Stags' Leap Winery is a

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, ...

located near

Yountville Yountville ( or ) is a city in Napa County, in the Wine Country of California, United States. Located in the North Bay region of the Bay Area, the population was 3,436 at the 2020 census. Almost a third of the town's population lives at the Ve ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, in the Stags Leap District of

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

. The winery's estate

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 ...

was first planted in 1893. In 1997, Stags' Leap was purchased by

Beringer Wine Estates Beringer Vineyards is a large winery in St. Helena, California. Founded in 1876, Beringer Vineyards is "the oldest continuously operating winery in the Napa Valley", and is listed under both the National Register of Historic Places and as a Cali ...

, which in 2000 was in turn purchased by the Australian company

Foster's Group Foster's Group Pty. Ltd. was an Australian beer group with interests in brewing and soft drinks, known for Foster's Lager, now called Carlton & United Breweries since the company was renamed in 2011. Foster's was founded in 1888 in Melbourne, Vi ...

, whose two wine groups combined to become Beringer-Blass Wine Estates. Beringer-Blass was demerged from Fosters in 2011 to become

Treasury Wine Estates Treasury Wine Estates is an Australian global winemaking and distribution business with headquarters in Melbourne. It was formerly the wine division of international brewing company Foster's Group. History Background Treasury Wine Estates traces ...

. Robert Brittan continued the revitalization of the vineyards and winery until 2005. A

wine tasting Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...

and visitation space is being converted from the winery's 19th-century manor bed-and-breakfast, to increase its daily visitation from 10 to 40 appointments per day, with food and wine pairings, by the parent company Treasury Wine Estates

History

The winery was founded by

Horace Chase Horace B. Chase (December 25, 1810September 1, 1886) was an American Democratic politician and Milwaukee County pioneer. He was the 14th mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, (1862) and represented southern Milwaukee County in the Wisconsin State Asse ...

and his wife Minnie Mizner Chase, sister of the future Florida architect

Addison Mizner Addison Cairns Mizner (December 12, 1872 – February 5, 1933) was an American architect whose Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival style interpretations left an indelible stamp on South Florida, where it continues to inspire archit ...

. Mrs. Frances Grange acquired Stags' Leap Winery from Horace Chase in 1913. She transformed the property into a working ranch and resort. Wine production ceased due to

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

. The vineyard remained, however, with the grapes being sold to other producers. Wine production began again in earnest in 1971 when Stags' Leap was purchased by Carl Doumani. Over a period of almost three decades, Doumani restored and improved the property. The winery's signature product was its

Petite Sirah Durif is a variety of red wine grape primarily grown in Australia, California, France, and Israel. Since the end of the 20th century, wineries located in Washington's Yakima River Valley, Maryland, Arizona, Texas, West Virginia, Chile, Mexico' ...

at the time an undervalued grape used mostly for blending purposes. In 1988 Doumani hired winemaker Robert Brittan, who became president when the winery was sold to Beringer Wine Estates in 1997. The winery is now owned by Treasury Wine Estates, formally Fosters of Australia, who also purchased

Beringer Vineyards Beringer Vineyards is a large winery in St. Helena, California. Founded in 1876, Beringer Vineyards is "the oldest continuously operating winery in the Napa Valley", and is listed under both the National Register of Historic Places and as a Cali ...

. Along with Baldacci Family Vineyards and others, Stags' Leap Winery is a member of the Stags Leap District Winery Association.Jack Heeger '
Stags Leap's Vineyard to Vintner event draws national crowd
'' Napa Valley Register, April 27th, 2006

References

External links

Stags' Leap Winery official siteSan Francisco Chronicle article regarding sale to Beringer
{{Authority control Companies based in Napa County, California Food and drink companies established in 1893 Wineries in Napa Valley Foster's Group Treasury Wine Estates Re-established companies Food and drink companies disestablished in 1919 Food and drink companies established in 1971 1893 establishments in California 1919 disestablishments in California

History

See also

References

External links