With the goal of living a purposeful life, Vida Valiente was founded in Napa as a combination luxury winery and charity.  The foundation is focused on providing last dollar scholarships and mentorship to 1st generation college students.  The winery is establishing a newly planted vineyard as the next “grand cru” site in Napa.  Hayes and Susana Drumwright combine these two elements into a pathway to connect people who have succeeded with grit to the next generation through wine and impactful experiences. 


Detailed Show Notes: 


Susana’s background: career in tech, now full-time with the foundation and winery

Hayes’ background: had cancer early, many early failures, then sold a tech company and founded Memento Mori Winery in 2010, Vida Valiente in 2019, and just bought Edge Hill Winery in 2026; just published The Empty Center


Vida Valiente (“VV”) overview

  • Planted vines to create a “grand cru” wine vs Memento Mori leveraged existing “grand cru” sites
  • Has had 5 100 point wines in the last 3 years
  • Produced ~3,000 cases in 2025, goal is ~4,500 cases
  • Donates $100/btl of every bottle of “The Movement,” the signature blend sold
  • Has a guaranteed allocation group “Los Padrinos” (“the godparents”)

Foundation founded to uplift 1st generation college students at Stanford

  • Board member, Memento Mori founder, and friend Adriel Lares went to Stanford
  • 191 students in the program now, admit 50 students/year of ~100 applicants
  • Give each student $5k/year for last dollar scholarships, provide mentorship, and leadership offsites
  • Has raised ~$6.5M to date, ~$500k from “The Movement” (goal is $100k/year); goal is $3-4M/year
  • Wants to raise ~$2M/year from corporate donors
  • Costs ~$1.2M/year to run, could be $2.5M if all applicants accepted
  • Many VV customers have done great things and feel alignment with students
  • Susana and Hayes are foundation’s only employees

Napa in Cabo charity event, held by Vida Valiente

  • 3 days at the Montage in Los Cabos
  • Features 10 Napa wineries, e.g. - Scarecrow, Lokoya, Eisele
  • Raised $6M, $2.3M in 2025
  • 1st night meet & greet, 2nd night charity gala, 3rd night to support other wineries (sold $760k of wine for other wineries)
  • Exploring a “Napa in Napa” event

VV marketing

  • Not as much crossover from Memento Mori as originally thought
  • Napa Valley referrals important
  • Hospitality a big driver, including client dinners and impactful experiences

Arc of 3 Napa projects

  • Memento Mori - “remember to live”
  • Vida Valiente - “live a purposeful life”
  • Ultra Mortem (at Edge Hill site) - “beyond death, do something worth remembering”


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