Rich Frank and family have the magic touch! After all, the former President of Disney did once hold the keys to the magic kingdom. Frank Family Winery is one of Napa Valley’s most impressive wine and vineyards success stories of the modern era. The Frank family started with a production volume of just 200 cases in 1993 and over 30 years turned it into a winery powerhouse with a national following for their rich and expressive estate grown red wines and immensely popular Chardonnay wines.
The rustic old sandstone cellar and the property that became the Frank Family base of operations has one of the most colorful histories in California wine. In the 1800’s, the stone cellar was built by Simon Connor who had purchased the property from a rescuer of the Donner Party, George Tucker. Then the property was purchased by the Lily Hitchcock (Coit) family – Lily Hitchcock Coit being the San Francisco socialite and benefactor of San Francisco’s fire department for whom Coit Tower is named. It became a stop on legendary entrepreneur Sam Brannan’s Napa Valley Railroad line and the former home of the neighboring Larkmead Cellars where the Salmani family became a driving force in the Napa Valley wine industry. Afterward, Hans Kornell produced and promoted his popular traditional Champagne method wines here. Converting this winery located close to Calistoga into their tasting and visitors venue, the Franks soon assembled an estate vineyards based line of varietal wines, with winemaker/General Manager Todd Graff sourcing grapes from two Napa Valley prized parcels in Rutherford – Winston Hill and Benjamin Ranch. Carneros and Capell Valley then filled out the range of wines with Zinfandel being sourced from the eastern mountains and vineyards neighboring their property in Napa Valley.