Hestan Vineyards

Hestan Vineyards is owned by Stanley and Helen Cheng; their vineyard and name of the brand was created by cleverly combining the first few letters in each of their first names. In 1981 Stanley founded what is now the largest cookware company in the USA: Meyer Corporation U.S. is based at Meyer Plaza in nearby Vallejo with the Meyer U.S. distribution center located on Meyer Way in Fairfield. The company is still privately owned and operated. Several times a year, in one or both of these locations, Meyer offers an outlet sale open to the public. And one does not associate Vallejo with vineyards, but Meyer maintains a small vineyard of Chardonnay vines located on the west side of their campus bordered by Highway 29 and Curtola Parkway next to the Napa River just before it empties into the San Pablo Bay. This is in Solano County.

Cheng was born in 1948 in Hong Kong; Meyer Company was founded in 1951 in Hong Kong and was run by Cheng’s father. Meyer in Chinese refers to “美亞” (Měi Yà), where “美” (Měi) means “beautiful” and “亞” (Yà) means “Asia”.

The company was originally an aluminum factory based in a part of Hong Kong called Kwun Tong. The business produced numerous products for export including flashlights, lanterns, hinges, ashtrays and tennis rackets. The Meyer Group is a *significant global operation* with manufacturing plants, offices or showrooms on 5 of the 7 continents (Africa and Antarctica excluded) with more than 6,000 employees producing approximately 100,000 pans every day. Their factory in Thailand (one of several company spaces in the country) is by far the largest of all of their manufacturing operations and at over 1.3 million square feet is one of the world’s largest cookware manufacturing and milling plants. Companies under the Meyer Group including Meyer Marketing (MMC), Meyer International, Meyer Industries and Meyer UK. The parent company is still based in Hong Kong.

Cheng immigrated to the U.S. in 1965 to pursue a business degree at the University of Oregon but after two years transferred to Oregon State University to pursue an engineering degree. He graduated from Oregon State University in 1971 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering; he was inducted into their engineering hall of fame in 2011. While studying in Oregon he and his father decided to create a brand of cookware called Meyer. After graduating Cheng returned to Hong Kong to assist his father with ramping up his factory to produce the Meyer products, initially focusing on non-stick pans. The first Meyer products were sold in the United Kingdom in 1972. Cheng continued to grow and expand the business and didn’t leave Hong Kong for more than 20 years. For reference, Teflon was first invented in 1938 by Dupont chemist Dr. Roy J. Plunkett.

Cheng is a pioneer and innovator in the world of cooking; he created the first flat bottom wok for use on western stoves. In addition, he patented Circulon, the original hard-anodized nonstick cookware and following this invention he developed the first flat-surface hard anodized non-stick cookware line under the brand Anolon; this was the first cookware that was dishwasher safe. And the revolutionary non-scratch NanoBond cookware, which is always one of our favorites in the kitchen. In addition to its functionality we never get tired of looking at its handsome design. Plus its easy to clean. At one point the company produced a line of products called NapaStyle.

Anaheim based Hestan Commercial occupies a 130,000 square foot facility and builds and installs high end commercial kitchens primarily for restaurants, but also for residential use and for both indoor and outdoor use. The Meyer products are sold around the world including in some of the more well-known retail spaces such as Williams-Sonoma, Macy’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, Costco, Target and Walmart.

Cheng has personally worked with top chefs including Thomas Keller, Rachel Ray and Tyler Florence.

Meyer Company’s unparalleled success can first of all be attributed to being in a space that directly affects every person on the planet, cooking and eating, but equally as important, consistently creating innovative products and smart acquisitions of associated companies and related licensing.

Stanley and Helen have enjoyed fine wines for many years; in 1992 their family moved from Hong Kong to Hillsborough, CA and in 1996 purchased part of a former cattle ranch with an existing walnut orchard in the southeastern part of Napa County off of Gordon Valley Road, a short drive from the Solano County line. This is ‘remote’ Napa Valley with the drive taking about 40 minutes from downtown Napa.

This property is approximately 240 calculated acres, divided into three contiguous parcels, 110 of which are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc and Grenache, with the first vines planted in 1998. We walked some of their vineyard blocks on this property with their General Manager at the time of our visit, Debra Eagle. The vines are planted on rolling hills; with a property this size there are a variety of exposures and orientations.

While the property was not planted to vines at the time of the Cheng’s purchase, the property next door was purchased the previous year (Nepenthes Vineyard) and vines were planted on that site. This part of Napa County is called Gordon Valley, home to a number of small vineyard growers in the region but no physical wineries. It is not its own recognized sub appellation but rather borders the Suisun Valley sub appellation which became an appellation 2 years before Howell Mountain became Napa Valley’s first sub appellation. Hestan’s first vintage was 2002.

There is no winery on the property, although perhaps one will be built here someday. Since the first vintage Hestan has produced their wines at other wineries including currently at Laird Estate.

Their estate property including the vineyards and gardens are 100% powered by solar energy. Solar is also used to power some of the Meyer Company operations. An 11-acre pond located on the property is both creek and spring fed and fully provides for the vineyard’s irrigation needs.

Hestan is a rare Napa Valley based producer with not only one but two winemakers. As a result of their winemaker’s styles, they produce two very distinctive types of wine. Stanley and Helen were eating dinner one night in a well-known restaurant in Yountville when they happened to try a bottle of Merus wine. At the time winemaker Mark Herold was running Merus as a garagiste winery at his home in Napa. Enjoying this wine so much they soon contacted Mark and he became the original winemaker for the Hestan and Meyer wines. His wines showcase the Napa Valley ripeness very well; robust in terms of both structure and intensity of fruit yet also in balance with each other.

Hestan produces four labels: Hestan, Meyer, and two labels honoring Stanley and Helen’s three children, Stephanie and Vincent Christopher, a Pinot Noir and the only label made from non estate grapes.

Winemaker, Thomas Rivers Brown
Thomas is one of the busiest wine makers in Napa Valley. Several producers have showed us lists of all the Napa brands that he consults for and or provides direct winemaking services; this is an extensive list. He is from Sumter, South Carolina and developed an interest in wine while attending the University of Virginia where his major was not wine related (he studied English and Economics).

He moved to the Napa Valley in 1996 and took a job at All Seasons in Calistoga (known for their California cuisine, wine selection and long time in business – but unfortunately the All-Seasons Bistro permanently closed in 2020). While there, Thomas met winemaker Ehren Jordan who was working for Larry Turley at the time of Turley Wine Cellars. Thomas took a job with Ehren in the cellar at Turley in 1997 – spent several years there before beginning his own career and starting to consult for various clients (some of which were clients that Ehren was already working with).

And within only 10 years of making wine in the Napa Valley Thomas received two 100-point scores from Robert Parker – regardless of what your perception is of scores, creating several wines within a short period of time that receive 100 points from Parker was a watershed moment in Thomas’s consulting career.

Today Thomas is highly sought after for his winemaking services, experience and access to premium area vineyards. And while he was once the student, over the years he has become the teacher. We have met with a number of winemakers who worked under Thomas – and consider him one of their mentors. These are winemakers who have gone on to establish their own brands or consult for other Napa Valley based brands.

Thomas crafts the Hestan and Meyer wines.

Winemaker, Jeff Gaffner
For a number of years Hestan sold their fruit to several other producers in the Stags Leap District including Clos du Val. However, it was after tasting wine from their neighbor at a blind tasting that they were introduced to Jeff Gaffner, their neighbor’s winemaker. They found his wines to be true varietal expressions of the grapes and he was soon hired as their own winemaker. Jeff is known for his winemaking work with Bordeaux varieties and produces elegant, refined wines. He makes the Stephanie Wines (named after their daughter). Look for the image of Stephanie’s concert harp on all these wines – this is in honor of her musical talents.

Jeff has strong ties to the neighboring Sonoma County wine scene. He began what has become a long career as a winemaker in 1981 at Chateau St. Jean in Kenwood. A name that rings a loud bell in Sonoma County is Dick Arrowood, Jeff’s mentor at the time who taught him the equal importance of keeping an eye on details both in the vineyard as well as in the winery. Jeff helped make some very well-regarded wines at Chateau St. Jean including the 1996 Cinq Cepages which earned the Wine of the Year from the Wine Spectator.

In 1997 Jeff launched his own wines – Saxon Brown, named after the heroine in Jack London’s book, “Valley of the Moon”. The focus of the Saxon Brown wines is on old vine Zinfandel and Sémillon – using field blends. Along with these varieties Jeff also produces a wide range of other wines sourced from various vineyards throughout Sonoma County.

Select Wines
Whites
The 2019 Hestan Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley is medium yellow in color; still slightly closed on the bouquet at the time of our tasting, shows aromas of green apple, mint and pear. Refreshingly doesn’t smell like other Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc wines. Extremely supple, with a liquid velvet like textural feel across the palate. Shows flavors of green apple, mandarin and lime. Finishes clean and fairly quickly with a perceptible note of acidity that continues to linger, keeping the palate refreshed.

The 2007 Hestan Vineyards Chardonnay (the one white wine from Hestan) is from a vineyard in Vallejo not far from the cooling influences of the bay. This fairly rich wine sees 100% malolactic fermentation and is un-fined and unfiltered. It shows a pleasing golden color in the glass with notes of baking spices on the bouquet. The palate is rather soft and somewhat creamy with notes of ripe pear, browned sugar, a unique nuttiness and melon. The finish is clean and lingers pleasantly.

Reds
There is not much Grenache planted in Napa Valley and it’s a joy to find Napa Valley wines made from this variety. This Grenache is grown on their estate property. The 2016 Hestan Vineyards Grenache is medium ruby in color; offers a diversity of aromatics including darker spices (pepper, but not peppery), mint, dark olive, cherry cola and old cedar notes. Certainly, one can describe the aromatics as slightly savory. The bouquet reminds us of chocolate covered cedar balls if there ever were such a thing. Or perhaps more understandable, aromas of KIT KAT® chocolate bars. Juicy across the palate with a slight perception of sweetness (from fruit not from any residual sugar). Offers flavors of red cherry and berry fruits, dried herbs and lingers with old cedar box. The savory note on the bouquet is also evident on the palate. The tannins are earthy with a light to medium grip. Decent acidity.

The 2006 Stephanie Cabernet Sauvignon shows some pretty spice and dark chocolate notes on the bouquet with a mix of elegant red and black fruit aromas. The palate is refined with lively acidity and pleasing fruit flavors including berry and red cherry. And the Stephanie wine labels feature an image of a harp, in homage to Stephanie who plays his instrument.

One of our favorite Stephanie wines during our visit to the estate property many years ago was the 2006 Stephanie Red Bend, a Bordeaux styled wine. The nose is elegant with a soft entry on the palate showing plum, red cherry and boysenberry. Despite the soft entry, this wine builds in structure nicely leading to a beautiful balanced finish between flavor, structure and length.

In contrast to the Stephanie wines is the 2006 Hestan Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a big, bold, bright and powerful Napa Valley Cabernet which shows off tons of fruit and structure. It was aged entirely in new French oak. The darkness in the glass hints at the complexities to follow – both on the bouquet and palate. The nose shows mostly dark fruit leading to a concentrated palate with a complexity of flavors. This is a mouth filling wine anchored by meaty tannins and a super long finish. For those who enjoy a big Napa Cabernet, this is an excellent choice.

NOTE: this profile and in particular this section has been identified as needing a major update including additional tasting notes for current release wines.

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Note the labels on all their wine, you won’t see these from many producers in the valley – they are silk screened in 24k gold. Hestan currently produces about 6,000 cases between the four brands. One can sometimes find their wine locally at ACME Fine Wine Shop in St. Helena. And the Hestan Chardonnay has been served at several White House functions, including a state dinner with President Obama and Hu Jintao, President of the People’s Republic of China.

Hestan Tasting Room, Yountville
We initially visited the vineyard estate property for our first tasting but then Hestan opened a beautiful standalone tasting room in Yountville in mid 2013. The space is located slightly north of Bouchon Restaurant and just down the street from the French Laundry. The architectural firm, San Francisco Bay Area based Essalat Architects had established a reputation for building residential homes; this was the first commercial building they designed. Despite its diminutive stature, it is visually intriguing and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The building even incorporates a nod of appreciation to their cookware company, i.e., the copper siding on the building which was bright golden when the tasting room opened but has since significantly faded over time due to the elements.

The address of the tasting room used to house 8 boarding units in the early 1970s and houses several tenants through the 1990s. Its location made the local newspapers in 1981 when a truck carrying 3,000 gallons of tequila toppled over in front of the space due to part of the road collapsing under its weight. Some of the tequila began dripping onto the street.

Visitors can choose from two tasting options, Portfolio which features select current releases from their various labels and Library which features older wines. In addition to the wine, a number of quality cooking pots and pans are available for sale inside – even their Yountville ‘neighbor’, chef Thomas Keller uses Hestan products for some of his restaurants including at the French Laundry. There is no dedicated parking lot for the tasting room, rather parking is available street side, next door or across the street.

In addition to hosting visitors at the tasting room, Hestan offers a limited number of tastings at the estate property, available exclusively by reservation.

Hestan Napa
In late 2023 plans were announced by Hestan to open a retail store at 1300 First Street, Suite 291. Their space will be used to sell Hestan cookware and other culinary appliances. It is located near Compline Wine Shop and also Kitchen Door Restaurant and within a very short walk of several hotels including Andaz Napa Valley and The Archer.

Plans call for Hestan to open this space sometime in mid 2025. We will visit and update our notes and photography here once the space is open.

Hestan Kitchen, Culinary Institute of America, COPIA
Hestan kitchenware sponsored an almost 9,000 square foot culinary teaching kitchen located on the second floor of COPIA in the Oxbow District of downtown Napa. This space is organized into six separate Hestan cooking suites and is used by both students, teachers and for special events including team building or corporate culinary focused receptions.

Since the beginning, the Hestan wines have earned top accolades from wine writers and wine publications including the Wine Spectator awarding their 2014 Meyer Cabernet Sauvignon, as the eighth-best wine in the world in 2017. For more information, to join their wine club with two shipments a year in spring and fall, to schedule a visit to the Hestan Estate or to purchase wines, visit: www.hestanvineyards.com

Estate (more photos coming in 2025 or 2026)