Bill Hill
Winegrower
Bill Hill was born and raised in Oklahoma. In 1974, this aspiring winegrower moved to Napa to develop his first vineyard. Over the next 39 years, by collaborating with and learning from many of the brightest thinkers in viticulture and enology, Bill created methodologies for the identification of ideal climates and soils, and for the design of state-of-the-art vineyards.
Utilizing these lessons and methods, Bill and designed and developed dozens of prime vineyards up and down the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington. Perhaps the strongest testimony as to the quality of these vineyards is drawn from the list of fine wine makers who have sourced fruit from vineyards designed by Bill.
While creating this vineyard legacy over 39 years, Bill found time to create a few wine brands to include William Hill Winery, and his current projects of Expression and Prime Solum (Napa Valley).
Bill lives on Brokenrock Vineyard in Napa Valley with his wife Tina and their dog, Cella.
Patrick Mahaney
Winemaker
Mr. Mahaney graduated from University of California, Davis with a BS in Biochemistry.
Before joining Prime Solum, Patrick had a 24 year career at Robert Mondavi Winery, where he was Vice President of Global Wine Quality. In that role he had wide purview over all of Mondavi’s winemaking operations, and focused on many of their international joint ventures, including Luce and Opus One.
Bill has a deep respect for Patrick’s work and has long considered him one of the most knowledgeable and skilled winemakers working today. Together Patrick and Bill make up the winemaking team for Prime Solum and Expression.
Kevin O’Brien
General Manager
Kevin is an avid oenophile and a Wine and Spirits Educational Trust (WSET) Diploma holder.
Before joining Bill to help start up the brands of Expression and Prime Solum, Kevin’s worked with the Diageo Chateau and Estates Wine Group in Napa CA and also interned as a Brand Manager in charge of marketing Guinness beer in Japan and Korea during World Cup 2002.
In addition to his wine certifications, Kevin holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and a BA in Economics from UCLA.
Elana Hill
Winegrower / Tasting Room Manager
Elana Hill, a professional artist and winegrower, is the daughter of Bill (William) Hill and a Napa native. After completing high school in Napa, Elana moved to Santa Cruz, San Francisco and eventually to Southern California for ten years where she completed her BA at UC Irvine and MFA at Claremont Graduate University.
After graduate school Elana lived in Los Angeles where she had a career as a professional artist and teacher for years before moving back to Napa in May of 2015.
Elana has a long history on the property and spends most of her time on Brokenrock Vineyard, where she grew up, managing the property with her father Bill.