The Grace Family Vineyards is a

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

and

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

in Napa,

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. It is widely regarded as one of the original cult wineries in the Napa Valley, and was the first

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winery to use the word "family" in its name. Today the winery manages two estate vineyards with distinct geologies in the St Helena AVA, separated by the West Napa Fault line. Grace estate was formed by a discrete volcanic event 5 million years ago, whereas Heath Canyon Ranch (home to the Cornelius Grove and Heath Canyon vineyards) was formed by a combination of volcanic and fluvial activity some 100 million years ago. Production has remained very limited. In 2014, Helen Keplinger took over as winemaker. In 2019, Kathryn Green became the custodian of Grace Family Vineyards. Some forty years after the first release, the Grace Family Estate and the Cornelius Grove Vineyard wines were both awarded 100 points by Antonio Galloni and James Suckling respectively, with the former also choosing Helen Keplinger as his winemaker of the year. A third wine, Reliquus, has been produced since 2016, a blend of grapes from the winery's two estate vineyards, farmed to the same standard as the vineyard designate wines, it is aimed as an expression of the vintage as opposed to the distinct terrior, with the intent of being drunk earlier as such it is often found on wine lists of prominent restaurants.

History

The winery began when Ann and Dick Grace planted of vines in 1976. The first vintage was produced in 1978, at Chuck Wagner's winery, Caymus. A second acre was added in 1985, but

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs ...

took its toll, as the winery's vines were planted on non-resistant

rootstock A rootstock is part of a plant, often an underground part, from which new above-ground growth can be produced. It could also be described as a stem with a well developed root system, to which a bud from another plant is grafted. It can refer to a ...

. Additional problems with oak root fungus in the original acre caused the need to replant the entirety in 1995. The winery's yield dropped from 350 cases in the to a low of 48 cases in 1996, when the wine was allocated as one 1-liter bottle per customer on the winery's

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. Another acre of planting and re-planted vines in the old acreage brought production up to 150 cases in 1998.

Charity

The winery's mission statement is "Wine as a catalyst towards healing our planet." The programs of the Grace Family Vineyards Foundation are primarily in

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, and America. Grace Family wines has been involved with the Naples Winter Wine Festival since its first year in 2001. In 2006, a 12-liter Balthazar of 2003 Grace Family Cabernet drew $90,000 ($ in dollars) in bids at the festival's charity auction. For the 2012 charity auction, a Balthazar of both Grace Family and their second label, Blank, drew a $160,000 ($ in dollars) bid.

Vineyard and winemaking

The Grace Family properties are

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

and biodynamically farmed. Gary Galleron was head winemaker between 1988 and 1995, when Heidi Peterson Barrett took over winemaking duties. Barrett, in turn, turned over duties to Gary Brookman. Helen Keplinger became winemaker in 2014 and continues to manage winegrowing at the estate alongside vineyard manager, David Abreu.

References

{{reflist, 33em Wineries in Napa Valley Companies based in Napa County, California