Robert Mark Kamen — screenwriter of The Karate Kid, Taken, and The Fifth Element — bought 280 acres on Moon Mountain in 1980 with his first screenplay check. Phil Coturri planted 40 organically farmed acres in volcanic rock 1,450 feet up. Mark Herold has made the wines since 2003.
Robert Kamen — screenwriter of The Fifth Element, The Karate Kid, and Taken — has spent decades farming one of Moon Mountain's most dramatic volcanic hillside estates. Planted over thirty years on steep, iron-rich basalt soils at elevations up to 2,000 feet, the estate produces Cabernet Sauvignon of considerable power and structure. Working with consulting winemaker Mark Herold, Kamen's wines are among the most concentrated and age-worthy on the mountain. The estate's biodynamic farming reflects a long commitment to the land over commercial ambition.
Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Moon Mountain District — The flagship: a concentrated, terroir-driven mountain Cabernet from fractured volcanic rock soils high on the Sonoma side of Mount Veeder.
Kashmir, Moon Mountain District — The tête-de-cuvée: a tiny-production Cabernet blended from the estate's very best lots, made only in exceptional vintages.
Writer's Block, Moon Mountain District — The estate red blend, led by Syrah and Petite Sirah; dark-fruited and bold.
Estate Syrah, Moon Mountain District — A peppery, intensely flavored hillside Syrah.
Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Moon Mountain District — A bright, mineral-driven white grown on the same volcanic slopes.
Founded by Hollywood screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen (The Karate Kid, Taken), who planted the estate in 1980 with the proceeds of his first script, Kamen Estate farms organically and biodynamically with viticulturist Phil Coturri at 1,100–1,450 feet on Moon Mountain. Winemaker Mark Herold crafts the intense, low-yield estate reds.
The tasting room sits on the Sonoma Plaza, but everything poured here comes from Robert Mark Kamen's 280-acre estate 1,450 feet above the valley floor on the Sonoma side of Mount Veeder — just 400 yards from the Napa County line. Kamen, the screenwriter behind The Karate Kid series, Taps, The Fifth Element, Taken, and The Transporter, bought the wilderness tract in 1980 with his first screenplay check and enlisted viticulturist Phil Coturri to plant 40 organically- and biodynamically-farmed acres in fractured volcanic rock. Winemaker Mark Herold has produced the wines since 2003 — intense, terroir-driven Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Grenache. The Plaza tasting room pours Signature Flights ($20) and Premier Flights ($35); a private Vineyard Tour + Tasting on the mountain itself ($80) is available by appointment.
Mark Herold makes the wines at Kamen Estate, the rugged, high-elevation vineyard above Sonoma in the Moon Mountain District established by Hollywood screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen. Planted on steep volcanic slopes of the Mayacamas and one of the first certified-organic vineyards in California, the estate is farmed biodynamically by viticulturist Phil Coturri with minimal intervention. Herold — who holds a doctorate in nutritional biochemistry from UC Davis and founded the cult Napa label Merus — joined to take the wines, in Kamen's words, from great to greater. The flagship is a powerful, age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon, with small lots of Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, and a Cabernet rosé alongside.
Robert Mark Kamen founded Kamen Estate Wines on a wild, rocky stretch of Moon Mountain he bought in 1980 with the proceeds of his first screenplay. A celebrated Hollywood screenwriter — The Karate Kid, Taken, The Fifth Element, and more — Kamen cleared and dynamited the volcanic Mayacamas hillside to plant Cabernet Sauvignon at high elevation, working for years alongside organic-farming pioneer Phil Coturri. The result is a benchmark mountain Cabernet of uncommon intensity. Decades on, Kamen still divides his life between the writing desk and the vineyard, and the estate’s wines remain among the Moon Mountain District’s most distinctive.
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Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Moon Mountain District — The flagship: a concentrated, terroir-driven mountain Cabernet from fractured volcanic rock soils high on the Sonoma side of Mount Veeder.
Kashmir, Moon Mountain District — The tête-de-cuvée: a tiny-production Cabernet blended from the estate's very best lots, made only in exceptional vintages.
Writer's Block, Moon Mountain District — The estate red blend, led by Syrah and Petite Sirah; dark-fruited and bold.
Estate Syrah, Moon Mountain District — A peppery, intensely flavored hillside Syrah.
Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Moon Mountain District — A bright, mineral-driven white grown on the same volcanic slopes.
Founded by Hollywood screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen (The Karate Kid, Taken), who planted the estate in 1980 with the proceeds of his first script, Kamen Estate farms organically and biodynamically with viticulturist Phil Coturri at 1,100–1,450 feet on Moon Mountain. Winemaker Mark Herold crafts the intense, low-yield estate reds.
Robert Kamen — screenwriter of The Fifth Element, The Karate Kid, and Taken — has spent decades farming one of Moon Mountain's most dramatic volcanic hillside estates. Planted over thirty years on steep, iron-rich basalt soils at elevations up to 2,000 feet, the estate produces Cabernet Sauvignon of considerable power and structure. Working with consulting winemaker Mark Herold, Kamen's wines are among the most concentrated and age-worthy on the mountain. The estate's biodynamic farming reflects a long commitment to the land over commercial ambition.
The tasting room sits on the Sonoma Plaza, but everything poured here comes from Robert Mark Kamen's 280-acre estate 1,450 feet above the valley floor on the Sonoma side of Mount Veeder — just 400 yards from the Napa County line. Kamen, the screenwriter behind The Karate Kid series, Taps, The Fifth Element, Taken, and The Transporter, bought the wilderness tract in 1980 with his first screenplay check and enlisted viticulturist Phil Coturri to plant 40 organically- and biodynamically-farmed acres in fractured volcanic rock. Winemaker Mark Herold has produced the wines since 2003 — intense, terroir-driven Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Grenache. The Plaza tasting room pours Signature Flights ($20) and Premier Flights ($35); a private Vineyard Tour + Tasting on the mountain itself ($80) is available by appointment.
Mark Herold makes the wines at Kamen Estate, the rugged, high-elevation vineyard above Sonoma in the Moon Mountain District established by Hollywood screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen. Planted on steep volcanic slopes of the Mayacamas and one of the first certified-organic vineyards in California, the estate is farmed biodynamically by viticulturist Phil Coturri with minimal intervention. Herold — who holds a doctorate in nutritional biochemistry from UC Davis and founded the cult Napa label Merus — joined to take the wines, in Kamen's words, from great to greater. The flagship is a powerful, age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon, with small lots of Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, and a Cabernet rosé alongside.
Robert Mark Kamen founded Kamen Estate Wines on a wild, rocky stretch of Moon Mountain he bought in 1980 with the proceeds of his first screenplay. A celebrated Hollywood screenwriter — The Karate Kid, Taken, The Fifth Element, and more — Kamen cleared and dynamited the volcanic Mayacamas hillside to plant Cabernet Sauvignon at high elevation, working for years alongside organic-farming pioneer Phil Coturri. The result is a benchmark mountain Cabernet of uncommon intensity. Decades on, Kamen still divides his life between the writing desk and the vineyard, and the estate’s wines remain among the Moon Mountain District’s most distinctive.
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