Vintners Hall of Fame Inductees
2010 Inductees |
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Leon Adams Considered a seminal historian of wine in the United States, Leon Adams is best known for his 1973 book The Wines of America, a comprehensive and ground-breaking history and survey of wine and wineries throughout the country, which celebrated American regional wines and their styles. Mr. Adams was a tireless advocate of the farm winery bills passed by many states in the 1970s and 1980s which eased the way for grape growers to open wineries and sell their wines retail and wholesale. Leon Adams was also a founder of the Wine Institute, a public policy and advocacy group for California wineries. |
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Andy Beckstoffer Andy Beckstoffer came to Napa as a corporate executive in 1969, after earning an M.B.A. from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Recognizing the potential for growth in premium wines, he started a farming company which he eventually purchased in 1973. Beckstoffer Vineyards has grown to be the largest vineyard owner, farming group, and winegrape seller in the Napa Valley and the North Coast, delivering grapes to more than 100 of the state's most famous wineries. Andy Beckstoffer developed a formula for paying growers based on the finished wine value, thus reducing the incentive for excessive yield and focusing growers on quality. He has played a major role in preserving agriculture in the Napa Valley and has contributed to efforts to restore the Napa River. |
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Established in 1968, Al Brounstein's Diamond Creek Vineyards was the first wine estate in California to be planted solely with Cabernet Sauvignon. Noticing three distinct soil types on his property, Brounstein became one of the first California wineries to produce different Cabernet Sauvignons from single vineyards (Red Rock Terrace, Gravelly Meadow, and Volcanic Hill) on the same estate, setting the stage for what was to become known as super-premium Cabernet Sauvignons from Napa Valley. His 1978 Lake Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – a wine produced only in exceptional years – was the first California wine with a suggested retail price of $100 a bottle—an important milestone in the production of premium wine from California. The graceful aging of Brounstein's wines continues to be one of his main legacies to the fervent fans of Diamond Creek wines. |
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Randall Grahm was educated at UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis, while earning a reputation as an "enfant terrible" for telling everyone he planned to make the first great American Pinot Noir. Instead, he found himself entranced by "ugly duckling grape varietals" thereby introducing American consumers to vinifera far beyond Cabernet and Chardonnay. His vintage 1984 wine "Le Cigare Volant" proved that it was possible to craft and sell great Rhône wine blends from California. His amusing marketing still defies and at times defines the pretentious approach, such as when he held a funeral for the Cork (aka Thierry Bouchon) in 2002. Grahm, a longtime proponent of biodynamic viticulture, downsized his production in 2006 to focus on small estate wines. His first book, Been Doon So Long: A Randall Grahm Vinthology, was published by U.C. Press in 2009. |
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After studying enology and viticulture at UC Davis in the late 1960s (where she was the only woman in her class), Zelma Long became the chief enologist at Robert Mondavi Winery, while also helping to establish Long Vineyards. She spent the 1980s and 1990s breaking the glass ceiling at Simi Winery as winemaker and CEO, becoming one of the first women to run both the winemaking and business sides of a California winery. Regarded as one of the early technical leaders in winemaking, Zelma has received national and international awards, including induction into the James Beard Hall of Fame in 1996 and receiving The James Beard Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year in 1997. Today she and her husband, Phillip Freese, are producing wine in South Africa under the Vilafonte label. |
2009 Inductees |
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While still a student in London, Gerald Asher took a part-time job in a wine shop near Piccadilly, a small step that started him on his way to a distinguished career. A succession of work-study programs in key wine regions, led to employment in the wine industry in positions that eventually brought him to California where, as first chairman of Wine Institute's Geographic Appellations Committee, he quickly developed a keen sense of California's viticultural identity. Through his work in the industry and his elegantly written monthly essays for Gourmet, where he was wine editor for thirty years, he passed to countless others his deep knowledge of wine and his passion for California. Books drawn mainly from his Gourmet writing include On Wine, Vineyard Tales, Wine Journal, and The Pleasures of Wine. |
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Frederick and Jacob Beringer With family roots in the Rhine Valley in Germany, brothers Frederick and Jacob Beringer's move to the Napa Valley laid the foundation for one of America's most iconic wineries. After immigrating to New York in the 1860s, Frederick became a successful businessman, while Jacob's passion for winemaking brought him further west, to the Napa Valley climate he heard was ideal for grape growing. After working at Charles Krug Winery, Jacob convinced Frederick to finance the purchase of a property with a hillside vineyard in St. Helena. An impressive stone winery with caves, more vineyards, and manicured grounds were soon added. Jacob crafted award-winning wines under the Beringer Brothers label that helped establish Napa Valley as a top grape-growing region, while laying the cornerstone for what would become the longest continuously operating winery in the Napa Valley. |
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Jack and Jamie Davies Jack and Jamie Davies revived the historic Schramsberg winery property on Diamond Mountain in 1965 with the objective of making California's first world-class sparkling wines. Their tireless enthusiasm and focused vision helped set new standards for wine quality in the Napa Valley, contributing greatly to the transformation of the California wine industry as a whole. They championed the successful effort to establish the Napa Valley Agricultural Preserve in 1968, the nation's first such land use initiative. Beginning with the "Toast to Peace" in Beijing, China in 1972, Schramsberg's sparkling wines have been served on countless occasions by U.S. presidents. Ever elevating the quality of their sparkling wines with cooler climate vineyard sights throughout the North Coast, Jack and Jamie Davies undertook the replanting of their hillside property in the 1990s to achieve its ultimate best use, giving birth to their namesake J. Davies Diamond Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon. |
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Jess Stonestreet Jackson A real estate lawyer with a love for agriculture, Jess Jackson sold grapes from his vineyards until 1981, when grape prices fell so sharply that he decided to make his own wine. Two years later, the first wine bottled under the Kendall-Jackson label—the 1982 Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay—won the first Platinum Award ever presented by the American Wine Competition. Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay soon became America's best-selling premium wine, and Jess Jackson's commitment to quality made Jackson Family Wines one of the most successful family-owned wine companies in the United States. The company's focus on single-vineyard, mountain-grown wines helped establish Sonoma County as one of the great wine-producing regions in the world. |
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Carole Meredith, Ph.D. Dr. Carole Meredith spent more than 20 years in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California, Davis, pioneering the use of DNA to analyze relationships among grape varieties. She and her collaborators determined the parentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Syrah, thereby dispelling long-held myths about their origins. Her discovery of Zinfandel's home in Croatia has enabled California producers to look to that country for new clones of this variety. The international program she founded led to a grape genome map that is the basis for identifying genes that control disease resistance and fruit quality. Dr. Meredith is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Chevalière de l'Ordre du Mèrite Agricole. After retiring from UC Davis as Professor Emeritus in 2003, she and her husband founded Lagier Meredith Vineyard, which produces world-class Syrahs. |
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Justin Meyer As part of the Christian Brothers order, Justin Meyer was apprenticed to its famous cellarmaster, Brother Timothy, at the Christian Brothers Winery in Napa Valley, now home to The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. After completing studies in viticulture at the University of California, Davis and then leaving the order in 1972, Mr. Meyer met Ray Duncan, who had purchased land in Napa and Alexander Valleys and was searching for someone to plant and manage his vineyards. The two founded Silver Oak Cellars and crushed their first vintage that fall. Silver Oak was a pioneer in focusing exclusively on the production of Cabernet Sauvignon and is famous for extended aging, primarily in American oak barrels. At Silver Oak, Mr. Meyer created one of the most consistently sought-after ultra-premium wines in the world that continues to enjoy a devoted following. He was also highly respected for his contributions to the industry, notably through his leadership of the American Vineyard Foundation. |
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Warren Winiarski In 1964, sensing a new spirit of excitement about fine winemaking in California, Warren Winiarski left his teaching position at the University of Chicago and moved with his family to the Napa Valley. After apprenticing at the original Souverain Winery and with friend and mentor André Tchelistcheff, Warren Mr. Winiarski became assistant winemaker at Robert Mondavi Winery in 1966. In 1970, Winiarski he and some partners bought property below the Stag's Leap palisades, and would go on to found Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. His first vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon won the now-famous Judgment of Paris in 1976, besting top Bordeaux entries and fundamentally transforming how California wines were viewed worldwide. Calling his classic style "the iron fist in the velvet glove, Warren Winiarski has crafted elegant wines that have won awards and accolades for decades, and was a key figure in creating the Napa Valley Agricultural Preserve in 1968. |
2008 Inductees |
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Highly respected and often controversial, wine and food expert Darrell Corti has been at the forefront of the development and growth of the California wine industry since joining his family's grocery business, Corti Brothers in Sacramento, in 1964. By seeking out new California fine wines, he has been instrumental in creating a larger market for emerging wineries, especially for those in Napa Valley. Darrell Corti has been a catalyst in the re-evaluation and renaissance of zinfandel, a leader in advocating wider use of Italian varieties or grapes in California, and has been integral to the rediscovery of the Sierra Foothills as a fine wine growing region. Corti is an internationally sought after member of wine and olive oil tasting panels and has mentored a generation of seminal food and wine professionals with his impeccable taste and articulate discourse. |
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John Daniel, Jr. Great grand-nephew to Inglenook's founder Gustave Niebaum, John Daniel, Jr. was part of a dynamic group of vintners who helped raise the standards of fine winemaking in Napa Valley after Prohibition. He played a key role in founding the Napa Valley Vintners Association, creating awareness of Napa Valley as an appellation of distinction with efforts such as vintage-dating and varietal labeling. John Daniel brought innovations to the cellar with advances in barrel aging and to the vineyards with a profound understanding of soils and vines and a movement away from over-cropping. While restoring Inglenook's fame, Daniel made what many considered to be some of not only California's, but the world's best cabernet sauvignons from the mid 1930s to the 1960s, creating a legacy of excellence for cabernet sauvignons for future generations of California winemakers. |
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Paul Draper joined Ridge Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains in 1969, and went on to ardently advance the practice of single-vineyard winemaking in California. By embracing the terroir of particular vineyards, over the course of nearly four decades he has crafted balanced and distinctive wines expressive of the character of each site. With his devotion to traditional, non-intrusive winemaking methods (including the use of naturally occurring yeasts and malolactic cultures), Draper has guided to international fame the cool climate Monte Bello cabernet sauvignons and realized the potential of zinfandel to make complex wines that age gloriously and gracefully. His many awards include having been named Decanter's Man of the Year in 2000, joining André Tchelistcheff and Robert Mondavi as the only Americans so honored. |
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Ernest and Julio Gallo Seizing opportunities provided by the repeal of prohibition, Ernest and Julio Gallo started E. & J. Gallo Winery in 1933. With self-education in the winemaking process and hard work, the Gallo brothers were instrumental in introducing Americans to wine and in creating the modern American wine market. While being pioneers in wine advertising on television, Ernest and Julio were first to establish national sales, marketing, and brand management forces. They also drove initiatives such as the use of stainless steel tanks for fermentation, winery automation, long-term grower contracts for varietal grapes, and major grape research programs. The company they founded grew to become one of the largest wine producers in the world. |
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Miljenko "Mike" Grgich A fourth-generation winemaker in his native Croatia, Mike Grgich fled communist Yugoslavia in 1954. After arriving in Napa Valley in 1958, he worked with winemaking luminaries at Souverain, Christian Brothers, Beaulieu Vineyards, and Robert Mondavi Vineyards. In 1976, a chardonnay he crafted as winemaker at Chateau Montelena beat the best white wines in France in the now famous "Judgment of Paris" tasting, helping to shatter the myth that only French soil could produce the world's greatest wines. Since founding Grgich Hills Cellars with Austin Hills in 1977, Grgich has continued receiving international awards for his estate-grown wines, most especially chardonnays. Mike Grgich has been at the forefront of organic and biodynamic vineyard practices and helped pioneer the use of cold stabilization. His creed: "You make wines with your heart." |
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Louis P. Martini Thoughtful, well-educated, and experimental, Louis P. Martini, son of Martini Winery founder Louis M. Martini, was a key figure in post-Prohibition Napa Valley. He was an intrepid innovator, making important strides in improving grape quality with superior clones, the use of wind machines in the vineyard for frost protection, the use of mechanical grape harvesters, and in vineyard design. Martini was one of the first vintners to realize the potential of the Carneros district for the growing of pinot noir, producing pinot noir from the Carneros as early as the 1950s. He also pioneered merlot as its own varietal in 1968. Louis P. Martini was a founding member of the Napa Valley Vintners Association, The Wine Institute, and The Society of Enologists, all key organizations in the advancement of the California wine industry. |
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Carl Heinrich Wente Emigrating from Germany in the 1870s, Carl Heinrich Wente studied winemaking at Charles Krug winery before migrating to the Livermore Valley just east of San Francisco Bay. With the purchase of forty-seven acres, he founded Wente Vineyards, which today is the oldest continuously operated family-owned winery in the country. Wente grafted Old World winemaking techniques onto New World soil, most notably by taking advantage of Livermore Valley's marine influences and gravelly soils in creating white wines of distinction, particularly semillon and sauvignon blanc. In 1912, C. H. Wente planted chardonnay cuttings obtained by his son Ernest in France, which would go on to become the famous "Wente Clone" that accounts for 80% of all the chardonnay planted in California. |
2007 Inductees |
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Maynard Amerine, Ph.D. Maynard Amerine's work as an enologist, teacher, and writer helped make the Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University at California, Davis, one of the most respected in the world. After joining the UC Davis faculty in 1935, Professor Amerine—along with other members of the department—helped revive the wine industry after Prohibition in many ways. Notable among his accomplishments was research on matching the right types of wine varieties with different regions of California, and writing reference works on table wine, dessert wine, and brandy. His writings appealed to a wide range of people interested in wine—from enologists to connoisseurs—and his book Wine: An Introduction for Americans remains a popular reference. Professor Amerine also made substantial contributions to the literature of wine judging methods, color in wines, aging of wine, and the control of fermentation. |
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Brother Timothy A longtime cellar master and pioneering winemaker for Christian Brothers Winery, Brother Timothy was instrumental in reviving the wine industry in Napa Valley after Prohibition and in advocating technological advances that brought California winemaking into the modern era. A member of the De La Salle Christin Brothers, Brother Timothy was known for his kindness, wit, and uncanny ability to assess wine, all of which made him one of the most beloved architects of 20th-century winemaking in California. One of his many legacies lives on in his world-renowned corkscrew collection at the CIA at Greystone, consisting of over 1,100 corkscrews collected over his 50-year career. When asked to explain his religious vocation and its connection to his life's work, Brother Timothy often referred to Benjamin Franklin's quote: "Wine is a constant reminder that God loves us and loves to see us happy." |
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Georges de Latour At the close of the 19th century, French immigrant Georges de Latour visited the Napa Valley and was struck by the similarities to the Medoc, where his family owned vineyards. Determined to open a winery, de Latour and his wife Fernande bought four acres of vines in Rutherford, which they aptly named Beaulieu, or "beautiful place." Almost immediately, de Latour had a profound impact on the California wine industry, importing French vines crafted onto phylloxera-resistant rootstock and helping to revitalize the vineyards of Napa and Sonoma counties. Georges de Latour's entrepreneurial spirit kept Beaulieu alive and thriving during Prohibition by selling altar wine to churches. History was made when he brought enologist André Tchelistcheff from France to create the world-class Cabernet Sauvignons for which Beaulieu and the Napa Valley have become famous. |
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Agoston Haraszthy Count Agoston Haraszthy's restless spirit brought him to America in 1840, where he pursued many entrepreneurial and agricultural opportunities, always seeking to establish the high-quality vineyards of his native Hungary. He found his chance when, in 1857, he planted some of California's first European varietals and laid the foundation for winery buildings at his Buena Vista property. After being appointed in 1861 to a California commission to improve agricultural methods, Count Haraszthy traveled to Europe to collect vines and fruit stock. He returned to California with more than 100,000 vines, representing over 14,000 varieties, laying the groundwork for the California wine industry. His book, Grape Culture, Wine and Wine Making remained a classic well into the 20th century. |
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Charles Krug Charles Krug was a man of many firsts in the genesis of the California wine industry. In 1858, he set out on his distinguished career by planting 20 acres of vines in Sonoma. That same year, as Northern California's first consulting winemaker, he produced one of the first wines made in the Napa Valley. After acquiring land in St. Helena, Krug planted one of the first vineyards in the Napa Valley, and in 1861 began building the winery that bears his name. An important part of his legacy was joining other wine leaders of the day to found the St. Helena Viticultural Society, Board of State Viticultural Commissioners, and the Napa Valley Wine Company, the first organizations to brand, market, and protect the provenance California wines. |
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With a commitment to excellence and a visionary understanding of wine's place at the American table, Robert Mondavi has dedicated his life to showing how wine adds to life's enjoyment. His motto, "Making good wine is a skill, fine wine an art," has inspired winemakers in California and around the world. A pioneer of fine winemaking in Napa Valley, Mondavi has been equally committed to wine's place, along with cooking, as one of the arts. His wide-ranging support for the arts, as well as community and charitable works, is legendary, and his conferences and educational programs have added immeasurably to the appreciation of wine in America. Throughout his life and career, Robert Mondavi has set the highest of goals, and has consistently sought to lead the wine industry to ever-greater achievements. Robert's creed: "Go forward, this is only the beginning." |
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Gustave Niebaum Having already amassed a fortune as a sea captain and fur trader, Gustave Niebaum was looking for a new business adventure when he and his wife were drawn to the beauty of the Napa Valley and its potential as a great wine-producing region. After purchasing the Inglenook property in 1879, Niebaum built an imposing stone winery château and produced the first estate-bottled, Bordeaux-style wine in California. Using demanding methods of temperature control and stringent sanitation techniques, he was one of the first winegrowers to establish the reputation of the Napa Valley as producing fine wines equal to the great wine regions of France. His motto of "Quality, not quantity" inspired new standards of excellence in California winemaking, for his generation and generations to come. |
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Harold Olmo, Ph.D. Harold Olmo helped create the modern California wine industry with his prolific work developing winegrape hybrids suited to the state's specific growing conditions. He served on the faculty of the University of California, Davis, Department of Viticulture and Oenology from 1931 until his retirement in 1997. Olmo continued his research until shortly before his death, donating millions of dollars in patent royalties back to the department. Professor Olmo taught many of the people who have become prominent growers and winemakers in California, and his study of the Chardonnay grape helped to make it the most widely planted white wine grape in the state. An adventurous traveler, Harold Olmo went to the Middle East in search of the origins of the vinifera grapevine, to Europe to obtain grapevine stock, and to grape-growing regions around the world as a United Nations consultant. |
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André Tchelistcheff In 1938, Georges de Latour went to France in search of a new winemaker trained in both enology and microbiology. In Paris, he was introduced to Russian-born Anrdé Tchelistcheff and, at that moment, history was made. Coming to Beaulieu Vineyards as vice president and chief winemaker, Tchelistcheff soon became one of California's most innovative winemakers, creating a definitive style for high-quality Cabernet Sauvignons, many of which were served at important White House functions. He was one of the first winemakers to work with fruit from the Carneros district, which he used to produce renowned Pinot Noirs. His work with malolactic fermentation, cold stabilization, and selective planting—along with mentoring many of today's leading winemakers—has earned him recognition as the father of modern California winemaking. |
