Winston Hill

View of Winston Hill

Rising nearly 500 feet above the valley floor in the prestigious Rutherford viticultural appellation, Winston Hill is located along the east side of the Napa Valley along the Vaca Mountain range. Winston Hill is located on owner Rich Frank’s personal estate.

The soil consists of well-drained, volcanic deposits and sandstone. Due to its southwest exposure, Winston Hill has a high radiant value. Typical warm summer days give way to cool nights with soft mountain breezes. The vineyard has an average rainfall of 24-36 inches per year.

Approximately 20 acres of vines were planted on Winston Hill starting in1991. Cabernet Sauvignon is the primary variety, along with small amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Sangiovese. Through site specific vineyard management, several clonal selections are matched with the appropriate rootstocks. Extensive hand labor balances the vine canopy and maintains the yields to produce rich and concentrated wines.

Winston Hill produces its namesake wine and the flagship for Frank Family Vineyards along with being the foundation for our Rutherford Reserve and Napa Valley Sangiovese.

Lewis Vineyards

View of the Winery

Located in the heart of Napa Carneros, near the shores of San Pablo Bay, Lewis Vineyard is 138 acres of gently rolling hills. The predominant maritime influence of the Pacific Ocean create the cool temperature, fog and wind that make Carneros ideally suited for the growing of world class Chardonnay. Lewis Vineyard consists primarily of shallow dense clay loam soils, receiving only 20 inches of rainfall annually.

Overall the maritime influence and the restricting soils result in extremely low yields, producing grapes with strong character and balanced acidity. The practice of cool climate viticulture and the planting of small cluster Dijon clones contribute to an intensity that is unmatched in the Chardonnay of Lewis Vineyard.

S&J Vineyards

Alternate view of Winston Hill

Adding to our vineyard diversity, we have planted 50 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon east of the Vaca Mountain range in Napa’s Capell Valley. In the effort to produce the highest quality grapes in our newest vineyard development, we have included the most advanced farming techniques, such as high-density spacing, clonal-rootstock variation, temperature and moisture monitoring.

The soils are fertile, well drained, clay-loam based reminiscent of the Rutherford Bench. The cold nights balance with the warm days, ensuring the long-even ripening of our Cabernet Sauvignon.

Adding to our collection of vineyards, S&J Vineyards, continues our efforts in winegrowing to make the best possible wines from soil to bottle. The grapes from this vineyards will be for Frank Family Vineyards’ Napa Valley Cabernet starting with the 2004 vintage.