The Smith Devereux story started, as the founders will tell you, with music and wine. Ian Devereux White spent years as a travel and wine writer — crisscrossing the country in an RV, visiting over 1,800 wineries, and interviewing winemakers for publications like Wine Enthusiast and Lonely Planet. One day an interview subject flipped the question back on him: would he ever want to make his own wine? The answer changed everything.

Ian was sharing an office with John Anthony Truchard — a Napa grape grower whose family had been farming in Carneros since 1974 — who proposed they team up. They brought in Steve Smith, a music industry veteran with 17 years of experience in strategic brand partnerships. The three shook hands backstage at the Greek Theater in Berkeley and Smith Devereux was born. First vintage: 2012. The flagship is a single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from a two-acre Oak Knoll estate that consistently earns 95+ points — and retails for $85.

Smith Devereux farms sustainably and keeps a deliberately light footprint from vine to bottle — lightweight glass, laser-etched labels instead of paper, no capsules, minimal packaging. The focus is on featuring the natural character of each site rather than layering on oak or extraction.

Winemaker Rudy Zuidema took over in 2023 after nearly a decade with the team. A UC Davis viticulture graduate who has worked at Cuvaison, Honig, Robert Craig, and Ehlers Estate, Rudy brings serious technical depth to what is an intentionally unpretentious operation. He's also certified in organic and biodynamic farming through CCOF and Demeter. The wines aim for balance, complexity, and food friendliness — Cabernets that are structured but never heavy, approachable without being simple.

Ian Devereux White co-founded Smith Devereux and serves as vintner and face of the brand — personally hosting vineyard tours, coaching boxing, playing in bands, and sitting on the board of the Monarch Family Justice Center. Steve Smith, a music industry veteran who has worked with John Mayer and Train among others, handles strategic partnerships and brand development. John Anthony Truchard, whose family planted their first Carneros vines in 1974, oversees vineyard sourcing through his company Vinewerkes, which manages over 26 Napa Valley vineyards. Winemaker Rudy Zuidema leads the cellar.