We make great wines simply because we love making them. Wine is irresistible, it is fun, and it is about sharing passion, good fortune and community.
TOR exists today because of the relationships we’ve cultivated over decades with mentors, grapegrowers and friends. This is indisputable: Tor knows a great vineyard. Less is always more when it comes to bottling some of the best grapes on the planet. In the tussle between the will of nature and the winemaker – our work is staying out of the way.
01. Our Wines
We focus on single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay wines, cuvées and Bordeaux varietals—each wine is handmade and bottled in a very small quantity. Our secret is to stay out of the way, not to manipulate—preserve a place in time, capture it in a bottle.
02. Who We Are
The TOR winemaking team has been together since the beginning. Jeff Ames is winemaker, and we share a simple rule— the vineyard is what we showcase, not a heavy winemaker’s hand. Each wine is nurtured to bottle unfiltered and unfined.
Tor Kenward
The fanatic. The fantasist. Rules by equal part instinct and equal part logic. A willful revisionist, meticulously blending, over and over until he gets it right.
Susan Kenward
The James Beard Award winning creative force behind the scenes.
Jeff Ames
A special breed of winemaker, who learned by doing alongside some of Napa’s greats. A purist, making sure the wines express their site foremost.
Matt Deller MW
One of just 52 Masters of Wine in North America, he chose to settle down at TOR, source of his favorite Napa Valley single vineyard expressions, after traveling the world and tasting almost one hundred thousand wines.
03. Our Stories
My first three decades in the Napa Valley laid the foundation for TOR. I had extraordinary mentors who openly shared their knowledge and passion. Robert Mondavi, André Tchelistcheff, Warren Winiarski, Ed Sbragia, Maynard Amerine and many others encouraged me to learn and experiment making wine. We tasted together and exchanged information. I had the chance to travel and walk Europe’s most renowned vineyards, talk and taste with other winemakers, taste more, kick the dirt where world class wines are grown, and listen.