Optima is Mike Duffy’s winery, and it started in a garage. He grew up in Redding with a home-winemaker father and declared his intention to major in enology at UC Davis while still a high-school sophomore; his first Optima label, in 1984, was four hundred cases of Cabernet made with his late wife, Tina. For nine years he was head winemaker at Field Stone in Alexander Valley, working beside André Tchelistcheff, the most influential American winemaker of the post-Prohibition era, who told him to make a Cabernet that spoke for Alexander Valley rather than imitate Napa. That lesson still defines the house.
Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: the flagship, built the way André Tchelistcheff taught Mike Duffy to build it.
Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel: a bold, classic expression of the valley’s benchmark grape.
Petite Sirah & Zinfandel Port: dark, structured, small-lot reds.
CMP and PMZ Blends: house red blends made in tiny quantities.
Under five thousand cases a year, made with extended maceration, counter-pressure racking, and unfiltered bottling.
The winery sits on a hilltop off Dry Creek Road, though its flagship fruit comes from Alexander Valley; the Dry Creek side gives the Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. Production stays under five thousand cases, which lets Duffy work the way big wineries cannot: extended maceration, counter-pressure racking, unfiltered bottling. It is a family operation now, run with his wife Nicol and four sons between them, and Nicol usually pours. A second label, Fitch Mountain Cellars, began with a five-thousand-dollar tax refund.
