Leslie’s journey into the food and beverage industry began when he joined his father’s alcoholic beverage wholesale distribution business in Wichita, Kansas. Due to his leadership, Standard Beverage Corporation grew to be the state’s largest alcoholic beverage wholesaler and represents most of the world’s premium wine, beer, and spirits brands.

Intent on furthering his experience, Leslie expanded into the specialty foods space successfully launching and investing in several national restaurants as well as adding the iconic Dean & DeLuca to his portfolio, which he owned until 2014. In 2005, Leslie desired to cast a new vision on the steakhouse concept and take inspiration from the famed L’Ami Louis of Paris in creating PRESS Restaurant, a modern steakhouse located in St. Helena, California. PRESS Restaurant features the largest list of Napa Valley wines in the world with vintages dating back to the 1950s. Leslie’s passion for bridging the gap between the past and present is further evident in the 2012 renovation of Oakville Grocery, which he purchased in 2007, to make sure that it would remain open as one of the oldest groceries in the country, which was later sold in 2019. Each of these ventures shares a commitment to excellence and appreciation of artisan products by blending the traditions of the past while instilling a modern twist. Before his passing in 2018, Leslie handed over the reins to his daughter Samantha.

Leslie’s wife, Susan, is responsible for the beautiful gardens on the Estate. She can be found digging in its soils with a beautiful glow about her. Her smile and warmth are felt across the entire Estate.

Samantha grew up on Rudd Estate where, at age nine, she decided she would do whatever it takes to care for the land and fulfill a generational promise that she made to her father — that upon taking the reins at Rudd, she would leave the Estate to the next generation better off than when she assumed leadership. At the time, she knew little of the hard work and decades-long journey that would lead her to where she is today.

Samantha remembers the lessons instilled by her father through two decades of working side-by-side on the Estate. The core beliefs of stewardship, earned success, and an uncompromising dedication to excellence were distilled into that generational promise that still guides her today.

Samantha spent several years working outside of the family business learning from some of the best in the world, including Château Margaux and Spottswoode, both female run and owned winery estates.

Samantha returned to Rudd Estate in December 2015, a homecoming she had been anticipating for as long as she can remember. She immediately began implementing her long-term vision, ranging from championing the Estate’s organic and biodynamic farming practices to fostering unlikely collaborations that seek inspiration beyond the world of fine wine.

A native Californian who grew up in St. Helena, Natalie Bath came back to the Napa Valley after graduating college with the intention of applying to law school. However, she fell back in love with the beauty of the Napa Valley and gained a new appreciation for wine while working at Angèle restaurant, and set about to explore if winemaking was the right path for her.

Natalie completed her first harvest with an internship at Etude in 2010, embracing the long hours, manual labor, and comradery that comes with harvest. She then spent the first part of the 2011 vintage in the Southern Hemisphere at Villa Maria in New Zealand, and the second part of 2011 at Littorai in Sebastopol, getting her first experience with biodynamics working under Ted Lemon. Not knowing where to go next and determined to make winemaking her career, a conversation with longtime friend Samantha Rudd turned into an opportunity to work harvest at Rudd Estate in 2012, and she has worked her way up the ladder ever since.

“It was like finally coming home — I grew up playing in the vineyards and running around the estate as a kid with Samantha. Being here just felt right.” In 2014, Natalie joined the Winemaking team fulltime as a cellar hand and became the oenologist in 2016. An opportunity of a lifetime presented itself, allowing Natalie to travel overseas to work harvest at Château Pétrus in 2016. Coming back from her travels refreshed and rejuvenated, Natalie became the Assistant Winemaker in 2017 at Rudd Estate, and the following year the Lead Winemaker for Crossroads.

After nearly a decade influencing the wines both in the cellar and in the vineyards by innovating the white wine program, helping the vineyard team integrate biodynamics into our organic farming practices, refining our wine analysis program, launching our companion Crossroads label, blending 8 vintages of Rudd wines, and creating our first vintage of sparkling wine, Natalie became Winemaker of Rudd Estate in 2021, a plan that had been many years in the making.

Originally from the crossroads of The Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, Managing Director Oscar Henquet brings his lifelong passion and esteemed experience in the luxury hospitality industry to Rudd Estate. Managing all property operations for Rudd Estate, Edge Hill Estate, and Crossroads by Rudd, Henquet channels his family past and unique early learnings with a variety of world class mentors to deliver authentic experiences.

Having been raised around his family’s luxury hotel business in The Netherlands, Henquet realized the value and beauty of the finer things in life by humbly working back of house washing dishes to engaging and accommodating international guests early on. After living and working in France and China in the early 90’s, Henquet landed a position in New York’s St. Regis Hotel, where he was offered the opportunity to work closely with and be mentored by Sir Elton John, ultimately becoming lifelong friends.

Henquet continued to make a name for himself climbing the ranks, and by early 2000, he opened Bouley as Restaurant Manager after a chance of meeting with renowned restaurateur David Bouley while volunteering at Ground Zero. He later became Director of Operations at Nicole Farhi USA, 202 Restaurant in Chelsea Market, and transformed New York’s original Copacabana into Rouge Tomate, laying the framework for it to be named the first green certified Michelin-starred restaurant in the United States.

Henquet then joined famed hotelier Jeff Klein and Vanity Fair’s Graydon Carter as General Manager at Monkey Bar, where he was introduced to Richard Gere, who requested his expertise on his exclusive Relais & Chateaux Bedford Post hotel.

Approached specifically for his luxury business experience by Leslie Rudd, their personal and professional similarities blended towards the goal building Rudd into a world-class Estate that will stand the test of time. Henquet both pushes the limits and lends a balance to the company championing modern farming and winemaking practices while executing deliverables that were the founder’s vision. Alongside Vintner Samantha Rudd, Henquet’s impact on the Estate is nothing short of remarkable, shedding the old-fashioned coat and advocating youthful, forward thinking.