Michael Keenan Email & Phone Number

Michael Keenan’s life changed forever in 1995 when his father, Robert Keenan, asked if he was interested in managing the Spring Mountain winery founded by Robert in 1974. Although several years had passed since he’d set foot on the property high on the Mayacamas mountain range of Napa Valley, Michael’s first thought when he arrived at the winery in the spring of 1995 was, “I have to keep this beautiful place in the family.” Soon after taking leadership of the winery, and inspired by Rachel Carson’s 1962 best seller, “Silent Spring,” Michael began a viticulture program focused on increasing soil health in the vineyard through organic farming and the use of organic compost and cover crops. As a result, today almost all of the 48 acres of Keenan estate vineyards have been re-planted with an eye toward making sure every acre is sustainably farmed and planted with the right varietal clone. Future vintages of the Keenan estate wines will proudly state "Solar Powered and Sustainably Farmed" on each label. In the winery, Michael works in concert with winemaker Randy Kewell to make final decisions about winemaking protocols, aging, and style. He prefers the Keenan wines reflect a minimal, more natural and balanced approach, using less new French oak and allowing the varietal flavors to prevail in each bottle of wine. Today, in addition to working at the winery, Michael spends a considerable amount of his time traveling throughout the United States on behalf of Keenan Winery, tirelessly extolling the excellence of its wines. He regularly hosts winemaker dinners at restaurants, private clubs, and resorts featuring current and library offerings of Keenan wines. In addition, Michael works directly with wine trade brokers and distributors to identify the best national markets.

Listed skills include Wine, Winemaking, Wine Tasting, Wineries, and 32 others.

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  Owner

  Robert Keenan Winery

  Sep 1998 - Present

  Combining both the art and science of winemaking, our passionate commitment to quality is evident in every aspect of producing world class wines – from using only the finest grapes to the Portuguese cork in the bottle.