Colleen (Cole) Harder

Colleen is a native Californian, born and raised in Whittier (Los Angeles county). After earning her BA in Communications and a minor in Fine Arts at the University of Southern California, Colleen started her career in direct marketing with a specialization in financial services. After spending a year on-site with a banking client in Canada, Colleen started her own agency in San Francisco with her current business partner, Bara Oscodar. Through the years of Colleen’s demanding and all-consuming work schedule, she often found solace by visiting the Napa Valley. Often retreating to the Valley for a weekend on her own to help reenergize and maintain some level of work/life balance.

Upon meeting James in 1998, she immediately saw the future she had been longing for, but never saw coming to reality. He soon became her husband, best friend and soon-to-be business partner. Just months prior to James and Colleen’s wedding, James took Colleen to the property (now known as James Cole Winery) with the vision that this would be were they would start their family and build their future. So in 2000, they sold their house in San Francisco and then the real work began—starting in the vineyard through to construction plans for the winery. Amidst this adventure, Colleen gave birth to their beautiful little girl, Marleigh, in 2005, and then their baby boy, Tyson, in 2007. Seven years after their journey began, Colleen and James opened the doors to their tasting room on the Silverado Trail in October of 2007.