Gone West
Suzanne Phifer Pavitt hails from Ringgold GA. A small rural town situated in the northwestern corner of the state. She left Georgia for college and graduate school. Suzanne went on to excel as one of a handful of women in a highly competitive, professional sales force in the technology industry. She met Shane Pavitt, a finance professional from Manhattan Beach; they married and have two boys. Amongst the chaos of their two established careers, the couple made a pact to their weekly “DATE NIGHT.” On one such night, they spoke of a simpler, pastoral life-- a vineyard and a winery and enough room to roam. This is how they came to find property in Calistoga and begin the Phifer Pavitt Wine journey.

A barn-into-winery
The idea for the winery building came from their commitment to sustainability. They found an abandoned barn that they purchased, board-and-batten siding and all, and relocated to their property. They spent several years restoring the barn and retrofitting it to be a working winery and sophisticated tasting room. Today they produce a portfolio of wines, including their flagship DATE NIGHT Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. Suzanne stays true to her Georgian roots with a steel cowgirl greeting you at the entrance to the winery and a nod to her cowboy boot wearing persona on the label.

Family and more
Suzanne finds time to practice yoga, cheer on her sons’ sports teams and serve on several non-profit boards in the Napa Valley. She’s known for her love of her garden and cans the amazing bounty it provides each year. “I do think I’m living the dream,” she says, “whether it's our sense of accomplishment in all of the meaningful details of the winery or the delightfulness of seeing the blackboard walls in the tasting room scribbled with customer’s own date night stories.”