, a later harvest with more phenolic notes for Mark, and Massimo making the most of Sonoma’s “cooler” coastal weather.
Ever the entrepreneur, Brion Wise is currently expanding the estate with more unique wines, and we look forward to discovering them soon.
We highly recommend a trip to the beautiful Sleeping Lady estate, with its floral alleyways buzzing with pollinators, its wooden structure, and its art collection. If you are lucky, the tasting will be led by Zion Curiel, the knowledgeable and friendly guest manager. Julien also recommended stopping at Maison Faillard, a shop in downtown Napa where you can taste the full range of Brion wines.
And for those curious about how Napa landed on the map of the world’s best wines, we recommend watching Bottle Shock, a thinly fictionalized version of the 1976 Judgment of Paris.
MerciSF Rapid FireFavorite French bakery in Napa: Moulin in NapaFavorite restaurants in Napa: Zuzu, for Spanish tapas, and Angèle, a French spot; both feature excellent, well-priced wine lists. Angèle even keeps a secret list of affordable European bottles from the ’60s and ’70s.What he misses most from France: the company around the table: long dinners with family, friends, and debate. An energy he says exists in the US, but never quite the same way.What he’d miss most about Napa if he moved back to France: the climate and the landscape, cool 57°F nights against 95°F days, with the coast nearby.
Brion Wines, wine bottles start at USD 225 and are sold in boxes of 3
Sleeping Lady Estate, 5537 Solano Ave, Napa, CA 94558
Dining and Cooking