Good Times…
Great Wine

About Nick Leishman
Founder/Owner/Wine Maker/River Runner

Pouring 2023 Loco Vaquero Petite Sirah into glass with boysenberry color, small‑lot Napa red

Nick started his journey in 2008, in the famed Spring Mountain District of Napa Valley working at Fantesca estate and winery, cutting his teeth under industry legends like Heidi Barrett, Phillip Melka, Julian Fayard and Sarah Gott.

Followed by more harvests at Gargulio and Bond in Oakville. In 2012 Nick started working at O’Shaughnessy on Howell Mountain and enjoyed three years of cellar work. Winemaker, Sean Capiaux allowed Nick to take a few summers out of the cellar to work on rivers in Colorado and Utah.

In February of 2015, inspired by peers, Nick travelled to New Zealand to work the harvest for Vavasour in the Awatere Valley of the Marlborough region.

Returning to Napa, Nick starting immediately working for consulting winemaker Chris Dearden and his multiple labels. During 2018 while working as the enologist at Italics winegrowers in Napa, Nick decided to start this small label. Inspired by his years of working in the Ski and Whitewater industries, he strived to make wine his friends and family could enjoy during and after adventures in the great outdoors.

Nick’s family has a long history of cattle ranching and beef production in the Midwest. Creating wines that pair well with family beef has long been a goal and influences the winemaking. Each bottle, just like the cattle, carries the brand of the quarter circle spear.

Each bottle is a story of land, weather, and the winemaker. Whether that be a river, a mountain or a vineyard, Nick lives by the rule of always find your path.

And yes… he is still running rivers.

2022 Cabernet Franc bottle on table with charcuterie, Sierra Foothills small‑lot red wine

Meet Nick.

WHY CHOOSE PICKING LINES WINES?

  • If you like wines that read the terrain as well as you do—clean lines, no fuss, all flavor—choose Picking Lines.

  • If you like river days that end at a long table, grilled tri-tip next to a bottle that actually keeps up, and labels shaped by Napa know-how with a river-guide heart, you’re in the right place.

  • If you like balance over bigness, clarity over clutter, and adventure that lands in a glass, our wines are trail-tested, table-ready.

  • We PICK the best vine LINES for sun, airflow, and soil so the fruit shines—good friends, good food, zero pretense.

  • If you like stories in every pour and a steady hand behind the craft, pull up a chair. Good Times, Great Wine.

  • If you like small, limited-production wines with award-winning pedigree—bottles you can actually afford when you’re celebrating Good Times—you’re home.

  • If you want exclusivity without the ego—tiny lots, hand-crafted, priced for real tables and real friends—Pull up a chair.

  • If you value Napa roots over hype—old-vine pockets, off-the-path rows, and craft that shows in the glass—this is your line.

  • If you’re after cellar-level quality for weeknight steaks and weekend stories—clean fruit, calm confidence, no pretense—set the bottles down.

  • If you like snagging the good stuff before it’s gone—low-case releases, newsletter-first drops, and quick sellouts—bring a second for the table.

 
Rutherford Cabernet Sauvage

Picking LInes Wine - the brand

Picking Lines is a small, Napa-grown wine label built by river guide–turned–cellar hand Nick, who cut his teeth with legends across Spring Mountain, Oakville, Howell Mountain, and Marlborough before striking his own path in 2018.

Our name comes from the river and the mountain—picking the right line to navigate with balance and flow—and that’s exactly how we farm and make wine.

We PICK the best vine LINES: rows with just-right sunlight, clean airflow, and soils that keep flavors focused.

The result is honest, table-ready wines that carry campfire spice, clean fruit, and a calm confidence from first pour to last plate. We’re here for everyday adventures and after-river dinners, for tailgate-to-table hangs and family beef cookouts—friends first, cork second.

We are an exclusive small limited production brand with award winning pedigree that you can afford whenever you are celebrating GOOD TIMES.

Picking Lines Wines isn’t about high-volume, large-format vineyards. We reclaim grapes from small plots the big brands overlook—then we literally PICK the best sub–micro-climate LINES and rows where fruit runs clean and focused. Some of these vines trace back to Napa’s origins, tucked in off-the-path corners that time forgot. If you want to taste what Napa Valley was founded on—hand-harvested fruit, hand-crushing, artisanal winemaking—you’re in the right place. Find your line to the table. Save me a seat—Good Times, Great Wine.

If you look closely, each bottle wears the quarter circle spear and tells a story of land, weather, and work; each pour is an invitation to gather, pour, repeat. Find your line to the table.

Save me a seat—Good Times, Great Wine.

Vineyard with grape bunches in white containers on a truck, lush green vines, tall trees, and mountains in the background under a clear blue sky.
A pickup truck loaded with freshly harvested black grapes near a vineyard with rolling hills in the background on a sunny day.
Bunches of dark purple or black grapes.
Stacked wooden wine barrels on a metal rack outdoors with trees in the background.
A man in a black t-shirt and beige pants working in a winery with large metal fermentation tanks in the background. A woman is seen in the background near the tanks.
Multiple wooden wine barrels stored on racks in a wine cellar.
A smiling man and woman taking a selfie, standing in a large container filled with dark berries. The woman has blonde hair, is wearing sunglasses and a blue T-shirt, and the man has light-colored hair, a beard, and is wearing a gray T-shirt.
Two pickup trucks parked in a lot with large wooden barrels loaded in the truck beds. The red truck has three barrels on a rack, and the blue truck has one barrel in the bed.
Two pickup trucks parked in a lot, loaded with large wooden wine barrels. The front truck is blue, and the rear truck is red, with some barrels on top of a rack.
People working in a winery or wine production facility with large wooden fermentation tanks, some machines, and an open side showing a sunny outdoor landscape.
A wooden barrel filled with dark grapes in a winery or vineyard setting.
Large wooden spools wrapped in plastic on a blue pallet in an outdoor parking lot.
Barrels in a winery or distillery, with stainless steel equipment in the background.
Rows of wine barrels stored on racks in a winery or cellar.
Storage closet with wooden barrels, cardboard boxes, and paddles.
A group of people with kayaks and gear on a river under a mountainous landscape during daytime.
People rafting on a river with a large red rock canyon wall in the background.
Large white containers filled with freshly harvested grapes on a trailer hitched to a red pickup truck, with other vehicles nearby, in a vineyard or farm setting.
A large white container filled with black grapes, set outdoors near a parking lot with several parked cars and trees in the background.
A clear plastic measuring cup filled with black grapes on a concrete surface.
A large white container filled with black and purple grapes, likely in a winery or vineyard setting.
Freshly harvested black grapes in a large container.
Six wooden wine barrels stacked in a storage rack, with labels reading 'LEI 19 CS' and other marking details, in a cellar or storage area.
Row of wooden wine barrels in a winery cellar, with a decorated Christmas tree in the background.
Close-up of a grapevine with young leaves and new growth on dark, gnarled branches in a vineyard.
Person working with grape harvest in a vineyard at night, wearing gloves and headlamp, with a large pile of black grapes in the foreground.
A large container filled with freshly harvested dark purple grapes in the foreground, with a tractor and several people in the background at a vineyard during late afternoon or early evening.
Person holding a bunch of black grapes in front of a store display.
A large pile of freshly harvested black grapes in a container.
Close-up of bunches of black grapes with some green stems scattered among them.
Two clusters of black grapes placed on a textured gray surface.
Close-up of a bunch of ripe dark purple grapes hanging from a vine surrounded by green grape leaves.
Clusters of ripe black grapes hanging from a vine in a vineyard.
Person with glasses celebrating birthday with cupcakes and birthday candles at night, outdoors, with city lights in the background.
A man standing in a wine cellar with stacked wine barrels around him, holding a glass of red wine.
A black wine bottle with a label that reads 'Picking Lines' and features an illustration of a ski lift with a sunset, surrounded by black grapes.
Wine barrels stored on racks in a cellar, with more barrels stacked in the background.
A person standing on a surface covered with purple liquid and black foam, holding a yellow hose.
A bottle of Picking Lines Syrah wine and an orange award ribbon with a rosette that has a Harvest Fair logo, and the ribbon reads 'Double Gold Medal Santa Rosa California'.
A wine label with the name Picking Lines, featuring an illustration of two horses pulling a wagon and information about the wine, including producer, location, and alcohol content.
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About
Picking Lines Wines Picking Lines Wines is a small, Napa-grown label founded by river guide–turned–cellar hand Nick Leishman. We reclaim grapes from small plots the big brands overlook, then PICK the best vine LINES—rows with just-right sun, airflow, and soils—for clean, balanced, table-ready wines. Hand-harvested, hand-crushed, artisanal winemaking from Napa Valley’s off-the-path origin vines.

Why Choose Us

  • Small-lot, limited production with award-winning pedigree—priced for real tables and Good Times.

  • Napa roots, zero pretense: clean fruit, campfire spice, smooth, confident finishes.

  • We PICK vine LINES for clarity and focus—trail-tested, table-ready.

Explore

FAQs

  • What does “picking lines” mean? We literally pick the best sub–micro-climate lines/rows where the fruit runs clean and focused.

  • Do your releases sell out? Yes—low-case drops move fast. Join the newsletter for first access.

  • Food pairing style? Family beef cookouts, grill nights, pizza after the river—friends first, cork second.

  • Where can I purchase your wine? Currently have distribution in Nebraska, Iowa, and Idaho, but we can ship direct in most cases.