In 2002, Garret Murphy and Kim Erasmy opened Vintner’s Collective in Napa’s oldest stone building, the Pfeiffer Building (1875), on a quiet corner with little foot traffic. Their vision: a shared tasting room for boutique winemakers without a winery of their own.
Garret, a former pastry chef, curated exceptional small-lot wines, while Kim transformed the historic space, once a brewery, brothel, laundry, and butcher shop, into a warm, design-forward destination. The Collective helped pioneer the private tasting model, offering elegant lounges and a welcoming bar for walk-ins.
Through floods, economic downturns, and the 2014 earthquake, which left them operating from an Airstream, they never lost momentum. Kim famously covered missing windows at their re-opening with sky-blue screenprints.
Now a downtown mainstay, Vintner’s Collective thrives on word-of-mouth and local loyalty. “It’s French Laundry meets Cheers,” says Garret. After more than two decades, the building and the business are inseparable, a testament to creativity, resilience, and a deep love of wine.
Story and photos by Priscillia de Muizon, Inkwell Story Studio.
