Nunzio Alioto passed the Master Sommelier exam in 1987. He spent the next thirty-seven years deciding which bottles were worth pouring.
In 2024 he made one.
SEVEN ACRES IN ST. HELENA
ESTATE GROWN
LIMITED PRODUCTION
Fifty years on one piece of ground.
Alioto-Tournahu is a family winery in the St. Helena AVA, producing Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon in small quantity from Tournahu Vineyard alone. The site is an alluvial fan of gravel, clay and river rock. Water moves straight through it, so the vines never sit wet and work for what they get. We farm to ideal yields rather than the lowest, which holds brix, pH and TA in proportion. What the ground returns is a stony, savory core, closer to Bordeaux than to most of the valley floor.
______________________________________
“I don't want to be like everybody else. We pick our Cabernet between 25 and 26 brix and finish around 14 percent. We aim for 50 percent new French oak, nothing heavily toasted. You should not smell ethanol before you smell the fruit. In St. Helena the power arrives on its own. Fineness and civility are the part we build.”
—Nunzio Alioto, Owner and Master Sommelier
______________________________________
Rich Frederick makes the wine. Nunzio Alioto judges it. Both are after the same thing: poise under St. Helena's power, and persistence at the table.
Our Wines
Alioto-Tournahu is proud to introduce our premiere collection of single-vineyard wines. Our estate portfolio comprises two distinct bottlings: Estate Sauvignon Blanc and our flagship wine, Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Our wines are offered solely through our allocation list, and we invite you to join us and be among the first to share in each release.
Estate Sauvignon Blanc
2025 | Tournahu Vineyard | Estate Grown
A Sancerre-inspired Sauvignon Blanc. The aromatics jump out of the glass, inviting and layered — white jasmine blossoms followed by Meyer lemon zest, brûléed lemon, green apple, and white grapefruit, with a quiet whisper of wet stone in the background.
On the palate, the wine's bold, clean acidity takes center stage, beautifully tempered by a slightly creamy, textured mid-palate. Flavors of key lime, Meyer lemon, red kiwi, green pear, white grapefruit, and gooseberry weave together before a long, pleasant mineral finish evoking limestone.
Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
2024 | Tournahu Vineyard | Estate Grown
Our Estate Cabernet is inspiried by Old World winemaking from France and Italy — civility, fineness, grace, and power.
Floral aromas give way to baker's spices, blackberry, blueberry, black cassis, and a touch of cocoa.
On the palate, the fruit is luscious, typical of St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon, yet extremely well balanced: blackberry, blueberry, black cassis, and spice build to a long persistence, followed by soft tannins. Unadorned, with nice concentration and power.
Our beginning is rooted in 1976 when George and Evelyn Tournahu purchased a small vineyard in the heart of St. Helena, Napa Valley.
George and Evelyn Tournahu bought seven acres north of St. Helena in 1976. They wanted a summer house with room for the grandchildren and a creek to collect berries along. The vineyard came with it.
In 1998, on their son-in-law's advice, they replanted the whole property to Cabernet Sauvignon. For the next twenty-six years the fruit went into other people's bottles.
In 2024 we kept some to make our estate wines
Alioto-Tournahu Rose
The rose captures beauty in its perfect form representing the love of family. Evelyn and George's legacy lives on through the rose bushes gracing our property. Our emblem evokes wine swirling in a glass, while its leaves spread like wings—honoring all who have given us life and shaped our journey.
