Francoise has worked with some of Napa Valley’s best—including Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Araujo Estate Wines, Viader Vineyards and Vine Hill Ranch—quietly crafting some of Napa Valley’s most acclaimed Cabernet Sauvignons of the last three decades. She is quick to credit her mentors, wine industry luminaries like Michel Roland, Warren Winiarski and Tony Soter, whose sensitivity, intellect and sense of aesthetics have been her inspiration.

Early in her winemaking career, Francoise spent a year in Bordeaux at Chateau Haut Brion. It was there that she knew she wanted to work with Bordeaux varieties at an estate property. She holds a degree in Enology from the University of California—Davis, and participated in the DUAD program at the University of Bordeaux.

Francoise continues to work with Bart and Daphne Araujo on their new venture, Accendo, as well as Vine Hill Ranch. She is also invested in Drinkward Peschon, a small brand she shares with her good friend and neighbor, Lisa Drinkward, since 2000.