Favia

Annie Favia is a viticulturist who spent much of her early career working with one of the valley’s leading names, David Abreu, consulting on various projects, as well as working with Kongsgaard and Cathy Corison. Andy Erickson, meanwhile, was making wine for some of Napa’s most famous estates – with the likes of Screaming Eagle, Harlan, Ovid, Mayacamas and Dalla Valle all featuring on his resume.

The duo met at a dinner party in 1995 – and instantly hit it off. Soon the couple started making wine together in their garage, tiny experimental lots with parcels of fruit purchased from friends. Those tiny lots gradually became Favia, a project dedicated to crafting site-specific Cabernet from vineyards in Coombsville and Oakville. Their first commercial release was the 2003 vintage, with the couple gradually dedicating more and more of their time to their personal venture, dialling down their many other projects, while also raising their young family.

Annie Favia is green-fingered and the couple’s focus is firmly in the vineyard, working organically to farm the best fruit possible (alongside a host of flowers, vegetables and herbs for her other project, making fine tea under the Erda name). A sensitive touch in the winery allows them to carry a sense of place through each of the wines.

Their range is focused on Cabernet Sauvignon, with pure expressions of the variety each from Coombsville and Oakville. Inspired by great Cabernet Franc from around the world, especially Bordeaux’s Right Bank and the Loire, they also make Cerro Sur, a Cabernet Franc-led blend, as well as La Magdalena, a Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon blend. They also make a Sauvignon Blanc.

In 2023, Huneeus – the owners of Quintessa – invested in Favia, allowing the couple to purchase a new property in Oakville and plant more of their own vineyards, with 26 hectares of land for them to play with.