Laina Brown
Co-Owner - President

Laina Brown has always found joy seeking the beauty of balance through aesthetics, and in life. She was born and raised in Alaska where she attended the University of Alaska, Anchorage and later moved to Los Angeles, California to attend design school.

Laina spent the next 10 years in the fashion industry working as a designer and running three successful clothing companies of her own. Moving to the Napa Valley in 1997 to raise a family, she found it too difficult to be present yet continue her business remotely in Los Angeles. She decided to set out to get a job in the “local industry.” She took a position as Marketing Director with Intervine, Inc., a wine importer and distributor. Six months later she was teaching a 4-hour wine appreciation class. Needless to say, she was hooked.

Laina delved further into the industry as a Wine Buyer for Wine.com. When the company closed in 2000, Laina joined Domaine Carneros by Taittinger as Marketing Director and Director of Hospitality to help them develop their direct-to-consumer business. It was here that she met Elaine St. Clair who was the Co-Winemaker. When the winery changed ownership in 2006, Laina left Domaine Carneros to launch Black Stallion Winery.

As the President of Exclusive Estates Wine Group, Laina ran Black Stallion Winery and Global Custom Wine, a 64,000 sf custom barrel storage facility in downtown Napa. She was developing a second winery for the group before it sold. At Black Stallion Winery, Laina developed the unique business model that was exclusively direct-to-consumer. A year in, she asked Elaine St. Clair to join the company as Head Winemaker.

When Black Stallion Winery was sold in 2010, Elaine St. Clair and Laina Brown left to found St. Clair Brown; Napa Valley’s first winery & brewery. Laina brought the culmination of her experience in design, PR, marketing, and business development together to create the business model for their new endeavor, and to design the Wine & Beer Garden tasting room, and future tap room.

The space is the realization of her dream to balance everything she had come to love about life in the Napa Valley in one beautiful and inspiring space.

Laina Brown’s son, Bren, is a full-time Brewer for St. Clair Brown. Her son, Cole, helps with marketing from his home in Bologna, Italy. Her oldest son, Kyle, is a professional jazz musician in Los Angeles. She lives down the block from the winery & brewery.