Robert Foley Vineyards
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Country of Origin: USA
Location: Howell Mountain, Napa Valley
People: Robert Foley & Kelly Kehoe, Owners | Robert Foley, Winemaker
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Robert Foley is one of Napa Valley’s most respected winemakers. He’s an icon whose expressive, age-worthy reds helped define modern Napa style. With a career spanning nearly five decades, Bob’s résumé reads like a greatest hits list: he was the founding winemaker at Pride Mountain Vineyards (for 15 years!), and crafted cult favorites such as Switchback Ridge, Paloma, School House, and Engel Family wines.
In 1998, Bob launched his own label with the debut of Robert Foley Claret, a bold, mountain-grown blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Today, he makes his wines high atop Howell Mountain in a custom-built winery carved into the volcanic rock. The extensive cave system, completed in 2008, houses over 1,000 barrels and serves as the creative cave-lair where Bob continues to shape some of Napa’s most dynamic reds.
Robert Foley Vineyards is best known for powerful, polished bottlings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Sirah, and the much-loved flagship Claret. But Bob’s soft spot has always been Charbono. Often misunderstood and nearly forgotten, this inky, soulful grape hails from the Alps but found a home in Napa in the 1800s. Bob fell in love with it in the 1960s through the legendary Inglenook bottlings and has championed it ever since. His fruit comes from longtime grower Gary Heitz, whose expressive, old-vine Charbono forms the backbone of one of the most compelling—and fun—wines in the lineup.
What sets Bob’s wines apart isn’t just their intensity, but their balance and finesse. These are mountain reds with structure and soul. They are wines that reflect his hands-on approach, deep experience, and a genuine joy for the craft.
When he’s not in the winery, Bob might be on stage with his rock band, joking around in the vineyard, or spending time with his wife Kelly (aka the Brains of the Operation), their kids and grandchildren. Whether he's making wine or music, Bob brings the same infectious energy, creativity, and good humor to everything he does.