Third Generation Komes-Garvey Family Members Take the Helm

February 25, 2020

The third generation of Napa Valley’s Komes-Garvey family is taking the helm here at Flora Springs. Our family-owned winery with a history dating back over forty years will be led by General Manager Nat Komes, son of Flora Springs Co-Founders John and Carrie Komes. Nat will be joined by his cousins and Proprietors, Michelle Dolge, Nadine McIntosh, Lisa Meyers and Jeannine Ross. Sean Garvey, son of Co-Founders Julie and Pat Garvey, will continue in his role as vineyard manager.

This represents a bright new chapter for Flora Springs in which our family’s next generation can be laser focused on excellent winemaking, customer service and hospitality at our popular Tasting Room in St. Helena, as well as innovative sustainable farming efforts over our family’s 257 acres of prime Napa Valley vineyard land.

“My cousins and I are excited about this new chapter of Flora Springs. Our long time club members and customers should know that the high quality of our wines will not change, nor will our tradition of warm hospitality. If anything, as we put our spin on it, Flora Springs 2.0 will be even better,” says Nat Komes. “I also want to say that we’re very thankful to our parents and grandparents for giving our generation the opportunity to carry on their legacy. They’ve worked hard to pave the way for us.”

With a new leadership team in place, 257 acres of prime Napa Valley vineyard land and an ideal Tasting Room located on Highway 29 in St. Helena, Flora Springs is well-poised for our next chapter. Our family’s vineyards span six sub-appellations and include: P&J Vineyard in St. Helena; select blocks of the Komes Ranch in St. Helena & Rutherford; Garvey Family Vineyard in Rutherford; Windfall Vineyard in Rutherford; Crossroads Ranch in Oakville; Kairos Vineyard in Napa Valley; Red Hen Vineyard in Oak Knoll; and Sunset Knoll Vineyard in Carneros. These vineyards are the consistent, long time sources of Flora Springs’ popular, highly-acclaimed wines, including our flagships, Trilogy and Soliloquy, as well as our Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons.

“My sister Julie and I along with our spouses founded and grew Flora Springs from the ground up, but the wine business has changed since we began,” says John Komes, who noted that the sale of the Komes Ranch was a matter of estate planning. “Our family’s third generation grew up in this business and has a great understanding of it. It’s time for us to pass the baton to them.”

Flora Springs Vineyards

With estate properties stretching from the cool, rolling hills of Carneros to the famed sub-appellations of Oakville, Rutherford and St. Helena, Flora Springs produces varietal wines ranging from Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay to Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and other red Bordeaux varietals. As a family that came to the wine business as farmers first, our love of the land influences everything we do. Our environmental stewardship led us to embrace sustainable and organic farming early on. Learn more about our vineyards.

Visit Flora Springs Tasting Room

We look forward to welcoming you in Napa Valley for wine tasting while enjoying views of flourishing vineyards and the western hillsides. Plan your visit today.

Flora Springs Entrusts Château Smith Haut Lafitte With Stewardship of Historic Napa Valley Estate

February 20, 2020

“We’re excited to have found Château Smith Haut Lafitte and the Cathiards, a well-known family from Bordeaux with a long history in winemaking, to take over the stewardship of this beloved property and 58 acres of vines in Rutherford, Napa Valley. We look forward to watching them nourish this land in the years to come,” says John Komes, speaking on behalf of the Komes-Garvey family. “This represents a bright new chapter for Flora Springs where our family’s next generation can be laser focused on excellent winemaking, customer service and hospitality.”

While Komes Ranch was first established in 1977 by Jerry and Flora Komes, our legacy dates back to the late 1800s when wine grapes were first planted by the Rennie Brothers. James and William, immigrants from Scotland, planted 60 acres of grapes and built a stone gravity flow winery. When Flora and Jerry came upon the property at the end of West Zinfandel Lane in St. Helena, it was Flora who saw the magic hidden behind the decades of neglect, overgrown ivy, and the shifting rock walls of the old ghost winery. They purchased the property from Louis M. Martini.

In 1978 John and Carrie Komes and Julie and Pat Garvey, along with their parents Jerry and Flora, were among Napa Valley’s first post-Prohibition pioneers as they founded Flora Springs Winery, naming it after Flora and the natural springs that run through the land.

Our family legacy in Napa Valley unfolded over the next 40 years of producing hand crafted, critically-acclaimed wines, including our flagship wines, Trilogy and Soliloquy, as well as our single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons sourced from our family’s vineyards throughout Napa Valley’s most revered sub-appellations.

The depth of this history reminds us that as stewards of this land, our family’s commitment to its health and vitality will be felt far into the future. Over the years, we have welcomed esteemed neighbors including Dana Estates, Sinegal Estate Winery, and now Cathiard Vineyard, who share our commitment to environmental stewardship.

“It was love at first sight,” Florence Cathiard told Wine Spectator, noting that visiting the estate—beautiful and rural, surrounded by forest—reminded her of when she first saw Smith-Haut-Lafitte.

Today the Komes-Garvey family remains committed to innovative sustainable and organic farming practices over our family’s 257 acres of prime Napa Valley vineyard land, exceptional winemaking, as well as customer service and hospitality at our popular Tasting Room in St. Helena. As a family that came to the wine business as farmers first, our love of the land influences everything we do. Every day we pay tribute to Flora’s love of all things living, and of ensuring that the land she loved is here for the next generation, and the next. It is an integral part of our heritage as well as the legacy we leave.