Rustic and modest, Saddleback Cellars takes its name from Saddleback Mountain located southeast of Oakville, California, in the Napa Valley. Established in 1982 and bonded in December of 1983, the winery is owned and operated by Nils Venge and his family. Saddleback Cellars and its vineyards are located on Money Road in Oakville and consist of 17 acres bearing Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Pinot blanc grapes. Saddleback is proud of its diminutive stature and produces less than 9,000 cases a year. .

After starting his career as a vineyard manager in the Napa Valley in 1970, Nils Venge became the first winemaker at award-winning Villa Mt. Eden in 1973 under the ownership of Jim and Anne McWilliams, a proud and beneficial association which continued until 1982. In that year, Nils agreed to become the inception winemaker for Groth Vineyards and Winery, also in Oakville. Saddleback Cellars was operated concurrently while Nils was employed at Groth, with labor at Saddleback being accomplished after work, on weekends and during vacations. Nils stayed with Groth until January, 1994, and now plies his trade happily at Saddleback full time, 'minding the store' and performing some outside consulting.

As a proven Napa Valley winemaker for over 30 years, Nils Venge is widely recognized for his attention to detail and personal supervision of the winemaking process from vine cultivation to bottling. He is reputed as being one of the best Cabernet Sauvignon makers in the Valley, producing big, opulent wines which have tremendous cellaring potential. He was the first American winemaker to ever receive a score of '100' from Robert Parker, Jr. of The Wine Advocate for the 1985 Groth Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.