Stein Family Wines wasn't even the possibility of a dream ten years ago. Then, 
Josh and Cath were simply college writing teachers, helping to coordinate UC 
Riverside's writing program. Then-coming changes in the UC system told them to go 
while going was good. So we did, relocating to the Napa Valley, where both still teach 
at local colleges.

Wine has been part of our lives for decades, so coming to the North Bay was a bit like returning to a home not visited before. Josh quickly became involved in the wine industry, becoming Brands Manager and Assistant Winemaker for a small Silverado Trail winery. When our kids, Leyna and Arlo, were born in 2005, we knew their futures needed to be tied to the wine business, that there were ways to combine the values of service, community, family, and fairness such that we could provide for our kids while making sure others' would benefit, too.

And so Stein Family Wines was born with the expressed goal to push the wine business into a new space: one where it's just as vital to be concerned about the experiences of the children of the those who produce the wines as the environment of that wine production or the consumer's understanding and enjoyment of that wine. Good business and good community must go hand-in-hand. Otherwise, there can be no positive future us all--and making that happen is a collective duty and responsibility on behalf of all of our children.

Thus, it's important to us that the work we do be authentic, in whatever context in which we are working. Cath and Josh both chose community colleges because only working with those destined to succeed at universities didn't really interest us--working with students who have ganas (the desire to succeed at all costs, doing whatever it takes to make it happen) lets us know we've really made a difference in our students' and their families' lives. We hope to bring that same authenticity to what we do in the wine world, and we think the label copy from our first release, the 2009 Los Carneros Semi-Dry Gewürztraminer, says it best:

We believe in dreams for our family and for yours, and because you also have to stand for things that matter to you, we want our kids to see that hard work pays off, that you can follow your heart and make a future for your family, and that you can do so in a way that avoids doing harm to others whenever possible.

A portion of the sale of our wine has been donated to educational organizations to provide college scholarships for the students of the Napa Valley so that the children of wine workers may have choices their parents did not. We believe in doing what's right--for our family, for your family, and for the families of unseen workers who were instrumental in the creation of this wine. The Stein family thanks you for your contribution to an improved future for all of our children. When we drink this wine, we toast to a more equitable future for all.

Stein Family Wines: Changing the wine business one person, one bottle, one glass at a time... because fair is fair.