The major driving force behind Villa San Maurice is Kevin Shannon, San Francisco entrepreneur and erstwhile militant who established the Mountain View winery in 1978. Villa San Maurice is the name given to one of the ranges of wines produced here. It was a pioneering enterprise at the time because he was one of the first negociants in the region, owning no land but buying in grapes from a number of areas to form the base for his blends.

Kevin was already an experienced winemaker, having cut his teeth at such established wineries as Caymus and Schiefflin. He proceeded to forge strong relationships with growers in several key areas of California to give him a wide choice of grapes to select for his wines. For Chardonnay such as this he will buy grapes largely from Monterey County with additional stocks from Napa valley and the Central Coast.