Prager Winery and Port Works occupies a unique position in the Napa Valley wine landscape: it is the only winery in the valley dedicated to Port-style fortified dessert wines, and has been since Jim and Imogene Prager founded the operation in 1979 on a small plot on Lewelling Lane in St. Helena. Jim Prager, who came to winemaking from a career in insurance, developed a passion for Port-style wines at a time when almost no one in California was making them seriously, and built a reputation for small-production dessert wines that have won national competitions and earned a devoted following among collectors who prize their combination of sweetness, complexity, and remarkable longevity. The winery also produces dry Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, but the Port portfolio is what sets Prager apart.

A Port Winery in the Heart of Napa

Jim Prager’s path to Port-making was unlikely. He spent his career in the insurance industry before retiring to Napa Valley with a dream of making wine, and specifically of making Port-style wines in the tradition of Portugal’s Douro Valley. He purchased a small property on Lewelling Lane in St. Helena in 1979 and began the long process of developing a Port program in a region where there was no model to follow and no local tradition to draw on. Prager worked through trial and error, experimenting with fortification levels, grape varieties, and aging protocols until he developed a house style that was distinctly California but genuinely Port-like in its richness and complexity. His children and grandchildren now work alongside him, making Prager one of the true multigenerational family wineries in Napa Valley.

Jim Prager built the only serious Port-wine program in Napa Valley largely by himself, one small batch at a time, starting in 1979 when California Port was barely a category.

Port-Style Winemaking in California

Portuguese Port is made by stopping fermentation with the addition of grape spirit, which kills the yeast before all the sugar is converted to alcohol, leaving a wine that is both sweet and fortified to around 20 percent alcohol. Prager follows this same fundamental approach, using Napa Valley fruit in place of the traditional Portuguese Douro varieties. The late-harvest Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and other varieties provide the deep color and tannin structure that make Port-style wines age-worthy over decades. Prager produces both Vintage Port-style wines, made in exceptional years from the best fruit and built for decades of aging, and Tawny-style wines aged in small oak casks until they develop the oxidative, nutty character that defines Tawny Port.

The Wine Portfolio: Port, Cab, and More

Prager’s Port wines are the heart of the operation: Vintage Port-style wines made from Petite Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon in the best years, and Tawny-style wines aged in small barrels for 10 or more years. The Noble Companion is a sweeter, Vintage Port-style wine that has won awards in national Port competitions. Aria is a white Port-style wine made from Chardonnay and Riesling, unusual even by Prager’s standards. The winery also produces dry Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay for visitors who prefer unfortified wines.

Food Pairing with Prager Port

Port-style wines from Prager, with their sweetness, alcohol, and rich dark fruit character, are best served as dessert wines or alongside the preparations that match their intensity. Dark chocolate is the classic Port companion: a piece of 70 or 75 percent cacao chocolate alongside a glass of Prager Vintage Port creates a combination where the wine’s dark fruit and the chocolate’s bitterness balance and amplify each other. Blue cheese is another traditional Port pairing, particularly Stilton or Gorgonzola, where the wine’s sweetness contrasts with the cheese’s salt and funk in a classic balance of opposites. Walnuts, dried figs, and aged hard cheeses are also good companions. The Tawny-style wines, with their oxidative and nutty character, pair well with caramel and toffee desserts, pecan pie, and almond-based pastries.

Prager Winery and Port Works: Frequently Asked Questions