Grace Family Vineyards (not to be confused with Grace Vineyards in China or Grace Wines in Japan) was our 500th visit with a Napa Valley based winery or brand and as a result was a significant personal milestone. We had researched this winery for a long time; besides the top reviews of their wine, we knew about their remarkable international humanitarian efforts. After leaving a meeting with Dick Grace you cannot help but be touched by his passion, generosity, energy, inspiration and ability to use his winery to do what few people in this world are able to do – make a difference in the lives of ordinary people on an international scale. They were one of the first premium and boutique wineries in Napa Valley – charging $25/bottle for some of their earliest vintages which at the time was among the most expensive in the valley.
Dick was born in Honolulu Hawaii; his grandfather John Grace was co-founder with his brother Walter of Grace Brothers, a business they started in the 1920s brokering sales involving construction equipment and materials. The company later incorporated in 1931 and began selling and renting various equipment. They continued to grow acquiring additional companies related to paving and construction. Over the years they have been involved in most of Hawaii’s major construction projects including building freeways and have paved the majority of Hawaii’s roads. Today the company has a number of offices and subsidiaries in Hawaii (on multiple islands) and is known as Grace Pacific LLC. And they are part of an organization with an acronym non-related to the Napa Valley, called NAPA (the National Asphalt Pavement Association). They are headquartered in Kailua, near Honolulu with multiple locations throughout the state.
Dick’s family first came to Napa Valley in the mid 1970s and like a number of vintners in the valley we’ve met with; his foray into vineyards and winemaking was purely accidental. As Dick admits he never originally had the “green thumb” – his extent of growing was a few radish seeds in a petri dish in Biology class which promptly germinated and then died the next day. This is ironic considering his son Kirk managed the Grace Family vineyards for many years. One year, Dick attended a tasting at Freemark Abbey; the owner of Wine Country Inn at the time, Ned Smith (son Jeff operates Hourglass Winery), showed him a property that housed a large run-down Victorian built in 1881; much of the property was in a high level of neglect. After looking at the property for merely 15 minutes Dick and his wife Ann decided to immediately purchase it; their decision led to a vision which would eventually become one of Napa Valley most sought after wines.
When we caught up with Dick Grace he had just returned from a long trip to Asia, part of which was focused on efforts to help victims of a terrible earthquake in Sichuan, China that occurred that year. He spoke of meeting a policeman who ran into a burning building after the earthquake to rescue a child. He came back out with the child, already partially on fire – threw the kid to a bystander and immediately ran back into the building to get another child in what was a total selfless act. Dick spent 4 years in the military and now travels the world for his Grace Family Foundation; he knows and has seen his share of heroism. He spreads his help around globally including to medical clinics, orphanages, cafeterias, food for schools, eye doctors and getting people off the streets and trained for job skills. A thick album full of photos is a testament to those his foundation has helped containing photos of injured or otherwise neglected small children shown next to pictures of their smiling faces, taken much later in life. The contrast between these photos is enough to convince anyone the power someone has in their grasp to help others.
Dick is not a hands-off helper; he is often on site of major natural disasters finding out where his foundation can be most useful. Case in point was after the 2004 tsunami he was on a small island in the middle of the Andaman Ocean helping 16,000 survivors of the 24,000 who lived here before the tsunami. At the time of initial meeting, Dick was 70, an age when many people are already retired however, then and even presently, he keeps a packed schedule and is busier than people half his age. In addition, his foundation runs several major projects including a medical clinic in Katmandu Nepal which sees hundreds of clients daily. Under Dick & Ann’s ownership, Grace Family used their wine as a vehicle to help close the gap between those who are needy and those that are not… using “wine as a catalyst for healing the planet”. Due to his wine, he has met people in positions to financially help from around the world who are now part of his humanitarian efforts. Initially he was more focused on fundraising and then distributing the money; now he hand-picks places and projects to support as well as devoting his efforts to raising consciousness about charitable endeavors. He often brings potential donors with him on trips. As Dick says, for the cost of one bottle of wine at a fine restaurant you can educate, clothe and feed well, a child for an entire year. That helps put his charity efforts in perspective….it doesn’t take much.
Over lunch in the mid 1970s a friend told Dick that part of his land would make a wonderful vineyard. Thinking this would be a good experience for the family with no thoughts about any commercial wine ventures, they planted 1 acre of vines. Jim Barbour (very early in his career) and well-respected viticulturist Laurie Wood planted the first vines in 1976. Their philosophy in the late 1970s regarding the spacing of grapevines was ahead of their time. They felt that grapevines need adversity based on competition, resulting in less per plant yields but perhaps a larger yield per acre. Therefore, they planted the vines very close together, remarkably more so than the spacing at most vineyards at that time in Napa Valley. Tighter spacing, including between each row and between each vine, with careful canopy management, certainly is more labor intensive.
During Dick and Ann’s ownership, harvest was always a fun time on the property focused on friends and family helping pick the grapes. Each year more than 100 people would show up to help with the crush – with a number coming from around the world.
The first harvest from the Grace Family property was in 1978; that year they brought the grapes to Caymus winery in bins sitting in the back of a number of station wagons. These grapes were going to be used in a blend for Caymus but after Charles Wagner the owner of Caymus tasted the fruit, he decided it was such good quality that it deserved to be made as standalone wine; Caymus bottled this as Grace Family Cabernet Sauvignon through the 1982 vintage. A young Randy Dunn was Caymus’s winemaker at that time.
The first vintage bottled under Grace Family was in 1983; the Grace’s converted an old barn on their property into a small but functional winery. The winery has evolved over the years; today it houses several permanent small lot concrete and stainless steel tanks with two additional stand-alone stainless steel tanks if needed. The winery is located directly next to the upper block; the closet row of vines literally touches the back of the winery building. Only the highest quality French oak is used with aging ranging anywhere from 18 to 40 months. Dick told us one vintage was in oak for 40 months. The wines are fermented using indigenous yeasts already living on the grape skins, sulphur additions during aging are kept to a minimum and the wines are neither fined nor filtered prior to bottling. The following winemakers have crafted Grace’s own wines, listed in chronological order: Gary Galleron, Randy Dunn, Heidi Barrett, Gary Brookman and currently Helen Keplinger. Regardless of winemaker, a consistency of site is always expressed in the Grace Family wines.
Helen’s story of how she first met Dick and Ann is one of the most serendipitous stories in all of Napa Valley. Serendipity is more common for well-connected individuals within a specific geographical range. We often experience this in Napa Valley. However, it is far more noteworthy when it involves a random meeting in another country, whose interaction eventually becomes bound in Napa Valley years later, and when multiple pieces from different puzzles all align when there is no obvious reason they should.
Before she was a winemaker, Helen spent a year volunteering in Thailand, teaching English to children in a small town well north of Bangkok. At the end of her commitment she flew to Nepal to hike the Gokyo Ri Trek. During her time in Namche Bazar at an elevation of 11,286 feet she visited what was the highest elevation bakery on the planet. While sitting in the bakery, she spotted a bottle of Grace Family on one of the neighboring tables. She was already familiar with their wines; just seeing this bottle made her realize how much she had missed wine while working in Thailand. She introduced herself and quickly found herself talking to Dick and Ann Grace who were part of a group in Nepal providing assistance to schools in the local villages. She took a photograph with them before they parted ways on separate treks.
Years later, while working in Napa Valley with winemaker Heidi Peterson, she visited the Grace Family property several times. She would often drive by and say to herself, “I would love to make wine from this vineyard someday”. That day eventually arrived. Dick interviewed several winemakers including Helen. She asked him if he remembered the first time they had met. He did not. She left the interview thinking it went very well. Within 30 minutes Dick called her and offered her the position of being his winemaker. That was in 2014. The circle had been closed from that random and fortuitous chance meeting in Nepal.
Grace Family Vineyards is about 4 acres with slightly more than two acres planted to 100% varietal Grace clone Cabernet Sauvignon. Two small and highly distinctive blocks grow on the bench-land hillsides of their property north of St. Helena. The grapes for Grace Family Cabernet Sauvignon come from both of these blocks. Both blocks have been farmed organically since they were planted including never using herbicides or pesticides.
The lower block was replanted in 2017 after two years of carefully flagging and monitoring vines for disease. Propagation occurred from only the healthiest of the vines. The tight spacing was preserved but the row direction was changed. And three short rows grow in homage to Dick with this block called, “my vineyard”. The upper block was planted in 1994; through a number of efforts including hand tilling the previously highly compacted soil, the vines have been rejuvenated and despite their age, production and quality have actually increased. Respect the soil means respecting the soul of the property. The vines are farmed with precision, plant by plant.
Despite such a small property, there is a remarkable diversity of soil types with dramatic differences between their upper (original) and lower block (originally planted in 1988). The lower block features a layer of ash and cobble while the upper block features rust colored and rocky volcanic soils. And this is reflected in the lots from each block; the upper block tends to produce wines with more structure and texture and floral contributions while the lower block contributes wines with a consistent fresh character, regardless of vintage.
Transition in Ownership
In April 2019, Kathryn (Kate) and Jeremy Green acquired Grace Family Vineyards including the winery, property and brand. Kate’s background is in management consulting and Jeremy founded and is the portfolio manager of Redmile Group, LLC, a significant investment firm whose primary portfolio is health care. He is also the board chair for Prince’s Trust USA, whose parent organization was started by King Charles (then Prince Charles of Wales) focusing on assisting young people in need with programs and services available in more than 20 countries.
Keplinger made the initial introduction between the Green’s and the Grace’s.
This was not the first property they owned in Napa Valley. Their first acquisition was on the other side of the valley, east of St. Helena; they had no intention of ever owning a small wine brand. But plans changed. They purchased another property in the foothills of the Mayacamas mountains next to Heath Canyon. They hired Keplinger to help with vineyard replanting. This property is now known as Heath Canyon Ranch; previously it was the Van Asperen Vineyard located off of White Sulphur Springs Road, west of St. Helena. This site was named after the Ernie and Virginia Van Asperen who used to own this property; they were founders of Round Hill wines and of Rutherford Hill Winery. Incidentally the Van Asperen’s primary residence was located on top of a knoll on this property they called Round Hill which was the namesake for their wine brand.
Beginning in 2016, a bottling of Cornelius Grove Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from the Heath Canyon Ranch was added to the Grace Family portfolio. This wine was named in homage to Cornelius (Connie) Corbett, the most recent Corbett family member to oversee vineyard management on the property.
For many years, Corbett would bottle home wine under the name Connie Corbett Vineyards; some of his wines included Chardonnay, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay, Merlot and Zinfandel. And his wines did well in the local Home Winemakers Challenge; for example his 1998 Viognier earned best of show at the 2000 Napa Home Winemakers Challenge. An article written by Pierce Carson in The Napa Valley Register (the first one to ever give The Napa Wine Project a plug) dated Thursday July 27, 2000 indicated that, “We’ve come to recognize St. Helena’s Connie Corbett as one of the finest producers of Viognier – amateur or professional – in this valley”. An article about a year earlier, also written by Carson, stated, “his Viognier is better than most on the market today”.
After the Green’s purchased this property, they sought the advice of several individuals including Keplinger, David Abreu and geologist David G. Howell, co-author of The Winemaker’s Dance. Howell lived on the property for several weeks while mapping its geological nuances. The property is an exciting mélange of uplifted soil, a union of volcanic soils and conglomerate rocks, fractured sandstone and alluvial deposits from an ancient creek, all centered around a a natural amphitheater. And the round ‘hill’ on the property in geological terms is called a knocker, referring to a rocky rounded Franciscan bedrock that stands above the rest of the terrain.
Thirty acres of vines are planted on site including terracing on the ’round hill’, but Grace Family is only using grapes from about 7 acres; at the time of their purchase the grapes were all being sold. Contracts have since been honored and completed; now all the grapes are used exclusively by Grace Family. Farming practices were updated, diseased vines were identified and addressed, decisions were made about changing some of the row orientation during replants and appropriate rootstock was matched to the soils. This has been a slow and thoughtful process, requiring lots of patience and commitment. The property experiences large diurnal shifts with significantly cooler temperatures at night. According to Keplinger, grapes from this property produce wines that generally feature a lower pH and are balanced and fresh.
Since the Green’s purchased Grace Family, with help from Keplinger and Master Gardener Kendall Smith, a 0.7-acre block of what was mostly abandoned Cabernet Sauvignon growing at Cornelius Grove, dating back to 1957, has been carefully and thoughtfully invigorated. This is among the oldest Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa Valley; other old Cabernet Sauvignon sites include MacDonald in Oakville with vines also dating back to the 1950s. And Scarecrow at the end of Niebaum Lane has an approximately 2-acre block of original Cabernet Sauvignon vines dating back to the mid 1940s.
Taking a moment to be philosophical and reach for more beyond their exceptional wines, Grace Family is about instinct and going with your gut feeling. Even if this sometimes means having to go against the grain. Dick Grace remained faithful to his inner calling and never got lost in outside noise. Grace Family is a lesson in staying true to yourself. And now Kate and Jeremy are the stewards, moving forward incrementally, continuing the story, while preserving the legacy of Grace, but with their own calculated measures and attention to detail.
Select Wines
Grace Family produces four 100% varietal Cabernet Sauvignon wines: Grace Family Estate from their property in St. Helena (200-300 cases), Cornelius Grove Cabernet Sauvignon (250-350 cases), a tiny single block bottling of their old-vine Cabernet Sauvignon, (20 cases) and their most recent bottling, Reliquus (400-450 cases).
These wines are inspired, fresh, balanced, highly revealing of terroir and an expression of detail and precision in both the vineyard and the winery. Grace Family has always strayed away from high alcohol, highly extracted wines, rather focusing on harvesting on a row by row basis, when flavors are fully developed but before sugar levels spike. And they stand the test of time; at a retrospective tasting of Grace Family with vintages from the early 2000s until 2015, including wines from some of their neighbors, Kate and Helen recalled the Grace Family bottlings were like a ‘time capsule’, they never followed market trends or critics.
The 2021 Grace Family Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby in color; layered with a noticeable depth of aromatics, the bouquet is a union of fruit and savory attributes with plum, cherry, dark raspberry, a ferrous/earthy character, old cedar, dried herbs include white sage and chalk. Minerally. As it opens, it evolves to a note of dried tobacco and becomes a bit more floral including of violets and rose petals. On the palate there are flavors of dark plum, blackberry, dark raspberry and dark cocoa. We love the texture on this bottling; it features rounded, lightly gravelly, cocoa powdery grained tannins with an already well-integrated feel on the finish. And this is especially compelling considering the vintage and its youth. Finishes with a light dusty and chalky character. Shows plenty of freshness. Graceful. Elegant. This wine has balance, depth and length and is remarkably elegant. This bottling is a blend of grapes from both their lower block and upper block but is strongly weighted towards grapes from the upper block.
The 2021 Grace Family Cornelius Grove Cabernet Sauvignon; this wine is deep ruby, opaque and sports an amaranthine rim. Our initial notes on the bouquet are floral, herbal and minerally. Breaking these down further, there are scents of dried sage, an iron-like character, water being poured on hot dry slate rock, chalkboard, library book, lavender, lilacs and dried tobacco leaf. Superbly balanced. It is ripe but its freshness dominates. This is an elegant bottling. Finishes brightly lit with flavors of plum, red cherry, currant and raspberry. Lingers with chalk, and a note of dried herbs including smoked sage. A red-fruited tartness. Immediately invites another sip. The tannins are fully coating and linger with a subtle but persistent drying character. The first vintage of Cornelius Grove was from 2019 although wines were made prior to this year but never bottled for release. This wine is built to age. Lively with lots of movement due to its lifted acidity. 14.8% ABV.
The 2021 Reliquus Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena; this wine is deep ruby in color. The attractive aromatics include chalk, dark chocolate, cocoa powder, and higher toned red fruits including Satsuma plum, red cherry, raspberry and beautiful florals including lilacs, violets and lavender. Cocoa powder. It is drinking in a sweet spot 4 years post vintage; on the palate there are flavors of blackberry, dark plum, dark cherry, blueberry and boysenberry. And lingers with assorted dried herbs including a kiss of bay leaf. The tannins are grainy and gravelly and fully coat the palate with a softness but also a simultaneous textural chewiness. Their feel outpaces the fruit on the finish. Juicy. Lingers brightly lit and mouth watering.
The inception for Reliquus came about naturally from blending sessions; every year Helen would set aside certain lots which didn’t quite fit into the profiles of the Grace Family or Cornelius bottlings. She suggested that some of these lots would make distinctive wines on their own merits, if they were bottled separately. Looking to produce a wine at a lower price point, target premium restaurants, create an approachable wine in its youth and create a blend of both properties, they bottled Reliquus for the first time in 2019. Reliquus is a Latin word referring to remaining or surviving.
During our first visit with Dick, we tried several barrel samples of the 2007 vintage, the first being the 100% Grace Family Cabernet Sauvignon from their estate vineyards. While still very young, this wine already has their noted elegance in the bouquet with a core of layered beautiful fruit that carries all through the palate with flavors of black cherry and plum with a noticeable dustiness anchoring the finish. This wine is soft, elegant supple and very smooth.
The 2007 Grace Family Blank Vineyard was always sourced from a vineyard located in Rutherford and was planted with cuttings from the Grace property; the site has its own unique soil and microclimate. This wine contains more of a spicy herbal note to the bouquet, but it is just as soft and refined as the wine from their estate vineyard. Historically this wine takes a bit longer to evolve than the estate vineyard, but at the time of our tasting, already showed a core of rich fruit on the palate. Grace Family no longer produces the Blank bottling; the last vintage was in 2018.
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The Grace’s have long used their mailing list as their primary distribution of wine. With several thousand people waiting to get on this list, the best way to buy their wine is online – try K&L Wine Merchants or Wally’s Wine or you can sometimes find certain vintages at some of the high-end wine shops in the Napa Valley including ACME Wine in St. Helena or V Wine Cellars in Yountville. All large format bottles are kept exclusively for charity with some of their donations topping the $100,000 mark. The Grace’s were involved in the original 1981 Napa Valley Wine Auction which takes place every June and always raises millions of dollars for local non-profits. In 1985 an offering of their 1981 Grace Family Estate Cabernet Sauvignon was sold at that year’s Napa Valley Wine Auction for $10,000, the highest amount of any lot that year.
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When we first met Dick, he had given away over 9,700 watches helping spread his humanitarian efforts; each watch contains a simple message “Be Optimystic” which is a statement that is essentially integral to their success. As of our latest update to this profile, he has given away more than 12,000 watches. We highly value the watch he gave us. For more information or to join their mailing list, visit: www.gracefamilyvineyards.com.
Grace Pacific, Hawaii
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