Napa Valley, California
Mumm Canyon
7 vintages since 2020. 4 of 6 blocks open for commission.
"Six blocks, four varietals, one shared farming crew. The Canyon throws off Cabernet with structure and a red-clay backbone on the west face, and the east side produces some of the most honest Petit Verdot and Merlot in the valley."
Winemaker
Graham Mumm
Philosophy
The land speaks; the winemaker translates.
Graham Mumm farms twelve acres above the Silverado Trail on volcanic loam that drains hard and rewards patience. He came to winemaking through geology — he reads a slope the way a sommelier reads a wine — and the Canyon vineyard is the place where that reading has settled into a practice.
I farm for balance, not concentration. Our summers are long enough that fruit ripens on its own time. I don't hedge. I don't drop crop to chase a score. I pick when the pH tells me the vine is done, not when the numbers say I could get another half-degree of sugar.
I'm opening four blocks for commission because I want people in the wine before the wine exists. A three or five year commitment means you taste the same ground through a dry year, a wet year, a cold August, a warm one. By year three you stop asking what the block is and start hearing what it says.
We farm regeneratively — cover crop, sheep in winter, no synthetic herbicide. You'll see what that looks like when you visit. You'll also see the years it costs us in yield. That's part of the deal.
Choose a plot
A schematic of the vineyard. Each rectangle is a named block. Click one to see the details — vine count, varietal, soil, exposure, yield, price.
Schematic, not to scale. Relative positions reflect the vineyard map but block sizes are stylized for clarity.
Available
Block A
- Vine count
- 180 vines
- Varietal
- Cabernet Sauvignon, clone 337
- Soil
- Volcanic loam over gravel, west-facing
- Exposure
- Afternoon sun
- Planted
- 2012
- Typical yield
- 0.9 tons — roughly 75 cases at Cellarmaster tier
- Price
- $8,400/year
- Commitment
- 3 or 5 years
The arc
What three to five years looks like.
The relationship changes year over year. You don't show up in year five the way you showed up in year one.
You visit for harvest. You meet the crew. You taste the verijuice, the post-ferment sample, the first barrel pulls. You're still learning the shape of your block — what the drainage looks like, where the morning sun lands, how the fruit tastes two weeks before the pick.
The fine print
What the commitment covers — and what it doesn't.
What's included
Sample progression
Verijuice, post-ferment sample, quarterly barrel pulls, and finished wine. Three to four times the volume of a Crew Vintner tier.
Voting on major decisions
Pick timing, oak regime, blend trials, bottling date. The winemaker makes the call — you're in the room.
Custom label with your name
On the back label of every bottle from your block, every vintage, for the length of your commitment.
Annual allocation
Typical: 12–36 bottles depending on plot size and commitment tier.
Harvest visit invitation
Open invitation to be on the ground the day of the pick, every vintage you commit to.
Priority access to the winery's library
Older vintages, small-lot releases, and back-library allocations before they're offered elsewhere.
Direct line to the winemaker
Text, call, email. Not a concierge, not a customer service queue. The winemaker.
What's not
Land ownership
You do not own the vines. The vineyard farms, harvests, and makes the wine. A Block Commission is a long-term relationship, not a real estate transaction.
Farming labor
You are not expected to work the vineyard. You're welcome to visit, prune, help pick — but none of it is required and none of it is assumed.
Risk-free returns
Vintages vary. A cold, wet year means less wine. A hot year means riper wine. We don't make up the difference with fruit from other blocks. That's wine.
Pricing
How it's structured.
Commitment
3 or 5 years
Three-year commitments are the standard. Five-year commitments are offered on every block and get preferential renewal, older library access, and longer relationships with the winemaker. Some older or rarer plots are five-year only.
Payment cadence
Annual or monthly
Pay for the full year up front, or split into twelve monthly payments. Monthly cadence carries a small service fee. First payment clears before any farming decisions are shared.
What sets the price
Plot and varietal
Price scales with plot size, varietal desirability, vine age, and expected yield. An old-vine parcel on a steep slope costs more than a flat parcel with young vines — regardless of how much wine it makes.
Example at Mumm Canyon
Block A (180 vines, Cabernet Sauvignon): $8,400/year × 5 years = $42,000 total
All-in, including samples, allocation, harvest visits, and custom label. Shipping within the continental US included; international pickup at the winery or flat-fee ship.
Next step
Schedule a consultation.
Block Commissions involve contracts and real money. Before you commit, we want to talk. Tell us which plot interests you — we'll set up a call with the winemaker.
Schedule a consultationA real conversation with Graham Mumm, not a form response.