Sullivan Rutherford Estate Coeur de Vigne: Napa Valley Cabernet With Rutherford Heart

• Posted December 20, 2025

Sullivan Rutherford Estate is one of those Napa places that still feels like a secret, even though it has been around since 1972. French for “Heart of the Vine,” Coeur de Vigne could not be a more fitting name for the estate.

A Napa Estate with History

Sullivan Wine sits quite literally at the heart of Napa Valley, on the old Rancho boundary that once divided Rancho Caymus to the south and Rancho Carne Humana to the north. That sense of being at the crossroads runs through the estate’s story.

Sullivan began as the vision of James “Jim” O’Neil Sullivan, a Los Angeles wine lover. In the 1950s, a simple backyard grape arbor and a bit of home winemaking sparked a curiosity that eventually pulled him and his wife, JoAnna, north to the Napa Valley.​

In 1972, during the early days of the boutique winery movement, the Sullivans moved to Rutherford and purchased property on what is now Galleron Road, right in the heart of the Rutherford AVA. With encouragement and consulting from legendary winemaker André Tchelistcheff, they planted primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot on the 26‑acre estate a few years later, betting on Bordeaux varieties before it was fashionable.

Meeting