A native Californian with roots and influences in both Southern California and the Bay Area, Patrick McNeil’s personal history is entwined with—and endures in—this state’s world-class wine industry. Since graduating from UC Davis in 1996, Patrick has enjoyed a fully integrated career in all aspects of wine: from sales, marketing, and distribution to winemaking and viticulture—with healthy doses of creative entrepreneurship to fuel his efforts along the way. His experience building wine brands has brought hard-earned national attention to some first-rate estates, from Napa Valley to Paso Robles.

As a fifth generation Californian, his ability to recognize what constitutes a potentially great wine brand, whether the label on the bottle or the land on which the grapes are grown to make it, is an intuitive skill passed down from predecessors on both sides of his family. The history of striking gold, both literally and figuratively, goes back generations in the McNeil and Redding families. Keeping that entrepreneurial spirit alive, Patrick has figured out for himself how to work through the medium of California wine to map out his own land of riches.

As a younger man, Land of Riches Head of Winemaking Kent Jarman didn’t really think about becoming a winemaker, but he probably always had it in his blood. 

Kent is a Louisiana native who split his time growing up between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. His maternal grandfather was a highly respected wine distributor in the Bayou State. Unique for that period of time, he was also recognized for his educational efforts in Louisiana’s wine industry. “Our family was a little bit more dialed into food and wine because of my grandfather,” Kent recalls. “Because of his professional background, we were able to try a lot of different things.”

During college in the late nineties, Kent gravitated naturally to fermentation science and went through the respected UC Davis Viticulture and Enology program. Subsequent winemaking positions helped him build an impressive resumé, but he credits his fascination with a wide variety of wine flavors and characteristics, inherited from his Louisiana upbringing, for helping pave the road to Paydirt and Land of Riches. Essential to its wines, the art of discovery is what tie them to this gifted and creative winemaker.