‘Things Change Because You Do Things,’ Says Napa’s Only Black Wine CEO
Carlton McCoy, the former wine director of Aspen’s Little Nell, talks about how he has transitioned to running Heitz, an historic cellar.
McCoy at Heitz Cellar.
Photographer: Matt Sayles
After purchasing Napa’s historic Heitz Cellar at the end of 2018, billionaire Gaylon Lawrence hired master sommelier Carlton McCoy, then wine director at the Little Nell in Aspen, Colo., to be chief executive officer.
McCoy has been on a tear ever since, expanding Lawrence’s wine portfolio. First he refocused Heitz on its top single-vineyard cabernets and dropped some smaller wines like zinfandel. He bought famed vineyards Haynes and Wildwood in 2019 and two iconic wineries, Burgess Cellars and Stony Hill, in 2020—then appointed young winemakers to carry them forward. He launched the less expensive Brendel brand and formed an American négociant and import company called Demeine Estates. He’s also spinning off Heitz’s Ink Grade Vineyard into an estate winery with its own label.