Almacerro Napa Valley
Almacerro is a family-owned winemaking estate harkening back to the cherished tradition of Napa Valley vineyard homesteads.
Patiently revitalized by Proprietor Frank Scherkenbach, who purchased the 41-acre property in 2016 after four decades of visiting Napa Valley, Almacerro sits at 1780 feet on Howell Mountain, with 11 acres of vineyard occupying a remote area of the AVA. With a team that includes Vineyard Manager Mike Wolf, Consulting Winemaker Françoise Peschon, and Winemaker Matilda Scott, Almacerro creates classic mountain wines that are forthright in structure, nuanced and balanced in character, and evocative of the wild place they call home.
Francoise Peschon Winemaker
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.
Matilda Scott Winemaker
Matilda Scott grew up on a sheep and cattle ranch in the western districts of Victoria in Australia, close to the Cabernet Sauvignon capital of Coonawarra. Her first taste of the industry was picking Chardonnay grapes on her 11th birthday alongside her mother at Bowen Estate. Upon graduating high school, she undertook her first of three harvests at Wynns Coonawarra Estate whilst studying history at the University of Melbourne.
Inspired by two harvests at Arkenstone on Howell Mountain, she returned to Australia to complete a post graduate diploma in Viticulture and Oenology with the University of Adelaide. While studying fulltime she also worked at Sons of Eden for two harvests. Returning in 2016 to Arkenstone, Matilda worked alongside Sam Kaplan and consulting winemakers at the facility including Françoise Peschon. The following year the two started at Almacerro as assistant and consulting winemaker, with Matilda gaining the title of winemaker in 2021.
