Judd Finkelstein, Winemaker Judd Finkelstein is a Napa Valley native. Being raised in the heart of wine country while his very creative parents were developing their own winery, Judd was involved from an early age in every facet of grape growing and winemaking.
Judd left Napa Valley to work towards his undergraduate degree with the intention of pursuing a career in radio and film Soon Judd came to realize that he wanted to fully establish himself in the wine business. As his passion for winemaking and his interest in the wine business grew, he decided to follow in the family business and went on to study winemaking at U C. Davis and Napa Valley College.
In 1979, Judd’s father, Art, designed and built Whitehall Lane Winery in St. Helena. In the late 1980’s, Art built the Judd’s Hill Winery on a 14-acre hillside vineyard in the eastern hills of Napa Valley outside of St. Helena. In the 1990's, Judd joined the winery and with Art’s passing in May, 2010, Judd and winemaker Kenn Vigoda now craft our Happy Valley Cellars wines at their state-of-the-art winery in the Napa Valley.
