Elaine St. Clair Bio

Elaine St. Clair

-Winemaker- 

Elaine St. Clair began her life in Cambridge, England where her father was finishing his graduate degree in chemical engineering. It was there that Elaine was significantly influenced by England’s “naturalist” culture ensuing in her a great affection for nature, the sciences and an experimental approach to learning. Upon entering the University of California, Davis in 1980, Elaine quickly connected with a group of vibrant, like-minded students in the burgeoning food and viticulture community. It wasn’t long before she decided to combine her interests and pursue a career in winemaking.

Upon graduation, Elaine spent some time at DeLoach Vineyards in Sonoma, learning the basics of cellar management and fruit processing. Next, she went to Domaine Chandon, where she spent over a decade as a member of the winemaking team for a 400,000 case sparkling wine program. It was here that she began to develop her blending technique, producing small lots and blending them to create distinctive taste profiles.

To further diversify Elaine’s profile, she partnered in the creation of Napa Valley Ale Works where, as head brewer, she produced and marketed three award-winning brands of premium micro-brewed beer.

In 1999, Elaine accepted a position as winemaker at Domaine Carneros in the Carneros region, where she supervised an award-winning wine program that included five ultra-premium sparkling wines and three estate-grown Carneros Pinot Noirs. In addition to winning numerous awards, these wines were also covered extensively in the press and received several 90+ point rankings in the Wine Spectator.

When Elaine joined Black Stallion Winery in May 2008, she brought with her a stellar reputation and a loyal network of relationships with winemakers and growers throughout the Napa Valley.

The wine program at Black Stallion Winery is unique on several fronts; not only does the winery only sell direct to its customers, the winery engages a diversified vineyard program working with a collection of small growers, hand-selecting the best rows, vineyards and grapes in the Valley, a philosophy that dovetails perfectly with Elaine’s own. Today, Elaine works closely with the growers, carefully monitoring every aspect of the growing cycle, from pruning to canopy management to harvest. She believes that every decision affects the quality of the fruit, and ergo, the wine. “Sustainable quality is more important than yield,” she says. “You can’t push the vines.”

In the cellar, Elaine experiments with different aging methods and isolates numerous small lots, which she uses as her “palette” for blending. At last count, she was utilizing 15 different types of oak barrels, each from different forests, coopers and toast levels.  Most of the grapes she uses for Black Stallion wines are sourced from the Oak Knoll District, where a moderately cool climate supports many different grape varieties and produces a diverse array of flavors.

To further augment her knowledge base, Elaine farms her own one acre vineyard on her property, where she experiments with different sustainable growing techniques.  Elaine feels this gives her a better understanding of the unique needs of each harvest. 

“I’m constantly learning,” Elaine says. “Every harvest teaches me something.” She strives to create a wine with balance and finesse.  She looks for a complex array of aromas that draw you in and structure that keeps your focus.  The wine should open up slowly in the glass giving a glimpse of it final potential.   “By looking for the individuality of each vineyard lot, one can create a final blend that will express a personality of its own."