Growers
Great wine begins with the people who farm it. We don’t own vineyards. We partner with growers, families whose names, histories and life’s work are rooted in the land they tend.
The Beckstoffer Family, Georges III Vineyard
Rutherford AVA, Napa Valley
Georges III has a long history. Mrs. Thomas Rutherford planted the first vines here in 1895, and Georges de Latour later made the site famous as Beaulieu Vineyard No. 3, the birthplace of André Tchelistcheff’s celebrated Rutherford Cabernets. Since 1988 it has been farmed by Beckstoffer Vineyards. They replanted it with new Cabernet clones, tighter spacing and modern trellising, and in 2009 they placed 181 acres under a conservation easement, so the land will stay farmland forever. Working with the Beckstoffers gives us fruit from one of Napa’s most storied sites, farmed by one of its most respected grape-growing families.
Giancarlo Bettinelli, Sleeping Lady Vineyard
Yountville AVA, Napa Valley
Giancarlo Bettinelli owns and farms Sleeping Lady, a 46-acre vineyard on the western benchland of the Mayacamas. It’s named for a ridge of foothills that looks like a reclining woman. Giancarlo is the son of the legendary vineyard manager Larry Bettinelli, and he brings a lifetime of family knowledge to every row. Yountville’s cool microclimate gives his Cabernet Sauvignon floral aromatics, firm tannins and natural elegance, which you can taste in our Epilogue Cabernet Sauvignon.
Larry & Beverley Thomson, Barking Dog Vineyard
Coombsville AVA, Napa Valley
Larry and Beverley Thomson were among the first in Napa Valley to plant Merlot. Their 10-acre Barking Dog Vineyard sits in the farmland of Coombsville, cooled by breezes and morning fog off San Pablo Bay. Its rocky volcanic soils drain well and push the vines to root deep. The Thomsons’ Merlot is aromatic and bright with natural acidity, and it’s a cornerstone of our Napa Valley Proprietary Red Blend.
Charlie Chenoweth, Ellen Lane Vineyard
Russian River Valley AVA, Sonoma County
The Chenoweth family has farmed West Sonoma County since the mid-1800s, and Charlie Chenoweth is known as one of the region’s top growers. His attention to detail is legendary. At Ellen Lane, just west of Forestville, he farms Chardonnay on a gentle west-facing slope of gravelly clay loam. The vineyard sits in a bowl above a reservoir, so it gathers warmth during the day and cool fog at night. That big swing between day and night temperatures gives the fruit ripeness along with bright, focused acidity, the backbone of our Prologue Russian River Valley Chardonnay.