Arthur Hartunian - The Man Who Started It All
The Man
Who Started It All
Everybody, meet Arthur – the Owner and Proprietor of Napa Valley Distillery!
Like his wife and Distillery Co-Owner Lusine, Arthur was born in Armenia. When he was a kid, his family moved to Canada and soon after to central California. When he and Lusine met and started a family, Arthur went through a multitude of careers that he never truly fell in love with. He was a driver, a paralegal, an insurance broker and even a cards dealer in Las Vegas. Even if he was financially successful, Arthur decided that he didn’t want to live or work in a place that didn’t make him truly happy. So, in 2009, he and his family set out in pursuit of his true passion – spirits!
After what Arthur describes as “about six minutes of research” into the industry, Napa Valley Distillery was founded in 2009. Arthur has always been committed to living in the moment, so he took his passion for spirits and brief experience with making liqueurs at home and started the brand we all know and enjoy a decade later!
Today, Arthur prides himself and the Distillery in the ambition to create unique products beyond people’s perceptions of spirits. Arthur has always set out to make classic spirits with historical roots and a modern twist – as evidenced by our wide array of brandies, for example. Having made brandy from grapes, pears, plums, nectarines, apricots, cherries and more, he fancies Napa Valley Distillery to be one of the most creative brandy makers in the industry!
In terms of Arthur’s favorite Napa Valley Distillery product, he says it is without a doubt the Old Hollywood Ginn. He got the inspiration for the Ginn by researching the way gins were made in the 1800s. One of his most creative libations, he says the Ginn describes our company in a nutshell. 
Perhaps not surprisingly, Arthur’s cocktail of choice is a gin and tonic, although he considers himself an “equal opportunity drinker”. Some of his favorite places to eat and drink in the Napa Valley include Morimoto and Bouchon Bistro.
Over the next ten years, Arthur only wants to see more of the ambition and growth the Distillery has shown since the beginning. Going forward, he would like the Distillery to continue making things that other distilleries don’t necessarily want to make, proving that you don’t have to follow a trend to be successful – you just have to follow your passion!