Swiss-born winemaker Peter Luthi came to Trefethen in 1983 and took the helm as Head Winemaker in 1985. For over twenty years, Peter has honed the elegant style of Trefethen wines.
In the late 1980s, Peter set his sights on making one of California’s best Cabernet Sauvignons. Lo and behold, Trefethen 1989 Cabernet Sauvignon won “Best in State” honors at the California State Fair Wine Competition.
Not resting on his laurels, Peter crafted a 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon that won a “Double Gold Medal” and “Best of Class-Napa Valley” honors at the California State Fair. In 1997, he created the first HāLo Cabernet Sauvignon, now Trefethen’s flagship wine, which was named one of the “Top 10 Cabernets of the Year” by Wine and Spirits magazine and one of the “Top 100 Wines” of the year by Wine Enthusiast magazine. And most recently, Peter’s efforts were rewarded with perhaps the greatest endorsement of them all when Trefethen’s 2002 Reserve Cabernet was selected by Decanter magazine as the single greatest example of a Bordeaux-style wine in North America.
