In our continuing series of Estate vineyard profiles, we are perhaps most nostalgic when we look back on the history of Marlee's Vineyard, the first estate ever planted by Duckhorn and our home vineyard. In fact, it was this 10-acre piece of land that captured Dan and Margaret Duckhorn's imagination and became the backdrop for their winemaking dreams.

The site that is now home to Marlee's Vineyard, as well as our winery, was a pig farm and dilapidated walnut orchard back in 1971. Vineyard Technical Services purchased the property to create a vineyard consulting company, and Dan was brought on as the general manager. At that time the wine industry in Napa Valley was experiencing a planting boom, and the property created a competitive advantage for the company, which used the land to grow nursery row-grafted vines in tightly spaced rows. The vines were dug up after one year while in their dormant stage and delivered to growers planting new vineyard sites. These more mature vines were heartier than bench-grafted vines and, therefore, had a higher success rate and commanded a premium price. Five large greenhouses were moved to the land to grow grapevines in which over 1.5 million vines were produced.

The small residence on the property (a house built in the 1950s) became the custom-farming headquarters. Many of you who have visited the winery over the years fondly remember the house as the site of the Duckhorn Vineyards offices. Our home for 22 years, it was donated to the local fire department for training exercises and burned to the ground in 1998 to make way for our current Estate House.

By the mid-1970s the planting frenzy had slowed and the vineyard consulting company closed its doors. The five years Dan Duckhorn spent studying the wine industry and consulting for other vineyards was about to pay off. In 1976, Dan and Margaret, with three other families, formed an investment group and purchased the property for $50,000, or $5,000 per acre, and created Duckhorn Vineyards. The price was quite a steal when you compare it to today's average price per acre for unplanted, premium Napa Valley vineyard land of $80 to $100 thousand per acre. One of the original nursery employees, Jerry Watarida, stayed on when Duckhorn Vineyards was founded to oversee viticulture and bookkeeping; Tom Rinaldi was soon hired as our first winemaker.

In 1981, we decided to plant our first Estate vineyard. The site was laid out and planted to Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, with the first vintage harvested in 1983. The grapes from this site quickly became the backbone of our white wine program. Unfortunately, the vines became infected with Phylloxera due to nonresistant rootstock and also developed Pierce's disease. We were forced to rip out the vines in 1995 and replant the vineyard in 1997. We saved some of the bud wood from the original vineyard and used it to plant a small section of 70 vines that we named "Jerry's Block," in honor of the man who had tended the site for more than 20 years, until his death in 1994.

The Napa River marks the vineyard's western border; winter floods have deposited layers of silty river-bottom soil over time, making for a rich, well-drained, sandy-loam profile. This unique soil structure makes it a fertile location to grow almost everything. Through the years Jerry's green thumb cultivated beautiful roses, peaches, berries, cherries and, of course, grapevines. The site is ideally suited to grow Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, but because of the richness of the soil we must take special measures to control the vigor of the vines. Left on their own, they would thrive in this fertile location, focusing all their energy on producing foliage. Vigorous growth can result in green, stemmy characteristics in the finished wines. To contend with this challenge, the vines were planted on a low-vigor rootstock in a very dense configuration to force the vines to compete. In addition, we stress the vines through minimal irrigation.

There couldn't be a more optimal situation than harvesting grapes only yards away from the winery - this proximity allows the fruit to be picked at the peak of ripeness. We go through the vineyard several times on different days, picking only the ripe fruit with each pass; then we transport the fruit immediately to the press, allowing the wine to retain the freshest flavors. We have been very pleased with the results of this unique situation. Because this vineyard is close to our hearts, we named it for one of our winery's founders, Margaret Duckhorn. Her friends and family call her by her nickname, Marlee, and it seemed only fitting to name this site for her.

We hope you will come and visit us here at the winery, and enjoy the beautiful view of Marlee's Vineyard... while you sip a glass of the wine created there.