Napa’s Arborum snaps up Vineyard 29 parcel after estate divided
Calling it “a once in a lifetime opportunity”, organic Napa Valley producer Arborum has agreed to purchase a 10-hectare portion of neighbouring Vineyard 29 after a buyer for the full estate failed to materialise. Owner Caren Orum tells Sarah Neish about their plans for the parcel.
Arborum Napa Valley will acquire a 10-hectare section of Vineyard 29, which is located next to Arborum’s existing Hidden Key Vineyard on the east-facing slopes below Spring Mountain. The newly acquired parcel shares “similar aspect, elevation, and hillside character” with Arborum’s current plantings, and boasts quality Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc previously used for Vineyard 29’s estate wines.
The acquisition, expected to be finalised in late July, will bring Arborum’s estate up to 44 acres (17.8 ha) and will see the producer grow its output from around 700 cases annually to approximately 1,000 cases from the 2025 vintage, db can reveal.
Speaking to the drinks business, Arborum co-owner Caren Orum said the purchase was “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a strategic long-term investment that allows us to increase estate-grown production over time, and supports our goal of farming the entire property organically and regeneratively.”
Arborum, which has been CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers) certified since 2021, intends to start converting the Vineyard 29 plot over to organic “immediately upon closing” the deal.
“We plan to begin farming the vineyard organically and regeneratively, as while achieving certified organic status is a three-year process, our commitment to thoughtful environmental stewardship starts on day one,” said Orum.
Replanting is also on the horizon, with intentions to transition the newly acquired parcel to Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Musqué, and Semillon “over a period of time”.
Selling up
According to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle, Vineyard 29 was put up for sale in its entirety (38 acres) almost a year ago, sporting a US$65 million price tag. As a buyer, Arborum has agreed to take just one of its three vineyards for an undisclosed sum, and the producer is already familiar with the land as the two properties share a fence line.
“We had heard that the whole property was for sale, and obviously, that was too big a chunk for us even to consider,” Orum said. “We didn’t even think about it.”
Vineyard 29 owner Chuck McMinn closed the winery’s downtown Napa tasting room in January 2026 with McMinn saying it “wasn’t economically viable” because there “seems to be about 30% less bodies coming to Napa Valley.”
The McMinns purchased the same vineyard that Arborum is now taking off their hands 13 years ago during an expansion drive but have since decided to pull back, possibly due to a lack of succession plan, with the couple indicating that their children have “other passions”.
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Good intentions
Caren and her husband Nick Orum, who runs an investment company in San Francisco, moved to Napa Valley in 1999 and purchased their historic property from the San Francisco Ballet in 2013. First planted to grapes in 1871, the estate includes a restored olive grove and a 1930s-era hunting lodge, where the Orums now live, surrounded by a striking forest of 100-foot-tall conifers.
The backbone of the enterprise is a charitable one. From the outset, the Orums chose to dedicate 100% of its net earnings to nonprofit organisations in Napa Valley, focused on two areas, supporting local residents and protecting the environment.
“Our primary goal has always been to produce exceptional wines, and working alongside Andy Erickson, we believe we are achieving that. But we also wanted Arborum to stand for something larger than ourselves,” Caren Orum told db. “When someone purchases a bottle of Arborum, we want it to be because the wine is truly world-class — and hopefully because they appreciate that every bottle also helps support meaningful charitable work.”
Save the redwoods
Non-profits that Arborum donates to include Napa Valley Grapegrowers, and Puertas Abiertas, which support vineyard workers and their families, and 10,000 Degrees, which helps give first-generation college students a leg-up. Profits also go towards environmental organisations, including Save the Redwoods, as well as towards fire prevention and reforestation efforts in Napa Valley.
“From a business standpoint, we view philanthropy not as separate from the brand, but as integral to it,” said Orum, adding that their family motto, ‘in the acorn sleeps a forest,’ serves as a reminder “that meaningful impact begins with small, intentional actions”.
As db has documented, redwoods continue to be a controversial topic among Napa residents, with some cherishing the majestic trees while others fear their vast canopies and cavernous root systems may “contaminate” local vines. Last year, for example, Quantum Limit filed a lawsuit against Okell Holdings for planting redwood trees, which Quantum’s owner said was like “dropping a bunker buster bomb” into its Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard.
However, a major win for the conservationists came in March when Californian wildlife biologists confirmed that a pair of condors were tending an egg tucked into a redwood tree in the north of the state. Thought to be the first wild condor egg to be found in more than a century, after condors were brought back from the brink of extinction in the 1980s, the discovery is a compelling argument in favour of protecting Californian redwoods.
Future endeavours
Following the Vineyard 29 acquisition, Arborum winemaker Andy Erickson will oversee the integration of the new vineyard into the producer’s portfolio.
“At a time when there’s so much conversation about challenges facing the wine industry, this is a powerful example of long-term vision and commitment—an investment in Napa Valley, in its land, and in its future. I’m very excited to be part of it,” he said.
Erickson produces three wines for the estate: Proprietary Red Wine ($265), based on Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc; Proprietary White Wine ($125), a Bordeaux-style blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Musqué and Semillon; and Arborum Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, ‘Hidden Key Vineyard’ ($345), a new wine due for release in August, produced from the 2023 vintage.
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