Now in his seventeenth year of Baxter wines, Phillip Baxter studied winemaking at UC Davis before spending a six month internship at a winery in Burgundy, France. There he contributed to wines from 33 different vineyards from village to grand cru wines, ranging from Pommard to Gevrey-Chambertin. This experience heavily influenced Phillip’s approach to winemaking - he learnt traditional methods that he continues to use to this day.

Another shaping influence in Phillip’s career is his veteran winemaker father, who he worked alongside for many years and who originally inspired him to enter the winemaking field.

Baxter wines are truly made by Phillip’s own hand, with traditional French cellar techniques such as: a five day cold soak; slow wild yeast fermentation; punchdowns done by hand; a gentle basket press and an extra long aging regime with minimal intervention. We age our wines in 100% neutral French oak barrels to ensure the vineyard and fruit is the focus, not the oak. Our fruit is always hand-harvested and often fermented partial whole-cluster. The craftsmanship and quality shows through in the finished wines.

Phillip met his English wife, Claire, during his university days when they were both studying for a year abroad at the University of Grenoble, France. Their’s is a long winding love story, starting in Grenoble and culminating in their marriage in the Napa Valley in 2010 when Claire subsequently joined the business. They live on the rural ridge top at Baxter Winery and have two young children. Claire works from the winery office running the business alongside Phillip, as well as overseeing the wine club and tasting room, which were her early initiatives.