Gandona was founded in 2006 when Manuel and Cristina Pires purchased the former Long Vineyards on Pritchard Hill. Pires grew up in Portugal where he spent many seasons on his grandfather’s farm, and he later headed up a major international security company. But Pires was drawn to the Napa Valley, which reminded him of Portugal’s celebrated Douro wine region where his grandfather farmed. Pires hired consultant Philippe Melka as winemaker and Jim Barbour as vineyard manager. Both men are widely admired in California and elsewhere. Melka started his career at Château Haut Brion and worked in most of the major winemaking regions of the world before settling in Napa Valley. Barbour has been vineyard manager for Grace Family and Pride, among many others. Gandona produces Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines, though Pires has also planted a block of Touriga Nacional grapes which are used to make a Port-style dessert wine. Robert M. Parker Jr. has rated the Gandona Cabernets in the mid-90s.