Trefethen Family Vineyards

Trefethen Family Vineyards is a very photogenic and historic winery located at the end of what is possibly the longest winery driveway on the Napa Valley floor. Their location is about halfway between the towns of Napa & Yountville just east of Highway 29. This is the largest winery in the small vineyard grower dominated Oak Knoll district. This district is cooler than up valley due to more marine influences and also slightly more humid than other northerly growing regions. As a result of its location, you can grow both cool weather and warmer weather varietals here. Cabernet Sauvignon grows near Pinot noir in some instances. They have produced Riesling for 35+ years – Riesling used to be common in Napa but today almost all of it has been replaced with other varietals. Trefethen is certainly one of the larger Riesling growers in the Napa Valley.

Property History
The vineyard and winemaking history of this property is deeply rooted to some of the Napa Valley’s earliest wine heritage. In 1851 former sea captain from Massachusetts, Joseph Warren Osborne (often referred to as J.W Osborne) purchased a sizable piece of land in this part of Napa Valley (nearly 2,000 acres) and called it Oak Knoll. He originally came to California because of the gold rush of 1849.

Records indicated he planted grapes in a nursery here in 1852 and within 8 years had the largest vineyard in all of the Napa Valley (50 acres of vines). Records also show that Zinfandel cuttings from vines growing on the property were taken to Buena Vista Winery in 1859 in neighboring Sonoma County. Joseph also grew a diversity of fruits – having been awarded in 1859 ‘first premium’ at the Horticultural Fair held in San Francisco for having the best variety of fruits on display. And he also founded the Napa-Sonoma Horticultural Society with Agoston Haraszthy (of Buena Vista Winery).

He was being considered for candidacy for governor of California in 1861 but ultimately, he did not run for office. Tragically he was murdered two years later by gunshots in April 1863 by a former employee over an unpaid debt dispute (this employee was later hung) and the sad story is well detailed in Author Todd Shulman’s book, Murder and Mayhem in the Napa Valley.

The name of their long driveway off of Oak Knoll Ave is called Eschcol in tribute to the winery that was built here in 1886 by banker brothers James and George Goodman (which incidentally used to be accessible directly from a driveway off of Highway 29). For reference in the year 1886 according to Janet Trefethen there were approximately 140 wineries active in Napa Valley. The name Eschcol is a term from the Hebrew Bible referencing a valley where grapes were harvested (see Numbers 13:23–24). Noted architect, Hamden McIntyre was hired to oversee the design of the winery – perhaps the Howard Backen of the times. Howard was a well-respected contemporary architect responsible for some of Napa’s most creative and innovative wineries (died 2024). Hamden designed a number of prominent wineries in the Napa Valley including Far Niente, Inglenook and the Greystone building housing what is now the Culinary Institute of America. The winery building is the only surviving example in Napa Valley still being used from the 1800s of a wooden gravity flow winery.

Goodman’s contributions to the Napa Valley include Goodman Library in downtown Napa; the land upon which it sits was donated by George Goodman. And there are historic family and business connections between the Churchills (the family name that is carried on today in Churchill Manor, a bed and breakfast near downtown Napa) located almost across the street from the George Goodman Mansion (built in 1873).

James Goodman first came to California in 1852 and settled in San Francisco where he was in the wholesale grocery and mercantile business until 1855 at which point, he moved to Napa Valley. Along with his brother George in 1858, they established James H. Goodman & Co., Napa County’s first bank. Their bank was later sold to the Bank of Italy which eventually became Bank of America. In 1861 James became County Treasurer, serving through the early 1870s. The property remained planted to a diversity of both wine grapes (an article in the Napa Register from 1885 refers to 160 acres of vines in production) as well as other crops during the Goodman’s ownership including numerous pear trees, cherries and seasonally grown, wheat.

And like select other wineries in the valley, Eschcol was connected to the railroad by a pipe (where wine could be piped out to awaiting rail cars for transport). Eschol was purchased by Napa banker James Fawver in 1904 (whose father Thomas was an early Napa Valley pioneer, having settled in the valley in 1863 coming from Missouri on a wagon train). James produced wine legally until Prohibition and continued to produce for several years after but was not able to sell it. Eventually he sold grapes and after Prohibition ended in 1933, for a short while he began making wine again – he died in 1940. For a time in the 1940s his widow Della leased part of the property to Beringer Vineyards; they used the space on site as a storage facility and were leasing the surrounding vineyards. Della died in 1957.

Goodman Mansion, Oak Street

The Trefethen family (Eugene and Katie) purchased this winery in 1968 and restored the old Eschol Winery building; today it houses the Trefethen winery and tasting areas. At the time of their purchase the surrounding vineyards dated back to the 1920s and were planted to varieties such as: Mondeuse noire, Carignane and Golden Chasselas. The family removed these vines and replanted.

The Trefethen’s own not only 400 acres surrounding the winery but also another 150 mostly hillside acres about 3 miles from the winery in the foothills of the Mayacamas mountains (the Hill Spring Vineyard). As a result, they own one of the larger private wine land holdings in Napa Valley. Founder Eugene (Gene) Trefethen was CEO of Kaiser Companies (a formidable project focused company – Hoover Dam, Shasta Dam, Oakland-SF Bay Bridge, etc.). He was a man who wielded the kind of influence to be able to call up President Roosevelt during World War II and secure a contract for building Liberty ships.

The early history of two now notable Napa Valley based wineries were at Trefethen. Cakebread Winery, (up the road in Oakville) actually purchased some grapes for their first vintage from Trefethen and made some of their initial wine here. And for a while, Trefethen was home to thousands of bottles of sparkling wine – Domain Chandon (now known as CHANDON California) began their wine making efforts here by taking over the second floor of the winery for several years for their own operations, before Domain Chandon was yet built. Janet recalls if you were standing on the first floor during that time, you might get showered with sparkling wine, recollecting the ceiling wasn’t very water tight.

Trefethen has been generationally passed on to family; John & Janet Trefethen and their two children, Lorenzo and Hailey now run the operations. John first made home wine for a few vintages in the early 1970s – their first commercial release was in 1973, 2,000 cases of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. John used to land his Piper Cub airplane along the long driveway until the “powers that be” found out about this and forced him to use the county airport. At least one other Napa vintner we personally know (Dick Peterson) also used to land his plane on this driveway. The spindly trees that line this road today, are certainly not conducive for landing a plane anymore.

John was also one of the co-founders of the Napa Valley Grapegrowers Association in 1975. And Janet was instrumental in helping in helping form the Oak Knoll District in 2004 of which today there are approximately 35 grower and winery members. Their 20th anniversary celebration was hosted at Materra Winery on September 7, 2024.

Trefethen has farmed their vineyards sustainably since their beginning…and what is rare today, their vineyards are all managed internally without outsourcing the work to a vineyard management company. Their home ranch is planted to 49 distinctive blocks to a diversity of varieties. The vine age ranges from younger plantings to their oldest vines, Cabernet Sauvignon dating back to 1977 located at their Hill Spring Vineyard. A number of solar arrays are on the property with solar providing the majority of the power for the winery and production facilities. Composting is a big part of their “green” program – both cuttings and pomace from the vines are returned to the vineyards.

There are numerous aspects that set Trefethen apart from other Napa Valley wineries, certainly their storied history but also the fact that they have never purchased grapes from anyone since their inception. They continue to sell grapes to other wineries and producers. But what matters most is their commitment to their vineyards, quality and honoring the properties’ history. And their respect for their terroir. As Janet says, “If we really do our job correctly you will hear the voice of the vineyard in the glass.”

Select Wines
Whites
Quandry
Quandary is a unique and proprietary blend of Chardonnay, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc. The 2022 Trefethen Quandary, Napa Valley White Wine is deep straw in color; the bouquet is immediately highly aromatic and sweetly fruited with scents of citrus blossom, pineapple guava, a lemon/lime zest, lemon juice, not fully ripe pineapple and honeysuckle. We have just returned from our place in Thailand after several months and Napa Valley is just on the cusp of spring. The aromatics of this wine reminds of us of spring time and blossoms and an energy of renewal from winter. Balanced and straddling just the right amount of flavor intensity, this crisp white sports flavors of pineapple, honeydew melon, honeycomb, nectarines, white peach and passion fruit. Delicious. One of our pet peeves lately has been Napa Valley white wines which are high alcohol following a trend we saw with red wines starting several decades ago. Refreshingly, this wine clocks in at an alcohol of only 12%. We would pair this with our favorite spicy raw crab salad we always enjoy at the Ekkamai Food Court in Bangkok. Or for less adventurous eaters, try with Som Tum (Thai papaya salad).

Riesling
Trefethen is one of the few Napa Valley based wineries to produce Riesling from Napa Valley grown grapes. We measure the quality of Riesling produced in Napa Valley in terms of four producers: Trefethen, Smith Madrone, Stony Hill and Lanthanide. And Trefethen has been producing wines from this variety continuously each year since 1974.

The 2023 Trefethen Dry Riesling is pale to medium golden in color; minerally, bright and refreshing all rolled into one aromatic presentation, the bouquet offers scents of freshly mowed lawn, green apple, light honeysuckle, orange blossom, pear, kiwi and orchard fruits including apricot and peach. Lively immediately on its entry, the palate offers flavors of grapefruit, not fully ripe pineapple, pomelo, pineapple guava and freshly cored Honeycrisp apple. A rounded texture is complemented nicely by the bright but not bracing acidity. No sweetness here; this is a refreshing Riesling meant for food. We could see pairing this with shellfish; raw oysters please with a tangy mignonette sauce. A refreshing 12% alcohol.

The 2019 Trefethen Dry Riesling offers a pretty floral sweetness including aromatics of honeysuckle, citrus blossom and jasmine. Think springtime! The palate shows flavors of crisp green apple, mandarin and a lingering lemon lime/meringue tartness that is complemented nicely by a richness of fruit. The appealing characteristics of this wine are its superb balance, acidity and its complexity on the palate – this is not a linear wine.

Chardonnay
The 2022 Trefethen Chardonnay is pale to medium gold in color; the bouquet offers white florals including star jasmine, citrus blossom and honeysuckle along with pineapple, cored Golden delicious apple, mandarin orange, apricot and vanilla custard. The palate is intensely flavored including notes of mandarin orange, apple, pear and ginger. This wine offers a rounded texture with a lingering and refreshing brightness on the finish which immediately demands another sip. This wine was aged for 9 months in 10% new oak barrels. Only 4% went through malolactic fermentation. 13.5% alcohol.

Very few wineries in the Napa Valley can open up a 1990 bottle of Chardonnay and have it still show nicely much less even actually have a Chardonnay 30+ years old in their library. This is a great example of how a well-made Napa Valley Chardonnay can in fact age – and not just a few years, but decades!

The 1990 Trefethen Library Selection Chardonnay (tasted from a magnum nearly 31 years after the vintage date) shows deep golden color in the glass with a bouquet that is well-layered and evolves nicely as it opens. It is fascinating to smell the development of this wine over the decades. Remarkably the fruit still shows on the bouquet including of lemon meringue and pomelo; this is complemented very nicely with bottle age aromas including toasted almond, hazelnut, crème Brulé and hints of caramel. And furthermore still, a noticeable liveliness shows across the palate carried by the acidity with lingering flavors of lemon zest. An impressive showing.

The 1977 Trefethen Chardonnay is medium to deep amber in color; for reference we tried this wine 47 years post vintage. The bouquet offers aromas of caramelized sugars, dried peaches and nectarines, caramel, honey, and a pronounced nutty character including hazelnut, walnut and toasted almond. On the palate there are flavors of apricot, dried peaches, honey, a citrus note similar to dried orange peel, and toasted almond and walnut. The acidity is bright and is immediately felt across the palate. This wine was not barrel fermented, rather it was fermented in stainless steel and did not go through any malolactic fermentation. The wine aged for 13 months in a diversity of barrels ranging from new, to up to several times filled to completely neutral. The alcohol is 12.8%.

In 1979 their 1976 Chardonnay was voted as being the “best chardonnay in the world” at the Gault Millau Wine Olympics in Paris.

Late Harvest Riesling
The inspiration to create this wine came from several sources. Janet Trefethen remembers attending an event at Robert Mondavi Winery with her son Lorenzo who was a young child at the time. Needing to get him to calm down, she dipped her finger in a glass of Mondavi’s Moscato d’Oro and put it in Lorenzo’s mouth. That immediately quieted him. And a specific Riesling block was always infected with varying degrees of Botrytis each year – rather than trying to mitigate this, they ultimately embraced the botrytis. The Trefethen Late Harvest Riesling is not produced every year as it is only crafted when conditions are suitable for botrytis to form naturally on the grapes while still hanging on the vines.

The 2022 Trefethen Late Harvest Riesling (100% varietal) is deep gold in the glass; the bouquet is immediately sweet and fruity reflecting aromas of canned peaches in syrup, apricot, peach and yellow nectarine and melting honey. And there are plenty of ripe tropical fruits at play here including of mango, papaya, baked pineapple accompanied by caramelized sugars including creme Brule. This wine smells sweet. And it tastes sweet. Rich and layered the palate mirrors the bouquet to some extent and reveals flavors of apricot, peach, mango, honey and caramel. Long sweet and almost cloyingly ripe from this vintage in particular, the intense combination of intense ripe fruit, a fleshy and creamy texture, residual sugar and richness of acidity, make for a memorable finish. This wine demands a cold winter day in the mountains and being cozied up next to a significant other in front of a roaring fire.

The 2018 Trefethen Late Harvest Riesling is a gold color with ripe aromatics including apricot and peach. Rich and well layered with ripe fruits including apricot, nectarine, honeycomb and crème Brule; the wine is sweet but not cloyingly so as it is offset by a brightness of acidity. Shows a viscous almost oily texture from start to finish – smooth and rounded this wine glides across the palate like satin. This is a wine well worth seeking out for dessert wine enthusiasts.

Reds
Pinot Noir
Trefethen produces a wide array of red varietal specific wines. The Oak Knoll District is a sweet spot in the valley to grow a diversity of both red and white grape varieties. While Napa Valley and Sonoma’s Carneros region is well-known for Pinot Noir, there is far less of it in the Oak Knoll District and it is extremely rare when we try a Pinot Noir from this part of the valley.

The 2022 Trefethen Pinot Noir, Oak Knoll District is pale ruby in the glass; the bouquet sports a pleasing union of both fruit characteristics and spice notes. These include dark raspberry, currant, cranberries, dried mushrooms, white pepper, mocha, and dried bay leaf and dried sage. This wine tastes like the variety with flavors of currant, cranberry, red cherry, cherry cola and an note of baking spices. It is also subtly herbal, especially noticeable on the finish. The tannins are refined, rounded and fit in seamlessly. Lightly seasoned pork chops from the BBQ anyone?

Dragon’s Tooth
Another red wine worth noting is their Dragon’s Tooth – aptly named for several reasons: ‘dragon’ for Janet’s Welsh heritage and ‘tooth’ for the very rocky terroir from part of the vineyard that produces this wine. And in the early 1990s, Trefethen, like much of Napa Valley was experiencing phylloxera, so Janet placed a fake dragon out in a part of their vineyard and told customers that this was their phylloxera eating dragon. The image of the red dragon on the label represents Y Ddraig Goch, the dragon symbol of Wales. And despite the name, this wine should never be confused with the magical dragon labels produced by Chappellet Winery.

They never not set out to make this red wine but after phylloxera caused them to replant their vineyards, they experimented with new varieties not yet grown on site during their ownership including Malbec and Petit Verdot. This unique Malbec based blend (first vintage 2007) has quickly become one of their fan favorite wines.

The 2021 Trefethen Dragon’s Tooth Red Blend is 49% Malbec, 37% Petit Verdot and 14% Cabernet Sauvignon. It was aged in oak for 18 months. This wine is deep ruby with purplish tinges on the rim. The bouquet is focused on its fruit and floral attributes. These include red plum, lilacs, violets, blueberry, boysenberry, blackberry, with some baking spices including clove and cinnamon and a touch of molasses. The refreshing and brightly lit palate offers flavors of plum, red cherry, currant and cranberry. The finish is bright, refreshing, tart and tangy supported by tannins exerting a moderate to firm, persistent and chewy dusty grip. Lingers with a note of dried tobacco leaf and baking spice including cinnamon and nutmeg. This wine earned Platinum designation at the 2024 Decanter World Wine Awards. For reference, over 18,000 wines were submitted, only 107 earned Platinum medals – Trefethen’s 2021 Dragon’s Tooth was the only winery in North America to earn this coveted medal for a red blend.

The 2020 Trefethen Dragon’s Tooth Red Blend is 53% Malbec, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. This wine is medium ruby in color with amaranthine hues; the bouquet is ripe, fruit forward and dare we say a bit hedonistic. It offers scents of ripe blackberry, boysenberry, Pakistani mulberry and dark cherry with notes of assorted berry jams. And there is a dessert component at play here as well including of dark chocolate and mocha. The palate is not as ripe as the bouquet belies; it offers flavors of Santa Rosa plum, dark cherry, boysenberry and dark raspberry. The acidity is bright and contributes a juiciness to the bottling. The tannins are dusty, grainy and parallel the fruit for some time on the dark spice filled finish. These includes notes of crushed peppercorn, a woodsy note and dried herbs. We would agree if you called this wine savory. It might pair nicely with the Spicy Swiss sausages produced by one of our favorite charcutiers, Zio Brands based in Paso Robles.

Cabernet Sauvignon
Trefethen releases some of their wines fairly young; it is recommended to hold these for several years as these wines will develop additional complexities and nuances not found in the young wines. With bright acidity and concentrated fruit, some of their old Cabernet Sauvignons have aged very nicely.

The 1993 Trefethen Cabernet Sauvignon is 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc; this wine is medium ruby in color; the rim shows some light brickish hues. For reference, we tasted this wine 31 years post vintage. The bouquet offers tertiary characters including suede and dry mushroom along with clove, cinnamon stick, raspberry, strawberry, red cherry, a light red chili spice, dried tobacco leaf and tea leaf. The aromatics showcases an herbal character that we don’t often find in contemporary Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The palate tastes younger than the bouquet smells. Truly remarkable is just how fresh this wine is at more than 3 decades old. On the palate there are flavors of cherry, red currant, cranberries and pomegranate. The tannins exert a noticeable and moderate long lasting dusty grip with a persistent note of dried tobacco leaf. Finishes brightly lit, red fruited and tart with a twirling acidity dancing across the palate like a ballerina depicted in one of Degas’ exquisite paintings. This wine was produced from vines that had phylloxera at the time. It is a listed 13% alcohol.

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Hospitality
Several tasting options are always offered, all by appointment, although note that as experiences evolve, these tastings may change. As of our last visit to the winery several flights were offered including an all red, a refreshing and rare for a Napa Valley winery, all whites selection or a mix of both red and white wines. The Reserve Tasting at The Villa is an opportunity to try more limited release wines along with sometimes older vintages and the Taste the Estate at The Villa is a premium private food and wine experience held at the Trefethen Villa with each course prepared by their winery chef. And during our latest visit on a Thursday, a #ThrowbackThursday wine was offered – a deep dive into one of their library selections and a rare chance to taste an older vintage.

Trefethen offers tours, typically one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Certain tour guides focus more on specific aspects (history, winemaking etc.) but are open to any interests and questions guests have about the winery. Advance reservations are necessary for these tours; call or check their website for availability.

The inside of the winery is very elegantly decorated with several tasting areas located on the second level. During the holidays this is certainly one of the more “homey” tasting rooms in the Napa Valley. A wine library on one side gives wine enthusiasts the opportunity to taste rare and older wines.

Pick up a brochure in their main tasting room for more information about their wine clubs and also their free winery newsletter called “Off the Vine”. Trefethen was once the site for the filming of the TV Show, Easy Entertaining with celebrity chef (and Napa local), Michael Chiarello.

Napa Earthquake, August 2014
The Napa earthquake of 2014 displaced their main hospitality center and winery building by 4 feet – the entire building was straightened, each piece of wood was removed, numbered and then replaced. A significant renovation and retrofitting occurred over a 2+ year period. A significant portion of the building pre-earthquake was salvaged (at least 85% to keep their listing on the Register of Historic Places). Significantly sized metal support beams (20 tons of steel overall) were added for additional strength.

This hospitality center reopened on May 6, 2017. Visitors are greeted by a host or hostess on the ground floor upon entering (located next to their working barrel rooms). All tastings are held upstairs – note the very long table here, it was created from an oak tree that used to stand near the main entrance to this building.

Villa Trefethen
Villa Trefethen” opened by appointment for the first time in late June 2016. Tastings by appointment are held in this former residence of vineyard founders Katie and Gene Trefethen. The walk from the parking lot to the entrance is very peaceful – through bucolic gardens and in the shade of large redwood and oak trees. Please inquire with the winery as to availability of tastings held at Villa Trefethen.

This historic home was built in 1922 and visits are like walking into someone’s home; both indoor and outdoor tastings are available. Visits here are by appointment and are a more private experience compared to the walk-in tastings at their main hospitality center. And La Huerta is the name for their sizable nearby vegetable garden – with ingredients used for pairings and as food for employees.

Trefethen Family Viticultural Center
Several generations of the Trefethen family have long supported education. Eugene and Catherine’s efforts helped found the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley (Eugene was an alum). And the family has been involved for years with the Viticulture and Enology program at the University of California Davis.

Closer to home, the winery and wine making program at Napa Valley College has received tremendous support from the surrounding wine industry. The Trefethen family donated money to build the primary classroom and the Napa Valley vintners came forward with financial support for the actual winery. In addition, physical donations have been made – a number of their bottles and embossed foils have been given to the program. See our profile on Napa Valley College’s winery on this website for more details.

Total production as of our latest update to this review is around 75,000 cases annually. Trefethen maintains an electric vehicle charging station on site directly across from the pathway that leads to the hospitality center. For more information, to schedule a reservation and or to join one of their membership offerings including Club Trefethen (a mix of red and whites), Red Wines Only and the HāLo Circle (a selection of their most coveted and limited production wines), visit: www.trefethen.com

Hospitality Center

Miscellaneous

Only 50 Years Old Once!
50-year Anniversary Party, May 2018