The Realm journey is defined by the pursuit of greatness. As our Estate holdings have grown in recent years, so too has the need to expand our winegrowing team. Today we are farming three Estates in Stags Leap District, Coombsville and Pritchard Hill, and making wine in three small facilities. It’s a long way from where we were in 2012, as a small, virtual winery with no assets. Yet the vision for Realm and the passion for quality at the highest level remain the same.
And so it is with excitement that we welcome two additions to our winegrowing leadership team – Chris Cooney in the role of Chief of Winegrowing and Kelly Fields as Winemaker. Benoit Touquette will transition to a consulting winemaker role, where he will continue to be involved in key aspects of winegrowing for Realm. The shared goal is a seamless evolution for our wines and our people.
In his consulting role, Benoit will focus his artistic and creative talents on key elements of our winegrowing, such as farming philosophy, fermentation techniques, and blending. Benoit can now dedicate more time to his own personal projects. This transition frees him from some of the day-to-day activities and responsibilities at Realm, which have only grown as we added more vineyards and facilities. Benoit remains committed to the long-term success of Realm, and he continues as a valued partner in the business.
Benoit: “I’m excited to concentrate on the scientific and creative aspects that drew me to winemaking in the first place. While ensuring the continuity of Realm’s wines, I’ll also have more time for my own brands – Fait-Main and Teeter Totter – as well as other projects.”
Scott: “Benoit has been a significant part of the journey over the last 13 years, and his contributions have helped to build Realm beyond our wildest dreams. The good news is his context, his palate, and his unique point of view are still part of shaping Realm’s wines. And now we are adding two experienced and accomplished winemakers to build on what’s been started, to take our wines, our people and our program to the next level.”
Chris Cooney served most recently as Winemaker at Dana Estates, a position he held from 2015. With a master’s degree in Enology from UC Davis, Chris was also the Winemaker at Provenance Vineyards for many years. Chris has a deep understanding of viticulture, and his time in Napa Valley has given him the opportunity to work with some of its finest fruit, including Realm sources such as Beckstoffer To Kalon and Dr. Crane as well as the Pritchard Hill and Coombsville growing regions. An experienced blender with a refined palate, Chris sees tremendous opportunity at Realm, both for the wines and the winegrowing team. We have been fans of Chris and the wines he has crafted for a long time, and you’ll find many of his wines from Dana Estates in our cellar.
Chris: “Realm’s wines are already brilliant, so the task will be to preserve the characteristics that make them great while striving to make them even better, continuing in a direction toward more freshness and energy. It’s a continuum. And with new estate vineyard blocks coming into play and more to be planted, there will be many new opportunities and interesting discussions in the years to come.”
Kelly Fields joins Realm from Tench Vineyards where she was Winemaker starting in 2023. Previously she spent eighteen years at Joseph Phelps Vineyards, the last twelve as Assistant Winemaker. Her experience there exposed her to the highest levels of winegrowing, and she counts the legendary Joe Phelps as one of her mentors. His frequent advice “to be the best we can be” resonates with Kelly as she takes on this new role. Phelps Insignia is certainly one of the iconic wines of Napa Valley, and we draw a lot of inspiration at Realm from legendary vintners like Joe Phelps. Kelly has also known Benoit for many years, so the relationship is strong, and she intuitively understands the culture here.
Kelly: “Realm is known for always pushing the limit, always striving for that 1% more in terms of quality. The status quo is never good enough; this is a place where you challenge yourself. I want to be a part of that.”
Chris’ and Kelly’s roles at Realm are complementary. Chris will focus on the strategic decisions as well as development and farming in our vineyards while Kelly concentrates on day-to-day operations at our three winemaking facilities. Both winemakers have extensive leadership experience. A significant portion of their time will be spent building and mentoring the existing winemaking teams at Realm, helping our people as well as our wines reach their highest potential. In bringing on Chris and Kelly, we weren’t just looking for winemaking skill – it was also about culture and fit. The dynamic between Benoit, Chris and Kelly is just as critical as the talent or experience of any one individual. Realm now has a strong and dedicated winegrowing leadership team capable of leading us through the next chapter of growth and evolution.
Scott: “As Realm has grown, things like mentorship, team building and succession planning have become ever more crucial. In hiring Chris and Kelly, I’m looking to create a new dynamic and way of working together at Realm. Their winegrowing talent and leadership experience coupled with Benoit’s vision and creative input gives us an excellent shot at achieving even higher levels of quality and success. This is the 'dream team' and I believe the best is yet to come.”
