Our Team

“The primary determinant of wine quality is the vineyard” -Bill Hill

Bill Hill

Winegrower, Founder, Proprietor

Bill (William) Hill was born and raised in Oklahoma, making his way to CA where he received an MBA from Stanford in 1969.
In 1974, this aspiring winegrower moved to Napa to develop his first vineyard. Since that first vineyard project, Bill has created methodologies to identify the ideal soils and climate to grow the best wine grapes. By collaborating with and learning from many of the brightest thinkers in viticulture and enology, Bill has continued to refine his skills, which led him to design over 50 vine- yards along the West Coast of CA, OR, & WA.
While creating this vineyard legacy, Bill found time to create a few wine brands including William Hill Winery. Presently Bill’s labels include Prime Solum, Expression 38° & Tetra. Bill and his family have a tasting room in Napa, CA. where they live and work to this day.

Patrick Mahaney

Winemaker

Originally from Oklahoma, Patrick graduated from UC Davis with a BS in Biochemistry.
Before joining Prime Solum, Patrick had a 24 year career at Robert Mondavi Winery, where he was Vice President of Global Wine Quality. In that role he had wide purview over all of Mondavi’s winemaking operations, and focused on many of their international joint ventures, including Luce and Opus One.
Bill has a deep respect for Patrick’s work and has long considered him one of the most knowledgeable and skilled winemakers working today.
Together Patrick and Bill make up the wine- making team for Prime Solum, Expression & Tetra wines.

Elana Hill

Winegrower, Managing Partner, Visual Artist

Elana grew up on Brokenrock Vineyard in Napa, CA. As Bill Hill’s daughter, Elana spent her childhood immersed in the wine
industry, but her greatest ambition was to build a career as a professional artist. Elana moved to Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and eventually to Southern California where she completed her BA at UC Irvine and MFA at Claremont Graduate University.
Elana lived in L.A. as an artist and teacher for years before moving back to Napa in 2015 to work with her father, Bill.
In 2018 Elana opened the family tasting room in Napa with her husband, David Ahlm. She continues to paint, and you can find her work both on the Prime Solum & Expression wine labels, as well as hanging in our Prime Solum & Expression tasting room.

Kevin O'Brien

General Manager

Originally from Sacramento, California, Kevin is an avid oenophile and a Wine and Spirits Educational Trust (WSET) Diploma holder.
Before joining Bill to help start up the Expression and Prime Solum brands, Kevin worked with the Diageo Chateau and Estates Wine Group in Napa, CA, as well as interned as a Brand Manager in charge of marketing Guinness beer in Japan and Korea during World Cup 2002.
Kevin holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and a BA in Economics from UCLA. He currently lives with his family in Napa.

David Ahlm-Hill

Director of Hospitality

Born and raised in Sweden, David has a deep passion for hospitality. After 9 years in London, then 9 in Stockholm as a mixologist, bar manager and eventually a professional chef, David moved to Napa in 2018. With extensive knowledge on wine, food and spirits, David now runs our Prime Solum and Expression tasting room, where his warm and welcoming personality makes our guests feel right at home.