Stags' Leap Winery

Stags' Leap Winery traces its origins to 1893, when Horace Chase and his wife Minnie Mizner Chase established the estate on what is now Silverado Trail in the heart of the Stags Leap District. The property's stone Manor House, built in 1892, still stands as a defining landmark of the 240-acre estate. After the Chase era, the property passed through the hands of Frances Grange, who operated it as a resort and ranch from 1913 to 1956, setting aside winemaking during that long intermission. The estate found its modern identity when Carl Doumani acquired it in 1970 and spent nearly three decades restoring it as a serious wine producer, deliberately championing Petite Sirah at a time when the variety was largely overlooked in Napa Valley.

• Founded 1893 by Horace Chase and Minnie Mizner Chase on Silverado Trail, Napa Valley
• Stone Manor House built 1892 remains standing on the 240-acre property
• Operated as resort and ranch under Frances Grange from 1913 to 1956, not as a winery
• Carl Doumani revived winemaking from 1970 to 1997 and established Petite Sirah as the estate signature

Stags' Leap Winery entered corporate ownership when Carl Doumani sold the estate to Beringer Wine Estates in 1997. Following a series of corporate reorganizations, the winery became part of Treasury Wine Estates in 2011, the Australian-based global wine company that also owns Beringer, Beaulieu Vineyard, Etude, Frank Family Vineyards, and Sterling Vineyards, among others. Day-to-day winemaking leadership rests with Ludovic Dervin, who joined as General Manager and Senior Winemaker in July 2022 and has continued to represent the estate in public and media through 2025. In May 2024, the winery announced a partnership as the Official Wine Partner of Cirque du Soleil Big Top Shows in the United States, with wines featured across 10 US markets from June 2024 through July 2025.

• Sold to Beringer Wine Estates in 1997; transitioned to Treasury Wine Estates through corporate reorganization in 2011
• Ludovic Dervin joined as General Manager and Senior Winemaker in July 2022
• Treasury Wine Estates portfolio includes Beringer, Beaulieu Vineyard, Etude, Frank Family, and Sterling Vineyards
• Named Official Wine Partner of Cirque du Soleil Big Top Shows in the US, announced May 2024, covering 10 markets

The estate vineyard covers 85 to 90 acres within the winery's 240-acre property and is divided into 23 individual blocks, each planted to varieties selected to match the specific soil type and sun exposure of that block. The dominant plantings are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petite Sirah. The jewel of the estate is the Ne Cede Malis block, a 5-acre parcel planted in 1929 as a field blend containing 16 or more varieties, with Petite Sirah predominating. These old vines, now nearly a century old, supply fruit for the winery's most prized and celebrated bottling. The entire estate falls within the Stags Leap District AVA, a sub-appellation of Napa Valley recognized for its distinctive porous volcanic soils and afternoon winds that temper the heat of the growing season.

• Estate vineyard is 85-90 acres divided into 23 blocks; total property is 240 acres
• Ne Cede Malis block: 5 acres planted 1929 as a field blend of 16 or more varieties, predominantly Petite Sirah
• Primary plantings are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petite Sirah across the 23 blocks
• Located within the Stags Leap District AVA, a sub-appellation of Napa Valley on Silverado Trail

The winery's stated approach centers on terroir-driven, traditional winemaking with minimal intervention, prioritizing natural fruit expression and the specific characteristics of each estate block. The 23-block structure of the vineyard gives winemaker Ludovic Dervin precise control over sourcing, allowing wines to reflect the variation in soil and exposure across the estate. Petite Sirah occupies a uniquely prominent position here: rather than treating it as a blending component, Stags' Leap Winery has elevated it to flagship status through the Ne Cede Malis bottling, drawing on nearly 100-year-old vines that deliver concentration and complexity well beyond what younger plantings can achieve. Tastings at the winery are conducted by appointment only with limited daily visitor capacity, reinforcing a careful, focused approach to hospitality as well as production.

• Philosophy is terroir-driven with minimal intervention, emphasizing natural fruit expression from estate blocks
• 23 distinct vineyard blocks allow variety-specific and block-specific winemaking decisions
• Ne Cede Malis Petite Sirah draws from vines planted in 1929, among the oldest in Napa Valley
• Tastings are appointment-only with limited daily visitor capacity

Stags' Leap Winery holds a rare position in Napa Valley history: it is one of California's earliest continuously recognized wine estates, with documented origins in 1893 and a property that has retained its historic structures and old-vine resources through more than 130 years of ownership changes. Its 1929 Petite Sirah field-blend block is a genuinely exceptional viticultural survivor, representing a style of planting that was common in early California viticulture but is now extremely rare. The winery also carries legal and cultural significance as the entity whose name was distinguished from that of its famous neighbor Stag's Leap Wine Cellars by a California Supreme Court ruling in 1986, a piece of Napa Valley lore that students of American wine history are expected to know. For anyone studying the Stags Leap District AVA or the broader arc of Napa Valley viticulture, this estate offers a compelling case study in continuity, varietal identity, and place.

• One of California's earliest wine estates, founded 1893, with the original 1892 stone Manor House still standing
• 1929 Ne Cede Malis field-blend block is among the oldest continuously producing vineyard parcels in Napa Valley
• 1986 California Supreme Court ruling legally distinguished Stags' Leap Winery from Stag's Leap Wine Cellars via apostrophe placement
• Situated within the Stags Leap District AVA, one of Napa Valley's most geologically distinctive sub-appellations