Wineries in Napa Valley

Graeser Winery
Leaning up against an old wine barrel, Richard Graeser is the first to admit he started out not too long ago as a complete novice of wine make, "But," he adds, "I must have done something right, because my second vintage release was selected Wine of the Week by the LA Times." Graeser has continued to win awards for his wines; his’89 cabernet franc, for example, an estate bottling won a silver medal at the Los Angeles Country Fair and tied for best cabernet franc for the region at the California State Fair. He’s gone from neophyte to expert in less than a decade.

The winery is on the site of the former Cole family property and was originally christened by the Coles "La Perlita Del Monte," that is, "The Little Pearl of the Mountain." Winding up the wooded drive from Petrified Graeser Winery also winds back in time to the late 1800’s.

Very little seems to have changed since Dr. Cole first built his estate in 1886 - some say for this asthmatic daughter, others say he led a bawdy life and wanted more freedom from the spotlight. In any case, the house, barns and out buildings remain intact. In the spacious foyer of the main house lit overhead by dramatic stained glass skylight, the visitor may be greeted by Richard Graeser himself, a handsome man flanked by two Great Danes. The picturesque Cole property passed into the hands of the Graeser family back in 1958.