History and Heritage
1800s – Pioneering Roots
Villa Mt. Eden’s heritage stretches back to the pioneering roots of California winegrowing.
In the mid-1800s, General M.G. Vallejo gave George Yount the land that is the site of the original Oakville winery as part of his daughter’s dowry. Yount, for whom the Napa Valley town of Yountville was named, was a pioneer in the viticultural industry. Yount eventually sold the land. In 1881 Villa Mt. Eden was founded as the 11th bonded winery in Napa Valley, by George W. Meyers of Oakland. He originally planted the land to Zinfandel and Riesling. In 1884, when winemaking began on-site, an estimated 6,500 gallons of wine was produced. In 1890 the winery had a 360-ton crush. By the end of the 1800s, the Napa Valley, which had only 5,000 grapevines planted in the 1850s ended the century with 200,000 vines and more than 140 wineries in the area.
1900s - Prohibition & Renaissance
In 1913 Nick Fagiani bought the winery, which he owned throughout Prohibition.
It is unclear whether he sold grapes or continued to produce wine for medicinal or sacramental purposes (the only uses allowed during Prohibition). The wine industry foundered under the law, and many wineries never survived to see Repeal. The winery changed hands a few times between the 1940s and 1960s, a still rocky time for the wine era. The majority of that time it was owned by Constantine Ramsey, and grapes were sold to Beaulieu. In 1969, at the beginning of what is known as the California “Wine Renaissance” – an exciting time of renewed vision and energy in the winemaking industry – James and Anne McWilliams of San Francisco bought the winery, and expanded the number of varietals grown. In 1974, to help fulfill this vision, they brought on Nils Venge as winemaker and general manager. Now a Napa Valley household name for his work with Groth and Saddleback, at the time Venge was a recent UC Davis graduate. While he’d worked for a few wineries in the couple of years since he graduated, this was his first winemaking job. In the following year, Villa Mt. Eden released its first Pinot Noir. Venge helped grow Villa Mt. Eden and its reputation for nearly a decade, before he turned the winemaking helm over to another UC Davis grad, Mike McGrath, in 1983.
Today – An Enduring Mission
Villa Mt. Eden is one of the few wineries established around the 1880s that exists today, among the good company of Beringer, Chateau Montelena and Far Niente.
Under McGrath’s 25 years of leadership, Villa Mt. Eden earned five placements on Wine Spectator’s annual “Top 100” and many best value accolades. Villa Mt. Eden also moved production facilities up the road on the Silverado Trail. In 2009 McGrath’s longtime assistant winemaker Armando de Santiago took the helm as winemaker at Villa Mt. Eden, placing renewed focus on Villa’s enduring mission to showcase distinguished regions and vineyards of California. With his unique background in philosophy and naturopathy, as well as winemaking, Armando is in many ways a natural fit for Villa Mt. Eden. This modern day Renaissance man’s passion for crafting elegant wines with fruit intensity and a focus on place, is ideally suited to guiding this acclaimed winery into its next chapter.
Historical photos courtesy of Napa County Historical Society.