The story of Relic is the story of us: Mike Hirby and Schatzi Throckmorton. We met in Napa Valley in 2000: Mike had just moved to Calistoga after a 2-year stint managing the wine program at the ahead-of-its-time restaurant Primitivo in Colorado Springs. He had become interested in wine his senior year at Colorado College, and at Primitivo, he honed his palate, becoming obsessed with making wine. Schatzi had arrived the year before, inspired by her great uncle to take a gap year between her studies in African History at Northwestern University and a graduate program at Cambridge. We were both working at Behrens & Hitchcock Winery - Mike in the cellar and Schatzi in the office. After many lunches and dinners shared as part of the generally amazing Behrens work experience, and tasting many wines together, we realized that we shared a similar palate. It needs to be said: without the Behrens/ Drinkward/ Hitchcock clan, it is hard to imagine Relic existing at all. The entire atmosphere was filled with energy, and the passion was palpable. Discussions were had about wines loved, wines abhorred and techniques that fascinated us. We were inspired by the heroes we worshipped in the wine world and the techniques they used: native yeast fermentation, whole-cluster fermentation, extended lees aging, effectively “historic” winemaking, and with that, the idea of Relic began to take shape. Via help from friends, Mike was introduced to two growers with amazing vineyards, and agreements were made for a couple of tons of Pinot Noir for the 20o1 harvest. While still working as the only two employees at Behrens & Hitchcock, we were generously allowed to make our first wines with a highly ideological purpose: native yeast, native malo, no water or acid additions, straight to barrel from the press, etc., and Relic was born. We married in 2005, and to this day, Relic continues to be managed in a his/hers/ours fashion with Schatzi running the business and Mike as the winemaker, with lots of overlap.