Heritage School Vineyards. The roots of Heritage School Vineyards date back to the previous ownership when the property and wine brand was called Harris Estate Vineyards, founded by the husband wife team of Mike & Treva Harris. We first met with Mike at the estate and then later followed up by tasting at their appointment only outlet – Salon St. Helena in downtown which was only open for a short while (now closed).
Mike & Treva purchased 48 wooded acres here in 1997 and then cleared 7 acres for planting vines; the property features an elevation change of approximately 550 feet. The vineyards are located in a unique part of Napa Valley among hills in the Mayacamas mountains within a short drive of Calistoga. Nearby vineyard neighbor, Mike Grgich of Grgich Hills Winery has farmed this area for many years and some of the grapes from Mike Grgich’s vineyard were used in the 1973 Chateau Montelena Zinfandel, the same vintage but a different variety than the winning entry at the Paris Tasting of 1976. Also, a nearby estate vineyard provides grapes for the premium brand, LEVY & MCCLELLAND. This is a fine vineyard neighborhood, albeit well off the radar of most visitors to Napa Valley.
Franz Valley School Road, Franz Valley Road and Franz Valley are named in honor of Captain Frederick Franz who settled in nearby Franz Valley, Sonoma County in 1857 with his wife Sarah. The deed to his property was dated January 31, 1857. He built a basic road into Knights Valley which was eventually known as the Captain’s Road and constructed a home. Their daughter Minnie was born in the home and lived here almost all of her life until passing in 1931. The home lasted until 1964 when it was completely burned in the Hanley Fire. Frederick and Sarah are buried in the St. Helena Cemetery.
Serious wine enthusiasts David and Linda Jenkins first visited the property in 2007. In 2014 they acquired Harris Estate Vineyards from the Harris’s and then renamed the property and wine brand to Heritage School Vineyards. The last we heard, Mike and Treva moved to Park City, Utah.
Three uniquely different vineyards are located on the property – all renamed after the Jenkins acquired the property: Missiaen’s Hillside Vineyard (arguably the best views from the property), Casey’s Lakeview Vineyard and Julie’s Creekside Vineyard (planted on site of the former school ball field). Each vineyard is primarily planted with the same clone of Cabernet Sauvignon (337), however each vineyard features unique soils and microclimates translating to distinctive wines, each representative of the site.
Missiaen’s Vineyard features red very rocky soil reminiscent of the soil types you might find across the valley on Howell Mountain or even in parts of Oakville. The wines produced from this vineyard are often high in fruit flavors with higher alcohol levels. The Lakeview Vineyard is situated in very chalky soil and produces wines that often show spices on the palate. Julie’s Creekside Vineyard produces a Bordeaux style wine with good acidity; it is this wine of their three vineyards that perhaps has the longest aging potential. And all three vineyards are not harvested at the same time – with time between the first and last harvest often lasting up to a month.
For small production and small acreage the dramatic differences in their vineyards certainly make this property unique. Because of the soil types, these vineyards are a classic example of how different terroir influences the wine flavors and structure. After walking the vineyards for the first time their original winemaker Mark Herold said, “If I can’t make great wine from this fruit, you should fire me!”
Thomas Brown has been the winemaker here since 2006; Thomas is one of the busiest wine makers in Napa Valley. Several producers have showed us lists of all the Napa brands that he consults for and or provides direct winemaking services; this is an extensive list. He is from South Carolina and developed an interest in wine while attending the University of Virginia where his major was not wine related (he studied English and Economics).
He moved to Napa Valley in 1996 and took a job at All Seasons Bistro in Calistoga (known for their California cuisine, wine selection and long time in business – but unfortunately permanently closed in 2020). While there, Thomas met winemaker Ehren Jordan who was working for Larry Turley at the time of Turley Wine Cellars. Thomas took a job with Ehren in the cellar at Turley in 1997 – spent several years there before beginning his own career and starting to consult for various clients (some of which were clients that Ehren was already working with).
And within only 10 years of making wine in Napa Valley Thomas received two 100-point scores from Robert Parker – regardless of what your perception is of scores, creating several wines within a short period of time that receive 100 points from Parker was a watershed moment in Thomas’s consulting career.
Today Thomas is highly sought after for his winemaking services, experience and access to premium area vineyards. And while he was once the student, over the years he has become the teacher. We have met with a number of winemakers who worked under Thomas – and consider him one of their mentors. These are winemakers who have gone on to establish their own brands or consult for other Napa based brands.
Because there is no winery on the property, the wines are produced at another winery located near Calistoga on the Silverado Trail. Heritage School Vineyards barrel ages their wines using a 100% new French oak program with barrels all sourced from the same cooperage. Primarily the wines from all three vineyards are treated the same. Generally speaking, there are three factors that make great wines, the vineyard location, the winemaker, and the particular vintage. From a quality standpoint, Heritage School has certainly accomplished all three factors.
The estate’s first commercial Vintage was in 2002. Right out of the gate they earned a 94 rating from Robert Parker for their Trevas Vineyard wine (now called Missiaen’s Hillside Vineyard). At the time, Mike Harris had only one vineyard employee and was personally involved in all aspects of the vineyard management including dropping fruit, canopy management, trellising as well as harvest and final blending decisions.
Select Wines
The 2014 Missiaen’s Hillside Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is noticeably dark crimson in the glass (the darkest of all their 2014 wines). It is the highest vineyard on the property and features some of the lowest yielding vines with grapes that have a very high skin to juice ratio. This wine showcases darker fruit aromas along with a darker chocolate note on the bouquet and a slight savory quality including a hint of sage. Powerful but balanced on the palate this is a wine more robust in stature than their other wines from this vintage, but still features a pleasing seamless quality across the palate from start to finish. Lingers with gravely long-lasting tannins complemented by plenty of fruit.
The 2007 Harris Estate Cabernet Sauvignon from Jakes Vineyard (now called Julie’s Creekside Vineyard) was named after the Harris’s original black lab, Jake. This vintage has a very distinctive nose – its earthy, with notes of mushrooms, sweaty leather and black cherry. As the wine breathes a wonderful core of sweet fruit starts to show. The wine is very dark in the glass. The entry is soft, rounded and immediately, despite the 15% alcohol, you can tell this wine has decent acidity. The fruit is lively both on the bouquet and the pleasing palate shows notes of red licorice and tangy cherry.
The 2008 Harris Estate Indulgence is a blend of three Cabernet Sauvignon clones. It shows an appealing bouquet; the aromas are rich, offering red fruit scents accompanied by a slight dusty character. It’s an elegant nose but it simultaneously shows ripe California fruit with a hint of spiciness. The palate is bright, lively and features bright acidity. This wine has an especially long finish.
After the Jenkins purchased the property and label, they continued to produce individual wines from their three separate vineyards as well as their two non-estate wines bottled under the name Indulgence, a Cabernet Sauvignon from the Calistoga AVA and a Napa Valley Chardonnay. And each of their wines are named after their four daughters, Hannah, Casey, Julie and Missiaen.
The Former School
Heritage School is an appropriate name for the property; the Heritage School used to house a private boarding school for boys between the ages of 10-15. The school was founded in 1969 on the 170 acre Dixson Ranch owned at the time by Edward Dixson, who financed the operations in the early years. Dixson operated Dixson’s Distinctive Fashions in Menlo Park (a clothing store) in addition to owning this property.
Former runner for the 1968 U.S. Olympic Track and Field team in Mexico City, Ron Whitney was the headmaster at this school for 24 years starting in 1969 when he was only in his late 20s. He began coaching at Santa Rosa Junior College in the late 1970s eventually taking over as head coach for track and field in 1993. In 1967 Whitney was ranked number one in the world for the 400 meter intermediate hurdles. He probably would have ran on the 1972 Olympic team but an injury just prior to the Olympics that year derailed his plans and he later trained for the 1976 Olympics, doing much of his work at Bailey Field (SRJC). He would often speak to various local organizations. He currently lives in neighboring Sonoma County.
Whitney and his business partner Eric Boutacoff purchased Heritage Ranch in 1972 from Dixson.
Heritage School grew from 8 students to around 50 students with a full time faculty staff of 13 (all holding Master’s degrees). And some of the teachers lived on site. Former bantam weight boxer Ray Loretta was the chef for a number of years. Students were housed in several bunkhouses/dormitories and or apartments and ranged in age from 8 to 16 years old. The property also featured a dining room (which doubled as a study hall in the evenings), a kitchen, lounge room, several classrooms, a small library and a gym which also was used for boxing. There was even a student store, barber and post office. An article in the The St. Helena Star dated December 10, 1970, describes all the buildings as in a style of the California Gold Rush days.
The school has been described as ‘unusual’, ‘different’ and rustic. Time at the school was extremely structured including strict wakeup and sleep times, meal times and study sessions, perhaps a reflection of Whitney’s own structured regiment he kept while training. The property was not only used as a school but also for retreats and hosting various performers. In 1971 a group of 93 Japanese students visited California as part of an overseas educational tour and stayed at Mountain Home Ranch (burned down the 2017 Tubbs Fire); these students visited The Heritage School where playing frisbee was one of the highlights. In 1973 the school was used to host 20 priests from Russian and Syrian orthodox churches. That same year Heritage School hosted accomplished violinist Shelly Hammett. Another event included hosting a local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Participation in athletics was an important part of most students’ time at the Heritage School including running, baseball, basketball and football. Activities on site were numerous including use of the still existing 2-acre spring-fed pond for swimming, fishing, canoeing and raising pet ducks. In the early 1970s the school had what might have been the tallest badminton net on the planet; students cut down two trees on the property and fastened the net nearly 30 feet above the ground. In the mid 1980s the school was used to host open houses for the Napa Valley Tennis Camp.
Off campus visits and activities were also an integral part of the curriculum with various trips hosted primarily California but also other states in the Western U.S. and Canada. An article in The Napa Valley Register dated April 27, 1974 indicated the school’s trips in 1973 totaled 30,000 miles.
Winter Caravans were held every winter with trips to the Sierra Nevada mountains for snow activities including downhill and cross country skiing and snow camping. One trip in early 1974 was to Yosemite and involved time studying at the Yosemite Institute. Most trips involved outdoor experiences but some included visits to live theatre or local concerts. And with Whitney’s background in running, students of the Heritage School would run in the annual Blossom Hill Run held in Carneros in Napa Valley; in the mid 1970s, Whitney was the director of this race.An article in The St. Helena Star dated November 1, 1973 describes a special visit to Sterling Vineyards for 30 students of Heritage School. Sterling opened their tram for the first time in 1973; the students’ visit was soon after it had opened and was tied to learning about fermentation being taught in one of their science classes. The article describes the students as having an, “exciting ride up the funicular tram” with an inside look into the winery operations and visiting parts of the winery not open to the general public.
In 1972 through one of Whitney’s friends, Cecil the river otter was relocated to the property. Apparently Cecil enjoyed a career in Hollywood, with roles in several nature films. He grew up in an apartment and had access only to a swimming pool prior to the relocation. Other animals were donated and or raised on the property including chickens and horses.
The main building burned down in in the early morning of Friday September 10, 1992; its value was estimated to be about 1 million USD. The cause of the fire was thought to be a piece of clothing or bedding material that was left to close to an indoor heater. After a long run, the Heritage School declared bankruptcy in August 1994.
Several structures dating from when the school was operating are still standing including the old Victorian which previously served as the home for the headmaster and one of the administration buildings.
We have a personal connection to this property. For several years, (decades ago) mountain climber and guide Valentin Trenev used to help Ron manage the property and oversee the school. Val potentially helped save my life in Nepal during a serious bout of altitude sickness combined with food poisoning – recognizing the dangerous symptoms of altitude sickness and carrying me on his shoulders at midnight from 17,000 feet to a much lower elevation (with serious symptoms persisting all of the next day).
Val was also instrumental in setting up the rock-climbing areas on Mt. St. Helena in Robert Louis Stevenson State Park. And we see Val from time to time in Thailand, where he spends a good portion of the year these days and where we also have a house and spend our winter months.
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Heritage School Vineyards does not produce a lot of wine – about 1200 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon annually. As a result, the majority of their wine is distributed through their mailing list. You can occasionally find their wine locally at ACME wine shop in Saint Helena and on the wine list at Brix Restaurant. And sometimes the Jenkins pour the wines at local premium tastings, including Calistoga Food & Wine, an event held every year at Solage Resort. The wines have been highly regarded by wine critic Jeb Dunnuck.
Note: as of early 2023 this entire property including a Howard Backen designed home and vineyard was listed for sale on Sotheby’s International Realty. In 2024 it appears that the property has been taken off the market. We will keep a close eye on any potential sale and will update or archive this review if we discover more information.
Serious wine enthusiasts can request a visit to the estate. For more information and or to join one of the membership levels in their Club 225 (appropriately named after the address of the property), visit: www.heritageschoolvineyards.com
Sandy Vaughan says
MIKE and Triva
Are you still making your wine? Miss seeing you.
Sandy Vaughan
Michael Harris says
Hi Sandy,
Treva and I are living the good life, drinking lots of “old” Harris Estate and doing some fly fishing and bird hunting. We would love to see you and Paige. I talked to Clair Amonette yesterday and heard how they lost everything. I hope you and the beautiful Country Club came out ok. I miss the trips to Moultrie quail hunting, that was a great experience with great guys. Let’s try and touch base.
Neda Oromchian says
Hi Mike & Treva ,
I have been missing and thinking of you guys so often .!
Mike you were my role model in dentistry and I never forget how we met with Treva and you offered me my first job in your beautiful busy office in Milpitas ! I am grateful to you and Treva and love you both.
I saw your beautiful land for sale and I was sad because I knew how much you loved it and even more you loved making wine !
I hope you are both healthy and well and have many grandchildren to keep you busy everyday .
Send me best to everyone and I love to see you guys if you are ever back in SF. Please keep in touch if you still have my number or email !
Big hug to Treva and we have so much to catch up !🥂💐 with gratitude always
Neda Oromchian
Joshua Morton says
I attended the Heritage School for Boys from 1983 through 1986. It was a place of abuse and evils, of which no one has any idea, except the boys who attended, and the perverse staff. Suicide, rape, torture, and starvation all occurred. It should be (and once was) burned to the ground.
Michael C Sadler says
I also attended Heritage school during that time, and Joshua Morton is correct. I myself was taken to Napa Coumty CPS after I was assaulted by one of Whitney’s ” Counselors”. Whitney himself liked to spank bare ass boys, so he most likely is looked at as some kind of good dude. I assure you he is not.