Comprised of 440 acres, with 400 of those acres planted to grapes, Trefethen Family Vineyards is Napa Valley’s largest single-family vineyard. The Trefethen dream began in 1968 when Eugene Trefethen purchased the land and an 1886 run-down winery and created the Trefethen Estate. It was however his wife’s, Catherine, love for gardening, entertaining and wine that inspired the planting of their vineyard.

The Trefethen dream took another major step into becoming one of the most important wineries in Napa Valley in 1973 when John Trefethen, Eugene and Catherine’s son, married Janet and together they began the restoration of the historic winery and crafted their first commercial wines. Two other family milestones took place in 2006 and 2008 when Lorenzo and Hailey, Janet and John’s kids, joined the company to help their parents run the winery.

John and Janet began their wine-making journey producing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and in 1979 their efforts paid off when their 1976 Trefethen Chardonnay was named the “Best Chardonnay in the World” at the Wine Olympics in Paris. An honor it defended in 1980 at the rematch that took place in Burgundy. Fast forward to 2023 and the Trefethen family is successfully producing 100% estate wines from 10 different varietals.

Their beautiful winery is conveniently located off Highway 29, between the towns of Napa and Yountville on the prestigious Oak Knoll District AVA. It is here where they are crafting award-winning wines by focusing on sustainable farming practices. In 2022, for their sustainable winegrowing efforts, Trefethen was awarded the California Green Medal Environment Award.  Both the vineyard and the winery are Napa Green Certified and California Sustainable Certified.

During our visit, we were fortunate to enjoy our tasting on their outdoor patio on a gorgeous late summer day. The setting along with the amazing hospitality prompted the tone for a great experience. Some of our favorite wines were the 2019 Drangon’s Tooth, which label showcases the Welsh Dragon to honor Catherine Trefethen and her heritage, and the 2019 OKD Five. The OKD stands for Oak Knoll District and the Five stands for the 5 grapes they use for the blend which in 2019 were Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. We also really enjoyed the 2022 Pinot Noir S.I.N. (Summer in Napa) Rosé which on the palate showcased beautiful strawberry notes and their balanced and crisp 2022 Riesling.

If you are heading to Napa we hope that you are as fortunate as we were and get to enjoy a tasting and go inside the dragon’s lair at Trefethen Family Vineyards.