Bernard Portet

The Essentials Clos du Val Winery in Napa was co-founded by Bernard Portet, who made the wines there from 1972 to 2010. That span helped set the tone for a watched part of American wine, built through the slower work of house style: bottle by bottle, season by season, with the vineyard’s character left to do its part. Portet framed his role plainly: “I’m Bernard Portet, the original winemaker for Clos du Val.” The line reads like a trade mark, not a flourish — a direct claim of authorship rooted in cellar work, vineyard decisions, and the long continuity of a single estate. The working culture around a winery matters as much as the technical line-up, and Portet pointed to that fact with equal directness: “That spirit of cooperation is still strong.” In a house built on collaboration, the daily rhythm depends on people moving together through the demands of season, craft, and judgment. Location, in Napa, is never just backdrop. Portet captured that fit in one sentence: “I found what I was looking for in Napa’s Stags Leap District.” The remark places the maker within a specific terrain, where place and method meet and the wines are asked to answer to both.

Signature

Bernard's signature wines include Four A's Cabernet, Heritance Wines, and Bernard's Cuvée. Those labels track with a style associated with structure, detail, and the patience of bottle age, and they sit as the clearest markers of Portet’s work.

In Their Words “I found what I was looking for in Napa’s Stags Leap District.” “I’m Bernard Portet, the original winemaker for Clos du Val.”