In wine, there is nothing so immutable as the land. Vintages offer variation, as do winemakers and proprietors. Mother Nature is capricious, always wanting the last word. But the land is a constant, its geology and composition immovable. At the heart of every great wine is a piece of land like no other.
First planted to vines in the 1880s, Eisele Vineyard sits in the northeast Napa Valley, just east of Calistoga at the base of the Palisades Mountain range. Farmed organically since 1998 and biodynamically since 2000, the site has been principally dedicated to...
In wine, there is nothing so immutable as the land. Vintages offer variation, as do winemakers and proprietors. Mother Nature is capricious, always wanting the last word. But the land is a constant, its geology and composition immovable. At the heart of every great wine is a piece of land like no other.
First planted to vines in the 1880s, Eisele Vineyard sits in the northeast Napa Valley, just east of Calistoga at the base of the Palisades Mountain range. Farmed organically since 1998 and biodynamically since 2000, the site has been principally dedicated to Cabernet Sauvignon for the last fifty years. Beginning with the inaugural release bearing the Eisele name in 1971, this iconic vineyard has received
consistent recognition for possessing one of the great terroirs of Napa Valley. The wines invariably express the exceptional depth, elegance and longevity which are hallmarks of the Eisele Vineyard.
Our vision is nothing less than to re-embrace the long history of Eisele Vineyard while realizing the full potential of this remarkable estate. Preserving and expanding upon the vineyard’s distinguished legacy in Napa Valley — and among the great winegrowing estates of the world — is both an honor and our aspiration. Through intellectual rigor, humility, and with the utmost respect for the land, our aim is to make wines that speak of the Eisele Vineyard in the most authentic way possible. The earliest stewards of what is now the Eisele Vineyard were the Wappo, native gardeners and land conservationists who until the early 1800s maintained a delicate balance among wildlife, vegetation, and human occupation.
By 1841 the Eisele lands had become part of the 18,000-acre Mexican land grant, Rancho Carne Humana, awarded to Edward Turner Bale by his uncle-in-law, General Mariano G. Vallejo. Bale continued to graze cattle and horses on the land; he also cultivated grapes and grew vast quantities of wheat, building a large gristmill that is said to be one of the first meeting places of the Anglo settlers who staged the Bear Flag Revolt.
In the early 1880s Jackson G. Randall, one of Napa Valley’s pioneer viticulturists, and his neighbor Charles Nathan Pickett, one of the Valley’s largest wine producers, were the first to plant grapes on what is now Eisele Vineyard. Pickett and his family retained this vineyard land until the Second World War.
From the 1880s to the late 1960s the lands remained under continuous grape cultivation, surviving successive owners as well as the financial catastrophes of phylloxera, Prohibition and the Great Depression. During these years the Napa Valley wine industry languished but vines persisted.
In 1969, Milton and Barbara Eisele purchased the 162-acre property, naming it the Eisele Vineyard. Over their 20-plus years of ownership, they established the site as one of the finest sources for Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in the Napa Valley. Determined not to languish in retirement, Milton and Barbara Eisele began a new career as grapegrowers in their 60s. In a prescient move that altered the course of this special place, the Eiseles offered their grapes to Paul Draper, winemaker of Ridge Vineyards. In 1971 Draper produced the first Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, one of the first vineyard-designated wines in California. This landmark wine is still beautiful after more than four decades in bottle, and is widely considered to be one of the finest wines ever produced in the Napa Valley.
The second vineyard-designated Eisele Cabernet was produced by Conn Creek Winery in 1974, to equal acclaim and with equal longevity, and from 1975 to 1991, Napa Valley wine visionary Joseph Phelps continued the tradition, producing what would become a long line of legendary Cabernets from the Eisele Vineyard. The 1991 vintage yielded two significant Eisele Vineyard Cabernets: the final Phelps bottling from the property, and the first Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.
15000+
Our range forms the ultimate portfolio of wine and spirits
