Starmont Winery

What Starmont Winery does

Starmont Winery (legal entity Starmont Vineyards) is a privately held California winery founded in 1989 and headquartered at 1000 Main Street, St. Helena. It produces a four-wine core portfolio — Sauvignon Blanc (North Coast), Chardonnay (Tri-County), Pinot Noir (Tri-County), and Cabernet Sauvignon (North Coast) — plus a secondary label, Forward Kidd, for Napa Valley Red Wine. All wines are crafted by winemaker Jeff Crawford (UC Davis-trained) using gentle, minimal-new-oak techniques with grapes sourced exclusively from cool climate AVAs in Monterey, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, and Napa counties to preserve freshness, acidity, and typicity.

The company is owned and operated by the Schlatter family — René and Laurence Schlatter, who draw on Swiss/European winemaking heritage and also own the adjacent Merryvale Vineyards in St. Helena. Distribution runs through two channels: direct-to-consumer via tasting room and wine club experiences in St. Helena, and wholesale via national sales partner Albert Bichot USA, which manages a network of domestic distributors and international importer partners for restaurant, retail, and on-premise accounts. The company maintains a dedicated trade resource portal (press kits, sell sheets, shelf talkers) and has accumulated consistent 90+ point critical acclaim from James Suckling and Wine Enthusiast across recent vintages.

Starmont operates with 11–50 employees, no mobile application, no public listing, and no disclosed funding. There is no app, API, or technology platform product in the source data; the business is a traditional craft winery whose competitive positioning rests on sourcing strategy, winemaking style, family ownership continuity, and an established two-channel distribution structure.

Name

Starmont Winery

Legal name

Starmont Vineyards

Website

https://starmontwines.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Starmont Winery is a family-owned Napa Valley winery producing classically styled, cool-climate Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon for direct-to-consumer tasting room and wine-club customers, plus wholesale trade accounts via Albert Bichot USA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Premium California Wines

NAICS

Wineries (312130), Wine and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers (42482), Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (44532)

SIC

Beverages (2080), Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)

akta.pro primary industry

Wine & Sparkling Wine Wineries & Brands (CRADAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Wineries & Vineyards (Tasting Rooms) (THAFALAE)

Keywords

• California wines
• Napa Valley winery
• Cool climate varietals
• Single varietal wines
• Wine tasting room

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Helena

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Direct Wine Sales: Direct-to-consumer wine sales through tasting room and wine club, offering personalized experiences and wine education to visitors.
2. Wholesale/Distribution: Wine sold through wholesale distribution channels including restaurant, retail, and distributor partners managed by Albert Bichot USA nationally.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Starmont Winery crafts and sells single-varietal wines including Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from cool climate California AVAs (Monterey, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino). The wines are produced by Winemaker Jeff Crawford using a gentle, low-new-oak approach designed to express freshness, acidity, and sense of place. Sales are made directly to consumers via the St. Helena tasting room and wine club, and to the trade through Albert Bichot USA and a network of domestic distributors and international importers.

Product overview

Starmont Vineyards is a California winery producing classically styled varietal wines that are expressive and approachable. The portfolio centers on four core wines: Sauvignon Blanc (North Coast), Chardonnay (Tri-County), Pinot Noir (Tri-County), and Cabernet Sauvignon (North Coast). The wines are crafted by Winemaker Jeff Crawford using grapes sourced from cool climate California AVAs including Monterey, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, Napa, and Mendocino counties. The winery is owned by the Schlatter family, who also own Merryvale Vineyards. A secondary label, Forward Kidd, produces Napa Valley Red Wine.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Forward Kidd: A Napa Valley Red Wine label under Starmont, with vintages including 2015 and 2013 Napa Valley Red Wine.

Products and services

• Starmont Sauvignon Blanc, North Coast A cool climate white wine from California North Coast AVAs with citrus, floral, and tropical notes balanced by bright acidity and partial barrel fermentation for a textured finish; aimed at consumers seeking food-friendly, fresh California Sauvignon Blanc.
• Starmont Chardonnay, Tri-County A food-friendly Chardonnay sourced from California's cool climate Tri-County regions with lemon curd, lime blossom, ripe pear, subtle flinty minerality, and a creamy mid-palate finish.
• Starmont Pinot Noir, Tri-County An elegant red wine from California's cool climate Tri-County AVAs with vibrant red cherry, ripe black cherry, tart cranberry, earthy undertones, and silky texture.
• Starmont Cabernet Sauvignon, North Coast A rich yet restrained North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon with kirsch, red plum, and dried sage aromatics, firm refined tannins, and Malbec blended in for brightness.
• Starmont Merlot, Napa Valley A Napa Valley Merlot vintage (2018 referenced) produced under the Starmont label and documented via bottle imagery on the labels page.
• Starmont Rosé of Pinot Noir, Carneros A Carneros Pinot Noir rosé produced in multiple vintages (including 2019 and 2020) and sold under the Starmont label.
• Forward Kidd Napa Valley Red Wine A Napa Valley red wine offered under the wholly owned Forward Kidd sub-brand label, available in vintages including 2013 and 2015.

Quantifiable outcome

• Consistent 90+ point ratings from James Suckling and Wine Enthusiast on multiple varietals across multiple vintages
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Albert Bichot USAcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlbert Bichot USA serves as the national sales partner for Starmont Winery, managing distribution across domestic markets and coordinating with regional distributor partners and international importer partners.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Stags' Leap Winery: Napa Valley producer of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay with a heritage estate and tasting room, selling through DTC, on-premise, and retail—directly overlapping varietals and distribution channels.
• Domaine Carneros: Carneros/Napa sparkling and Pinot Noir winery with château-style tasting room and DTC emphasis—comparable focus on cool climate Carneros fruit and tasting-room-driven revenue model.
• Frog's Leap Winery: Family-owned Napa Rutherford winery focused on sustainable, restrained-style wines with a tasting room and limited distribution—shares Starmont's emphasis on classical, balanced winemaking.
• Robert Mondavi Winery: Iconic Napa Valley winery founded by the Mondavi family, producing a broad portfolio of California wines with a major Oakville tasting room and three-tier national distribution—a benchmark premium Napa peer.
• Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards: Cool climate-focused Sonoma winery known for Chardonnay with national three-tier distribution and a tasting room—closely mirrors Starmont's cool-climate sourcing philosophy and varietal emphasis.
• Cakebread Cellars: Family-owned Napa Valley winery producing food-friendly, restrained Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon with a DTC tasting room and national wholesale—directly comparable varietal mix and go-to-market.
• Merryvale Vineyards: Sister company to Starmont, also owned by the Schlatter family in St. Helena, Napa Valley. Operates a tasting room on/near the same Main Street footprint and produces premium Napa wines, making it the closest functional and structural peer.
• Rombauer Vineyards: Family-owned Napa Valley producer of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Zinfandel with multiple tasting locations and broad wholesale distribution—comparable family ownership and varietal mix.
• Pine Ridge Vineyards: Napa Valley winery focused on Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay with a tasting room in Stags Leap District and multi-channel distribution, including wine club—very similar DTC + wholesale model.
• Cuvaison Estate Wines: Carneros and Napa Valley winery producing cool climate Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir with estate tasting rooms and DTC emphasis—direct cool-climate and varietal overlap with Starmont.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Starmont Winery