Grace Family Vineyards | |
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Location | Saint Helena, California, United States |
Appellation | Napa Valley |
Other labels | Blank |
First vines planted | 1976 |
First vintage | 1978 |
Key people | Kirk Grace |
Cases/yr | 500 |
Varietal | Cabernet Sauvignon |
Other products | Olive oil |
Website | http://www.gracefamilyvineyards.com |
The Grace Family Vineyards is a vineyard and winery in Napa, California. It is the first American winery to use the word "family" in its name.
The winery began when Ann and Dick Grace planted 1 acre (0.40 ha) 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 took its toll, as the winery's vines were planted on non-resistant . 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 mailing list. Another acre of planting and re-planted vines in the old acreage brought production up to 150 cases in 1998.
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 India, Nepal, Mexico, Tibet, 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 ($107 thousand in 2016 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 ($167 thousand in 2016 dollars) bid.
The Grace Family properties are organic 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.