Like the original owner of the property, Richard Graeserís father was also a doctor, as were his grandfather and great grandfather, but he, himself, had no intention of following the medical path. "I had no desire to be around all those sick people. As a young man, I joined the Marines and wound up as an infantry officer at Camp Pendleton. After the service, I moved to the Imperial Valley and began the life of a farmer. My mother lived here, but she also owned the property there in the valley, and I planted watermelon, lettuce and other vegetables. Sometimes we made a lot of money farming and sometimes we made a little. I spent 25 years there, and toward the end I made a pile of money and expanded to 3,000 acres. That was mistake." Eventually forced out of farming by labor problems, Graeser enrolled in night school in San Diego thinking he would acquire a Masters degree in business administration. He wasnít looking forward to entering the corporate world, though, and taking orders from someone else, which he hadnít done since his Marine Crops days. "There wasnít much demand for ex-farmers," says Graeser. In 1984 a number of life-altering events occurred for Graeser and his family. First, his father passed away, so Graser came to Calistoga to assist his mother in settling her affairs. When she also died a short time later, Graeser and his wife, Celeste, decided to stay on at the former Cole property, which he had now inherited. They planted vineyards along the slopes and in among the rustic buildings that once housed the elaborate Cole hatchery. On the hillsides surrounding the old 45-acre estate, Graeser planted 9.5 acres of grapes - mostly cabernet sauvignon, a few acres of cabernet franc and some merlot for blending purposes. The first harvest was in í87. "I had taken some wine making classes, bought the equipment and just started making wine," he says with a grin. Today, the cabernet sauvignon represents his largest output, with some chardonnay and semillion in small quantities. Most of his wines are classic Bordeaux-style blends - about 2,000 cases in all. |
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Graeser Winery 255 Petrified Forest Road Calistoga, CA 94515 Phone: (707) 942-4437 Directions | Calistoga | Napa Valley |
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