Stony Hill Vineyard

San Francisco advertising executive Fred McCrea and his wife Eleanor purchased 160 hillside acres on Spring Mountain in 1943, intending the land as a summer retreat. After World War II, Fred decided to plant grapes. In 1947, the couple planted 8 acres of Riesling, 5 acres of Pinot blanc, and 6 acres of Chardonnay, using cuttings sourced from the Wente family in the Livermore Valley; Riesling cuttings came by way of Inglenook Vineyards. The Pinot blanc was later removed and Gewurztraminer added. The winery building was erected in 1951, with Fred McCrea carving bunches of grapes on the doors. The first vintage was a 1952 Chardonnay, labeled Pinot Chardonnay as was common at the time. A handwritten mailing list was started in the early 1950s to sell wine to San Francisco Bay Area friends, and it grew over generations — Napa Valley's first winery mail-order program.

• When planting began in 1947, only about 200 acres of Chardonnay were growing across all of California
• The winery was one of the first new estates established after the repeal of Prohibition and the first Napa Valley winery devoted solely to white wines
• Fred McCrea died in 1977; after Eleanor McCrea died in 1991, the estate passed to their son Peter McCrea and eventually to his daughter Sarah McCrea as company president

Stony Hill achieved something rare in mid-century California: a cult following built entirely on restraint. While the broader Napa Valley leaned into power and extraction, the McCreas crafted lean, vividly acidic Chardonnays that rewarded patience. Wines that seemed tight and austere in youth would blossom after six to eight years into savory, nutty, toasty expressions of remarkable complexity. The estate's influence extended beyond its own wines: in 1953, Stony Hill provided Chardonnay cuttings to the newly established Hanzell Vineyards in Sonoma, and those 1953 vines, now known as the Ambassador's 1953 Vineyard, are considered the oldest continuously producing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines in the United States. From 1972 to 2018, Stony Hill also produced a Semillon dessert wine, Semillon de Soleil, sold exclusively through Corti Brothers wine shop in Sacramento.

• The Chardonnay cuttings Stony Hill provided to Hanzell in 1953 originated from Wente Vineyard in Livermore, tracing California Chardonnay's lineage to a single source
• Stony Hill was the first Napa Valley winery to implement mail-order wine sales, a model now standard across the industry
• Some Riesling vines planted in 1948 remain in cultivation, cited as possibly the oldest Riesling vines in production in North America

For most of its history, Stony Hill pursued the same winemaking path: grapes harvested on the early side of ripeness, malolactic fermentation discouraged, little or no new oak, and aging in decades-old neutral wooden vessels. Fred McCrea was the founding winemaker; Mike Chelini joined as assistant winemaker in 1972 and took over as head winemaker after Fred's death in 1977, holding that role until his retirement in spring 2019, a tenure of more than 45 years. His consistency across decades was a key factor in Stony Hill's identity. After the Lawrence Wine Estates acquisition in December 2020, Jaimee Motley served briefly as winemaker before Reid Griggs took over in 2021. Griggs, who holds a Masters in Viticulture and Enology from UC Davis and has experience at Harlan, Ridge, Dalla Valle, and Macdonald To Kalon, has introduced subtle evolutions: a small percentage of malolactic fermentation is now permitted, and vessels include concrete eggs and larger foudres alongside neutral oak, with extended lees aging for added texture.

• Chelini retired in spring 2019 after more than 45 years at Stony Hill; he was named Winemaker Emeritus and passed away in late 2023
• Under Reid Griggs, the 2021 L'Escalier was introduced: a field blend of 40% old-vine Riesling (planted 1948), 30% Gewurztraminer, and 30% Chardonnay, fermented with natural yeasts and aged in concrete egg, neutral oak, and stainless steel
• The 2020 wildfire season forced Stony Hill to produce only white wines to avoid smoke taint; red wines in 2021 used fruit from other Lawrence estate vineyards while estate Cabernet vines were still maturing

Stony Hill today produces four single-estate wines from its Spring Mountain property: Chardonnay, L'Escalier (the Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay, and Riesling blend), Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The winery also sources two single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons from Howell Mountain under the Lawrence Wine Estates umbrella. Cabernet Sauvignon was first planted at Stony Hill in 2004 and the first commercially released Stony Hill Cabernet Sauvignon was the 2009 vintage. A major replanting began in 2020 to rebalance the vineyard toward red varieties better suited to warming temperatures: Cabernet Sauvignon will occupy 14 acres, Cabernet Franc 5 acres, and Chardonnay 8.5 acres, reduced from 20 acres in 1990. The McCrea family home has been renovated into a tasting room and hospitality facility called The Residence at Stony Hill.

• The Cote Rouge Cabernet Sauvignon comes from iron-rich volcanic soils at the upper elevations of the estate; the 2022 L'Escalier received 98 points and was named among Decanter's Top 11 Wines of the 2022 Napa Vintage
• Syrah was planted at Stony Hill in the 1990s; Cabernet Sauvignon followed in 2004 with the first commercial release in 2009
• Wine production has moved off-site following the decommissioning of the original estate cellars under new ownership

Stony Hill occupies 160 acres on the eastern slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains within the Spring Mountain District AVA, north of St. Helena. Grapes are cultivated on approximately 42 acres at elevations ranging from 400 feet at the base, where soils are residual sedimentary decomposed sandstone and shale, up to 1,500 feet, where iron-rich volcanic material dominates. The bulk of the parcels face north and east, delivering a cooler, slower growing season than valley-floor sites. This combination of elevation, aspect, and varied soils is central to the winery's signature style: wines with natural acidity, structural tension, and a mineral character that evolves with age. The name Stony Hill reflects the significant rock content across the property.

• Spring Mountain District elevation and northeast exposure create a cooler microclimate, moderating ripening and preserving natural acidity
• Soils shift from sedimentary sandstone and shale at lower elevations to iron-rich volcanic material at 1,500 feet, producing textural and aromatic differences across the estate's blocks
• Stony Hill is surrounded on three sides by Bothe-Napa Valley State Park, providing a natural buffer that contributes to the site's microclimate stability

In August 2018, after 75 years of McCrea family ownership, Stony Hill was sold to Long Meadow Ranch, owned by the Hall family, with the McCreas retaining an equity stake, Sarah McCrea joining Long Meadow Ranch as an executive, and Peter McCrea joining its board. The family cited infrastructure funding needs, expanding into wholesale sales, and funding employee retirement benefits as their reasons for the sale. Long Meadow Ranch achieved organic certification for the vineyard and began replanting before selling the estate in December 2020 to Gaylon Lawrence Jr. and Master Sommelier Carlton McCoy Jr. The estate is now one of several historic Napa properties within Lawrence Wine Estates, which also includes Heitz Cellar, Burgess Cellars, Haynes Vineyard, Ink Grade, Brendel, and Chateau Lascombes in Bordeaux.

• Lawrence Wine Estates acquired Stony Hill in December 2020, three months after purchasing Burgess Cellars; Carlton McCoy Jr. serves as CEO of the group
• All Lawrence Wine Estates properties operate separately to preserve individual identity and terroir expression rather than consolidate production
• The vineyard has held CCOF organic certification since 2019 and Demeter International biodynamic certification; sustainable and regenerative farming practices continue under the Lawrence stewardship