Steve Matthiasson is one of the most quietly influential figures in American wine. Since arriving in Napa Valley in 2003 with his wife Jill, he has consulted for some of California's most storied estates -- Stag's Leap, Spottswoode, Araujo, Dalla Valle -- while simultaneously building a reputation as a pioneer of low-alcohol, European-styled wines under his own Matthiasson Family label. Named Food and Wine's Winemaker of the Year in 2012, then the same honor from the San Francisco Chronicle in 2014, and a six-time James Beard Award nominee, Steve is perhaps best described as a farmer first: he and Jill grow their own vegetables, raise animals, and treat their Napa Valley farm as an integrated organic system, not just a wine production site.
The Tendu Idea
In 2012, the Matthiassons launched Tendu as a deliberately separate project with a clear purpose: to make handcrafted, naturally produced wine that anyone could afford to drink on a Tuesday. The name comes from the French word for tense or taut -- suggesting a wine with grip, poise, and energy rather than one that flatters and flops. The wines come in one-liter bottles sealed with crown caps, taking obvious inspiration from everyday European table wine culture.
The Grapes and the Place
Rather than using Napa's expensive fruit, Steve sources from the Sacramento Valley's Dunnigan Hills -- a warm, inland region where Italian varieties thrive. The white is a blend led by Vermentino with French Colombard and a touch of Chardonnay; the red blends Barbera, Montepulciano, and Aglianico. Steve describes the red as "a Beaujolais made of Italian varietals" -- bright, high-acid, and built for food. Fermentations are spontaneous, interventions minimal, sulfur kept to a minimum or absent.
Why Tendu Matters
The project is a statement about access and value. Excellent natural wine should not require a special occasion or a sommelier's guidance. Tendu puts that conviction in a liter bottle and lets the wine speak.
