Tom Farella

The Path

Training at University of California, Davis (1983) gave Tom Farella a technical base for the decisions that followed. He also came up in Old-school Cabernet with super cellaring potential, a style that shaped his standards for structure and longevity. Since 1991, that foundation has carried into his work at Farella Vineyard, where the emphasis has stayed on continuity, care, and a close reading of what the vineyard already offers.

The Work Today

Since 1991, the combined Winemaker / Farm Manager role has required Tom Farella to move between vineyard and cellar with the same attention to detail. The signature remains Old-school Cabernet with super cellaring potential, which places the wines in a register of patience, structure, and long view. The logic is straightforward: do the work with restraint, keep the site intact, and let the vineyard’s character show through over time.

Signature

Tom's signature wines include Farella Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and Farella Napa Merlot. Together, they sit in the style most closely associated with his name: measured wines with vineyard focus and a classic backbone. At Farella Vineyard, that kind of definition matters as much as consistency, and the labels reflect a house approach built around form, identity, and repetition done well.

In Their Words “I wanted to work with artisans, not corporations.”

Acclaim

The formal credential is the 1983 degree in Viticulture and Enology; the career marker is continuity across one Napa vineyard from 1991 onward. Put together, they point to a winemaker whose standing rests on staying with a place long enough to know it well, protect it, and work within its limits rather than against them.