In 1986, Cliff and Clare threw caution to the wind and embarked on an itinerary-free journey around Europe for four and a half months. The majority of the trip was spent in Northern Italy. During that trip, not only was their relationship forged but an idea for a new high-end blue jean company was developed as well. They married in 1988 and in 2001, after building the Agnelli Jean business and two others, they decided to sell out and move to their place in St Helena which they had purchased in 1991. A lot of time had been spent learning about viticulture and absorbing information so readily shared by many people in the business, including Robert Mondavi, to whom they had been selling their grapes.

Shortly after they purchased the hillside property, Andre Tchelistcheff walked the vineyard with them and gave them advice on everything from rootstock to row direction. They followed his suggestions to the letter. Cliff researched farming methods and ultimately adopted the method by famed French botanist, Jules Guyot called Guyot Simple Single. Regular cluster profiling is done throughout the growing season and fruit is dropped, keeping the average yield between 1.5 to 2 tons per acre. 2002 was the first official vintage and proved to be a very impressive beginning!