Whitehall Lane Estate

Whitehall Lane was founded in 1979 but the history of the soil cultivation dates back two centuries. In the mid 1800's, Napa Valley settlers were drawn to the deep, loamy soils and ideal climate, planting high quality grape vines at the Whitehall Lane Winery site. A barn constructed in the early 1900's for equipment storage is still used today. In 1979, two brothers started the winery and directed their winemaking efforts successfully to Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. They named the winery after the road that runs along the south border of the property, Whitehall Lane.

In 1993, the Leonardini Family of San Francisco took control of the Whitehall Lane estate. They updated the winemaking, instituted a new barrel-aging program and continued sourcing the finest vineyards. We started with one vineyard and now own seven prime vineyards that are the cornerstone on which the wines are made and include the Whitehall Lane Estate Vineyard, Millenium MM Vineyard and Bommarito Vineyard in the Rutherford Appellation, the Leonardini Vineyard and Fawn Park Vineyard in St. Helena, Oak Glen Vineyard in the Oak Knoll District and Rassi VIneyard in Sonoma. The Estate Vineyard is 25 acres of "Rutherford Dust" offering beautiful Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc grapes. The Millenium MM Vineyard offers outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon fruit while the Bommarito Vineyard is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The Leonardini Vineyard is 14 acres of gravely soil yielding powerful Cabernet Sauvignon fruit and elegant yet intense Merlot grapes that go into the "Leonardini Vineyard" vineyard-designated wine. The Fawn Park Vineyard is on a gentle slope of Eastern hillside and produces intense Cabernet Sauvignon. The 25-acre Oak Glen Vineyard produces flavorful Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.

In our short history, Whitehall Lane has developed into a world-class winery. The efforts of the Leonardini Family are evident in the recent run of accolades from wine publications but are even more apparent in the beautifully made, elegant wines we continue to make.

Whitehall Lane owns and operates six prime Napa Valley vineyards that are the cornerstone on which all of the wines are made. They take full advantage of these properties and their Napa Valley climate to grow grapes that are ripe and loaded with varietal flavors.

Five of the vineyards are situated on the floor of the Napa Valley, primarily in the Rutherford sub-appellation. The soils tend to have lots of gravel and the rootstocks, grape varieties and clones were selected for each specific block in every vineyard. The sixth vineyard is nestled at the base of the eastern hills in St. Helena and also offers world class Cabernet Sauvignon.

The winery utilizes modern viticulture science in the vineyards to grow the best grapes possible. Infrared aerial photos of each vineyard are taken throughout the growing season to measure the growth of the leaf canopy. They also examine the physical properties of the soils in each vineyard, measuring depths of soil horizons, rooting depth and water holding capacity. Wireless capacitance probes are utilized to achieve precision irrigation. Neutron and C-probes use electrical charges to measure soil moisture. This information is then analyzed in contrast to the reading produced by a pressure bomb. Pressure bombs measure the amount of moisture in a leaf. In addition to this advanced technology, they have the experienced eyes of their winemaker and vineyard managers who walk the vineyards daily and ensure everything possible is done to grow spectacular wine grapes.

Winemaker- Dean Sylvester. Dean is a detail-oriented winemaker who works closely with his crew in the cellar, while keeping a watchful eye on the development of the grapes in the vineyard. He is responsible for all winemaking as well as overseeing the 110 acres of vineyards that Whitehall Lane owns and all vineyards held under contract. He has been making wine in the Napa Valley for more than 30 years, the last 12 at Whitehall Lane. He combines the experience of working with both European and American winemakers, allowing him to marry classic old-world style with modern winemaking techniques.

Dean was born and raised just outside of Rochester, New York. He escaped the East to pursue a career in winemaking and enrolled at U.C. Davis. He majored in Fermentation Science and began gaining practical winemaking experience in Santa Cruz and Sonoma before spending 10 years as an assistant winemaker at Newton Vineyards in St. Helena. He has also worked at Chimney Rock Winery in Napa and Mario Perelli- Minetti Winery in St. Helena. Dean is responsible for making three wines rated among the top five in the World from The Wine Spectator Magazine. His focus and attention were apparent in those wines and all of the wines he makes at Whitehall Lane Winery.