Your Story: Our memory of Jim & Barbara Richards

May 18, 2022

By Lewis Morgenstern

In 2005-2006, my wife and I were making one of our first Napa trips. I called Paloma and Barbara answered. She invited us to come up to the house to taste. My wife and I sat with her (with intermittent visits from Jim) in the living room for quite a while, before she took us to the winery for a barrel tasting. In a time when wine tasting was already impersonal and commercial, Barbara was so warm, friendly, educational, and pleasant that it made our whole trip great. She was out of wine, but we managed to buy a bottle of the 2004 Merlot at a local shop. We just drank it a few days ago and it was wonderful. It brought back great memories.     

We were able to buy 3 bottles of your 2017 Merlot in Michigan recently and have them in the cellar. So happy to see the label is the same. Just wanted to share this good memory.

wine bottle from Paloma
By caston July 8, 2026
Learn how to age wine at home the right way. Follow the same bottle over 12 months, track the changes, and build a cellar worth opening. Begin today.
By caston June 23, 2026
Our story has always begun on Spring Mountain. A family. A steep hillside. A deep respect for the land. A belief that great wine should reflect the place it comes from. Since Jim and Barbara Richards purchased the property in 1983, Paloma has remained rooted in estate-grown wines, mountain farming, and the kind of hospitality that feels personal rather than performed. That story has been shared through bottles, visits, and conversations for more than four decades. Now, we have built a new way for that story to travel. We have created a dedicated AI Information Page on the Paloma Vineyard website. Its purpose is direct: to give search engines, AI assistants, journalists, researchers, wine travelers, and digital platforms one clear, accurate, and officially maintained source of information about who we are, where we are, and what we make.
Winemaker Sheldon Richards farming Cabernet Franc vines on Spring Mountain, Napa Valley.
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Napa Valley award winning wines displayed on tasting table with Paloma Vineyard wines and glasses in
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vineyard view of Paloma
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Christmas and Holiday wine bottles from Paloma
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By caston December 2, 2025
Nestled on the western slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains and overlooking the iconic Napa Valley, the Spring Mountain District AVA offers a truly elevated wine‑country experience. With vineyards planted on steep hillsides, above the valley floor, this mountain appellation is all about high altitude vineyards, dramatic terroir and a hospitality style grounded in family, craft and place.
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Wine tasting is more than etiquette and ceremony. It’s an opportunity to listen to your palate — to discover what flavors resonate most with you, so that in later tastings or purchases, you can ask for “more of that. ” When you can name what you like, you unlock a more rewarding, deeper wine experience. Below is your refined guide to wine tasting etiquette — yes — but always in service of helping you tune in to your preferences.
By caston August 18, 2025
At Paloma, Merlot is the soul of our story. It is the grape that founders Jim & Barbara fell in love with on their journey to Spring Mountain.  Picture this: it’s the late 1970s, and Barbara and Jim are visiting the Duckhorn vineyard, tasting their famed Three Palms Merlot. They lean into a sip and feel stirred—not just by the wine’s richness, but by its quiet elegance. That moment sparked something. They looked at each other and thought, “This is the wine we want to make. These are grapes we have to grow.” Before they even found the site, they had their hearts set on Merlot. By the time they found the raw land at the top of Spring Mountain, there was no changing their minds. Back then, planting Merlot at that elevation was almost unheard of—too cool, too risky. But they trusted their instincts and took the leap.
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