Elizabeth Vianna

Training at Vassar College and University of California, Davis gave Elizabeth Vianna a route into wine that started in science and moved toward the cellar. Before her name became tied to Chimney Rock, she worked as clinical toxicologist at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in New York City, a position built on precision, analysis, and accountability. The move into wine came through Chimney Rock in Napa, California, where she worked first as intern and then advanced through the cellar in sequence: enologist at Chimney Rock in Napa, California (from 1999), assistant winemaker at Chimney Rock in Napa, California (from 2002), and winemaker at Chimney Rock in Napa, California (from 2005).

Each title marks a deeper level of responsibility in the winery’s day-to-day work. Since 2011, Elizabeth has served as general manager and head winemaker of Chimney Rock. That pairing of roles places production and stewardship in the same hands, with one title tied to the work of the wine itself and the other to the direction of the estate. The progression is steady and legible: each step earned in sequence, each year adding to her read on the winery.

Today, Vianna serves as general manager and winemaker at Chimney Rock Winery in Napa Valley. She also serves as head winemaker at Chimney Rock Winery in the Stags Leap District of Napa, United States. The work sits at the point where timing, structure, and consistency meet, with each decision in the winery carrying consequences that show up later in the bottle.

Elizabeth's signature wines include Elevage Blanc and 2021 Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon. The pair shows the spread of her work at Chimney Rock: one wine leaning toward brightness and lift, the other toward the depth expected of Cabernet Sauvignon from Stags Leap District. The wines carry the mark; the names identify the hand behind them.

The clearest recognition in her career is the sustained authority she holds at Chimney Rock Winery, where she serves as winemaker, general manager, and head winemaker. There is no separate trophy required to read the measure of that recognition: it is built into the continuity of the role, the trust behind it, and the way her name has become part of the estate’s identity.