Our Flagship Wine from Our Home Vineyard
KIATRA Estate: A Vineyard, a Home, a Dream Fulfilled
KIATRA Estate is the purest expression of NEOTEMPO—a place where nature, art, and science converge. Each vintage begins in our three-acre vineyard just south of the Stags Leap District. At its center, a gentle knoll crowned by old oak trees naturally divides the estate into two distinct exposures and microclimates. Cooling afternoon breezes temper the sun, extending the growing season and helping the fruit retain freshness as it ripens. This distinctive setting gives KIATRA its structure, energy, and quiet elegance.
We built our home beneath the old oaks and consider ourselves stewards of this land. KIATRA fulfills a shared dream: to care deeply for a place, grow something meaningful, and create a wine that reflects the beauty and character of the estate.
When we first imagined NEOTEMPO, we did not want to make a “cover wine”—another interpretation of something already familiar. We wanted to create a distinctive, small-lot wine with an identity of its own, shaped by this vineyard and expressed through a clear point of view.
Our research gave us confidence that the site could produce a world-class wine. Realizing that potential began with planting decisions tailored to its scale, soils, and location. We selected rootstocks and clones for the individual sections of the vineyard and chose high-density spacing to create natural competition among the vines, limit vigor, and encourage concentration.
Our approach brings an Old World sensibility to modern Napa Valley. Inspired by the Burgundian respect for site, we farm KIATRA as a mosaic of small parcels, responding to variation from block to block, row to row, and vine to vine.
In the wine, we seek the depth and generosity of Napa Valley fruit alongside the lifted aromatics and freshness of our cooler site. Earthy, savory tones recall the Old World wines we have long collected and admired, while polished tannins provide structure without obscuring the vineyard’s character. The result is a wine that feels generous yet restrained, refined yet grounded, and unmistakably NEOTEMPO.
Since 2015, we have lived on the property year-round and experienced every vintage as it unfolds—from the first signs of budbreak through harvest, fermentation, and the quiet evolution of the wine in barrel. The vineyard is part of our daily lives, and each vintage becomes a record of its growing season and our time here.
With only three planted acres, we can give KIATRA an uncommon level of attention. The vineyard is divided into small blocks of less than an acre, allowing us to understand the distinct character and performance of every part of the estate.
Our approach marries technology-enabled innovation with artisanal expertise. We monitor and manage the vineyard at the individual-vine level, building a detailed record of the history, health, and performance of every plant. These insights bring greater precision to our work while preserving the judgment, intuition, and craft essential to fine wine.
As the fruit develops, we divide the blocks into smaller harvest zones based on flavor, vine performance, and physiological maturity. Each zone is picked when its fruit, tannins, color, and seeds reach the balance we are seeking. This can mean returning to the same block several times, harvesting each parcel at the moment it best expresses its character.
Quality is always our first priority. Every decision—from organic farming and vine-level precision to selective harvesting and restrained winemaking—is made to reveal the vineyard more clearly.
Our goal is not to maximize production, but to create the most honest and beautiful expression of KIATRA each year. Every harvest captures a year in our lives, shaped by nature, attention, patience, and intention. Each bottle holds a place, a season, and our belief that great wine begins with the vine and continues through every decision until the cork is pulled and the wine reaches your glass.
From our home to yours.
To wine, life, and what’s ahead.
“KIATRA”
Kia & Tracy
From Kia & Tracy
Vintner’s Notes
The personal story behind each release, the season that shaped it, and the ideas that continue to move NEOTEMPO forward.
2021 KIATRA Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Nature, Art, and Science Come Together
The 2021 vintage was the moment NEOTEMPO became real. A decade after planting KIATRA Estate, the different parts of the project finally began to come together: the vineyard, the wine, the bottle, the label, and the team that would help us bring the idea to life.
Working with winemaker Tony Biagi, we began translating the character of our estate into a wine that reflected what we had always hoped KIATRA could become: distinctive, balanced, and deeply connected to its place. At the same time, we assembled collaborators who shared our belief that every detail mattered, from farming and winemaking to design and storytelling.
We harvested and fermented each block and clone separately, giving Tony the opportunity to understand how every small section of the estate expressed itself. We then tasted through the individual lots and assembled the final blend, exploring how the character of each clone could complement the others.
While the wine aged in barrel, we turned our attention to the packaging. The bottle alone went through 41 iterations using a 3D printer as we refined its shape, weight, balance, and presence until it felt inseparable from the wine and the idea behind NEOTEMPO. Made from recycled glass, its unique hexagonal form brought together design, sustainability, and function.
The label followed its own creative journey, with 18 designs masterfully developed and laid out, many of which we loved. Ultimately, we chose the most personal: an iPhone photograph of two oak trees at the doorstep of our home, whose branches spread toward one another each year as if they were holding hands. It gave our first wine a visual identity rooted in our home, our partnership, and the place where NEOTEMPO began.
For us, 2021 will always be the year the whole project came together. Years of farming, experimentation, collaboration, and design were finally assembled into one complete expression: the beginning of NEOTEMPO.
2022 KIATRA Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Precision Farming Takes Root
In 2022, we made a significant investment in vineyard technology and began developing a more precise, plant-by-plant approach to farming. During a historically dry growing season and intense September heat, the hero of the vintage was irrigation sensing and automation.
Real-time soil-moisture data helped us understand what the vines needed, while automated irrigation allowed us to respond precisely and at the right moment. It showed us how technology could conserve water, protect vine health, and support quality under increasingly challenging conditions.
The vintage also marked the beginning of our work with Enterprise Vineyards and Phil Coturri. Phil genuinely loves our vineyard, and his hands-on approach shows every time he walks a block. He brings decades of organic farming experience but never relies on experience alone. He observes, asks questions, and engages with the vineyard vine by vine.
Together, we began building a farming program that combined Phil’s intuition and experience with new technology, detailed observation, and our growing understanding of every plant at KIATRA Estate. For us, 2022 was when experience, technology, and careful observation began working together as one farming system.
The 2022 vintage is one of our favorites. It is already showing beautifully, with generous flavor, an inviting texture, and a balance that makes it a joy to drink young. It captures the warmth of the season without losing the grace and freshness we value in KIATRA Estate.
2023 KIATRA Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Structure Meets Grace
By 2023, KIATRA Estate had entered a new chapter. Our collaboration with winemaker Tony Biagi, Phil Coturri, and the Enterprise Vineyards team continued to deepen as we studied the estate’s individual blocks, clones, and sections more closely.
Scout, the AI-powered vinyard management that we started using had also become central to how we monitored the vineyard and proactively assessed the performance of every vine. By comparing plants across blocks, seasons, and growing conditions, AI-powered insights revealed patterns and differences that the naked eye could not easily see. This deeper understanding informed more precise decisions around farming, fruit selection, and harvest timing.
We also reduced production, leaving fewer clusters on each vine to prioritize vineyard balance and the quality of the remaining fruit. Organic farming remained our foundation, supported by vine-level intelligence, renewable energy, water conservation, and an increasingly detailed understanding of the estate.
In the glass, the 2023 vintage forms a seamless bridge between KIATRA’s past and present while standing apart for its composure and structural harmony. It feels like a synthesis of 2021’s freshness and 2022’s richness.
Where the 2021 KIATRA emphasized lift and energy, with higher acidity and vivid red and blue fruit, the 2022 leaned into a warmer, darker fruit profile with greater ripeness and spice. The 2023 returns to equilibrium, bringing back the bright tension and aromatic clarity of 2021 while retaining the depth and polish that defined 2022.
The result is a wine with structure, richness, balance, and precision. It captures the estate’s evolution toward greater restraint, harmony, and lasting elegance. For us, the 2023 vintage marks KIATRA Estate’s arrival at a new level of refinement.
