Steve Matthiasson

Steve Matthiasson is a revered Napa Valley-based winemaker, viticulturalist and organic farmer dedicated to environmental regeneration—and, by extension, to crafting classically balanced, delicious wines that speak truthfully to their upbringing. 

His endeavors have earned him the attention of consumers and critics alike under his own eponymous label, winning him Winemaker of the Year from both Food and Wine magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle, and making him a six-time James Beard Award nominee for Outstanding Wine, Spirits or Beer Professional. Steve is also sought after as a consulting winemaker and mentor to several private labels, and since 1996, he has provided viticultural consulting for historic Napa Valley vineyards such as Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Spottswoode Winery, the Araujo Estate, and Dalla Valle Vineyards, to name a few. 

Steve’s consulting, teaching and mentoring in organic and regenerative viticulture stand as a reaffirmation of his core belief that “great wine is made in the vineyard,” and his voice continues to resonate among his peers in the agricultural community: In addition to speaking around the world, he has formally served with organizations such as the American Vineyard Foundation, the Napa County Farm Bureau, and the Association of Applied IPM (Integrated Pest Management) Ecologists, and he teaches organic viticulture at the University of California at Davis. Steve also co-authored the California Code of Sustainable Conduct, Lodi Rules Sustainable Winegrowing Program, and Lodi Winegrowers Workbook. In 2020, Steve helped launch the viticulture fellowship program for San Francisco’s The Two Eighty Project, providing a path for marginalized people into the wine industry. 

Together with his wife Jill, Steve farms their own family vineyards and fruit-tree orchards in the Napa Valley. You’ll rarely (if ever) find Steve far from a pair of pruning shears or without his signature flannel and wide-brim straw hat.