About Us
Trespass Vineyard & Our Winemaker
About us
Trespass Vineyards
Trespass Vineyard wines are the result of a dedicated collaboration between husband and wife, Don and Dana Gallagher, renowned winemaker Kirk Venge and their small vineyard located in the heart of the Napa Valley. Located in the Saint Helena Appellation (AVA) at the base of Spring Mountain, their five acre vineyard has been a true labor of love in every sense.
The Trespass story began in the year 2000 when the first harvest took place. Our first release was a mere 400 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc combined! In the vintages that have followed a Merlot and a few exquisite blends have been added to the winery’s terrior driven portfolio. A little “trespassing” adventure has led to the addition of a century plus old vine Zinfandel as well as a Sauvignon Blanc to the lineup.
In the early years Donny did much of the vineyard work himself. This allowed him to “get to know” the vines and how the fruit translated into our wines. His precise nature in maintaining healthy crop levels and observing the cycles of the vineyard have allowed us to harvest grapes at their most optimal moment to create great wines. Working alongside Oscar Renteria, from Renteria Vineyard Management, Donny focused on the details while Oscar and his team did the “heavy lifting”. Now days, Oscar handles all the day to day work of the vineyard, while Donny continues to oversee the details and collaborate on general vineyard management and direction.
The winemaking is a collaborative effort for the Gallagher’s and is overseen by Kirk Venge and his team. Again, Dana and Donny love being involved in every aspect, from barrel selection to blending. Donny and Kirk review the progress of the wines often and not unlike a chef in the finest restaurant, subtle adjustments to a barrel program or fermentation process are often discussed and implemented. This wonderful partnership has guided the development of the wines into the elegant and refined vintages for which Trespass has become known.
Our Winemaker
Kirk Venge
As the primary winemaker at Venge Vineyards, Kirk Venge’s solid foundation and passion for winemaking began at a very young age. Growing up in Rutherford, in the heart of the Napa Valley his childhood memories are steeped in vineyard farming, winemaking, and the fragrance of a wine cellar. Some of Kirk’s earliest memories of the winery were when he was four years old helping his father Nils with basket-pressing Cabernet from the family’s Saddleback Vineyard and manning the pump switch on late night barrel racking projects. A game the two of them would play was for Kirk to smell and guess the varietal of wine in a glass when Nils would pal around amongst his peers.
After graduating from St. Helena High School, Kirk ventured off to University of California, Davis to pursue a degree in viticulture and oenology, the study of vineyard management and winemaking. While at Davis, he developed his craft interning with Mumm Napa Valley as experimental winemaker for five harvest seasons under the guidance of legendary sparkling winemaker, Gregory Fowler.
After college and his fourth season at Mumm, Kirk spent the 1999 harvest working with Rapaura Vintners in Marlborough, New Zealand on the South Island. He went back to work for one last harvest at Mumm. That November of the same year he left Mumm he decided to work alongside his father in developing a winery for the Venge Family Reserve wines. In May of 2008, the Venge family sold the winery and at the renovated historic Rassin Ranch property which allowed Kirk to take the label and branch out on his own.
Kirk’s talent and skill as a winemaker is reflected in the well-balanced wines of Venge Vineyards. His philosophy of “making wine in the vineyard” is found in every bottle. “Understanding the terroir of a specific vineyard and the hidden potential of that site is imperative to the quality of wine that can be made.” He strives to share ideas with the winery’s growers and work with them to attentively develop the highest quality of fruit that each vineyard can produce. Kirk knows there is no substitute to absolute quality and that the best wines can only come from the best grapes. In addition to his duties as the winemaker for Venge Vineyards, Kirk is the consulting winemaker for boutique producers including Beau Vigne, Hunnicutt, Macauley, Bacio Divino, JAX, B Cellars, Trespass, Renteria, Mirror, Entrepreneur and Promise.
25
Harvests
2000
Established in
1000 cases
The Trespass Portfolio
