Wine’s Most Inspiring People 2025: Ren Harris — Statesman of Napa Valley

​Laurie Wachter

Ren Harris’ roots are firmly planted in California. He is a sixth-generation Californio, a descendant of José Carrillo, who came to the not-yet state with the Portolá expedition in 1769. Another ancestor was the sister-in-law of Sonoma’s founder, General Vallejo. The family of Harris’s wife, Marilyn, adds Napa Valley heritage, as the Pelissa family has farmed there for four generations. 

​In 1967, the couple purchased 30 acres of prunes in Oakville, which they sold in 1975 and acquired the 55-acre estate across the highway that is now part of Harris’s Paradigm Winery’s vineyards. It is also the source of its classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wines.

​“The Agricultural Preserve saved Napa Valley,” says Harris. “My father-in-law, Andy Pelissa, was the only farmer on the Planning Commission when a zoning proposal was put forth in 1968 to stop chopping up farms into home sites. It passed to become the first agricultural preserve in the United States.“

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