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Our Owners
Michael Havens
Winegrower
 When Michael decided to focus on the cool Carneros region of Napa Valley for his Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc wines, he was considered something of a maverick. Today, some industry observers refer to the region as Napa Valley’s Right Bank and to Michael as the catalyst for making it so.
Michael & Kathryn Havens started making wine at home in the early seventies while Michael was first earning his master’s degree in theological studies at Boston’s Theological Institute and then his doctorate in humanities at Syracuse University, NY. The nearby Finger Lakes in New York provided ample distraction so he began working seriously with some of those interesting local grape varieties. Edging ever closer to the Napa Valley, Michael's academic career took him to UCLA, where he taught writing courses, transferring (much to his favorite student’s disappointment) to UC Davis, (handy for sliding into the odd enology class) in 1983. Employed as the Truchard Vineyards Winemaker for five years through 1993, Michael continued to make several vintages of his own wine at the Truchard winery in Carneros.
Michael made foresighted (at the time even unorthodox for Merlot and Syrah) choices of grape growers in the Carneros region of Napa Valley with whom to collaborate. The results have been worldwide accolades and benchmark wines from their carefully selected range of varieties: Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc.
Kathryn Havens
 Kathryn Havens considers her daily walks in the vineyards to be the most critical, enriching part of marketing wines. “Selling great wines to wine lovers? That’s the perk. It’s gaining intimacy with the vineyards and nurturing all of the elements that make great wines and that makes marketing the wines to our clients so meaningful. It promises a personal, informed approach as we enter a more competitive market in our industry.”
Kathryn's inauguration into the wine business started in Europe, where she traveled at age 19 to absorb and study art and where she met Michael. Together in Switzerland, they couldn’t get enough of the wonderful fondues and beautiful, luscious European wines.
Kathryn's studies in Europe took her to Israel, Morocco, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, UK, Switzerland. “I had great expectations of gaining insight into the art history of the culture in which I found myself. What I didn't expect was the shift in my perspective on my place in the current culture. Being surrounded by people who took time with daily bread and wine and conversation around the table was a joy. I had grown up in a family that valued time together, but in a fast food country.
When Michael’s UCLA job took the Havens to Los Angeles, Kathryn painted and taught art classes in Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica. But Napa soon beckoned the wine muse, and the move into the wine industry was a welcomed one. She worked as art director for Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and then established her own graphic arts business, creating labels and marketing collateral for other wineries. . . and for Havens, of course.
Alfredo and Alex Bartholomaus
Alfredo Bartholomaus, founder of Billington Wines and one time hitchhiker (he hitchhiked from his native Chile before running out of money in DC) formed Billington Wines in 1985 right around the same time Michael Havens was making his first vintage of Havens.
Alfredo began by introducing the wines of Chile, which were relatively unavailable to wine lovers in the United States at the time. Starting with Cousino Macul, a Bordeaux style producer, he followed this by importing and distributing the now prestigious wines of Catena from Argentina. Like Michael Havens, owner, Nicolas Catena, is a modern pioneer but in this case of Argentine Malbec.
After completing college in 1994, Alfredo’s son, Alex joined the company and quickly added other countries to the mix of imported wines. He assumed the reins of the small family enterprise in 1998. In 2002, Alex and his brother, Erik, a tattoo artist, launched a wine from Chile. The company’s first foray into the production of wine, they named their project Big Tattoo Wines. Erik designed the label and Alex oversaw production. Created in honor of their mother, Liliana S. Bartholomaus, 50 cents from each bottle sold is donated to charity in her name. The project has grown to include an array of wines and it is the brothers’ hope to surpass the $1 million mark in donations this year..
Later in 2002 the wine collaborations came stateside for the first time with a Sonoma County partnership – Chasseur. This partnership allowed Bill Hunter, the proprietor, to focus on making some of the best small lot Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs in Sonoma County, while Billington focused on properly positioning the wines in some of the most prestigious restaurant and retailers across the country.
In 2006 with plans for more California growth, Alex convinced a small cutting-edge wine negociant, owned by Walt Averill and Máire Murphy, to join the team to focus on growing the California portfolio. Later that year, Alex began talking to Michael about a partnership with his winery. The familiarity of another pioneer appealed to both Alex and Michael. The passion Michael has for what he and the Havens team create was clearly evident so the quality and value of the wines were hard to resist.
In this new partnership, Michael will continue to do what he has always done in the vineyard and cellar. By adding the expertise of Billington’s distribution and sales, Michael can concentrate on continuing his passion to make Havens Wine Cellars a pioneer and leader in Napa Valley. We look forward to many exciting times together as the Havens family joins the Bartholomaus family to bring you the best possible wines from Napa and Carneros.
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