O'Brien Estate

Mark Davis grew up in Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. (not exactly wine country). After graduating from the University of Maryland with a degree in chemical engineering, his love of fermentation science (and boredom at his government job) brought him to California to see what winemaking was really like, outside of a small home-based hobby he had dabbled with.

Mark quickly fell in love with the whole winemaking process: from tasting grapes to check for ripeness, to pumping over tanks, to shoveling out grape skins, and generally getting your hands dirty making great wine. After his first vintage, Mark applied to the world-renowned UC Davis viticulture and enology program. He was accepted and spent two years learning as much as possible about everything having to do with growing grapes and making wine. Mark graduated with high honors in 2010 and also received the honorary department citation for outstanding achievement in viticulture and enology.

After several vintages across northern California as well as in Australia and South Africa, Mark eventually was given the opportunity to start his own label and in 2012 Cobden Wini Wines was born. As well as handling every aspect for the Cobden Wini label, Mark is also the winemaker at O’Brien Estate Winery in Napa. Mark continues to learn every day and strives to make the best wines possible while still making sure to have fun every step along the way.

David believes winemaking is about the details. David has been with O'Brien Estate since 2004, after launching his winemaking career with Seavey Vineyard, with consulting winemaker Philippe Melka.

David has also assisted in the cellars of Grace Family Vineyard in St. Helena. David also makes his own wine as Kind Cellars using sourced fruit; he was recently awarded a 99 point score from Robert Parker Jr.

Tyler pours his innate creativity and self-expression into the wines he creates, marrying an extraordinary understanding of winemaking science and principles. From his start in 2012 at Domaine Chandon to his rise to Assistant Winemaker at Markham Vineyard, Tyler achieved a depth of knowledge and experience producing exquisite Napa Valley wines. He is a graduate of UC Davis with Bachelors’ degrees in Viticulture & Enology, and Economics, with a deep appreciation for Napa’s unique regions and sense of place.