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French for ‘three nuts,’ Trois Noix [twah nwah] is a nod to Jaime and Greg’s three children. Jaime sees wine as a way to initiate social change; the winery is a certified B Corporation, and it only makes wine from vineyards that are farmed using biodynamic, organic or sustainable methods. Community and transparent business practices are important to her. This is the other side to her personality that sticks out: aware, mindful and compassionate.
“Whether it’s the LGBTQIA+ community, whether it’s communities of color, younger consumers, Indigenous people, I don’t think the traditional wine tasting format necessarily works,” she explains.
After all that change with the Araujo family business, Jaime now appears very comfortable in her new home at Museion. “Wheeler Farms is literally perfection in a winery,” she admits. “But this is a working winery, OK? You have about 40 brands making wine now, everywhere from like four barrels to pretty big projects.”
Then she gets more to the point: “Making wine here means our prices do not have to change.”
“It’s difficult for the traditional Napa consumer to understand that these winemakers don’t necessarily own their own vines and are making wine at a scrappy little place like this—because that consumer has a vision of this fantasy,” says Araujo. “You know, the billionaire who has their boutique, little winery, beautiful home and little vineyard, their little estate. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Like, dude, if I were a billionaire … ?”
“But I think it’s good to help people understand that there are beautiful, thoughtfully crafted wines with heart and passion. This is not industrial. This is scrappy. But you can be scrappy and very high quality,” she adds. “We’re sort of redefining what luxury means these days. And I think redefining what is quality, what is authenticity, and what is the high end of Napa.”
The conversation shifts into something more personal when Araujo points out that Trois Noix is both woman- and LGBTQIA+-run and owned.
“A couple of times when I was in the market, I didn’t lead with that,” she admits. “And both times I didn’t, I ended up finding out that there was some kind of LGBTQIA+ community or somebody who would have actually really loved to hear that,” she explains. “I was editing myself because I was making assumptions about these people, when, in fact, I have no idea. So now I just lead with it, and we’re good, because it’s true. I think it makes a difference.”
Araujo adds, “I think being a very strong voice for my identity, my community, is actually really important. I’m the first openly gay chair of the Napa Valley Vintners board of directors, and only the seventh woman since 1944.”
It’s clear Araujo has found her groove with Trois Noix and is now realizing her role in Napa and among vintners.
“We are kind of more like ‘new’ Napa, but we’re not all like natural and groovy, right?” she ponders out loud.
“I’m 55, and I’ve always been in these weird bridge positions. I was in a bridge position between Europe and the U.S. Then I was in a bridge position between my dad’s generation, the new Napa generation. I’m kind of in the middle there. And then, with Trois Noix, the wines are classic, but also very fresh in style. They’re not big Napa Cabs and Napa Chards … so we’re kind of in the middle there. I think it’s kind of a funny spot.”
But it’s clear that with an eye on the past and a clear vision for the future, with a new home and a growing portfolio of fresh wines, Araujo is in the right spot.
