The Hess Collection

1876 - 1884: H. HUDEMANN

The first pioneers in the area (last half of the 19th century) were of German descent including the families of Fisher, Brandlin, and Streich.  H. Hudemann settles on a property that is now the site of the Hess Collection Winery.  Hudemann establishes his “Sprout Farm” (a beautiful botanical garden resort), planted a 12 acre vineyard, and built a small stone winery.

1884 - 1900: RUDOLPH JORDAN

Rudolph Jordan, winemaker and dedicated researcher owns the estate, his “Lotus Farm”, from 1884-1900.  Jordan makes significant contributions to the methodology of winemaking during his tenure of the nearby Castle Rock winery.  He is the first to use cool fermentation and inoculated yeast.

1900 - 1929: COLONEL THEODORE GIER

A prominent wine merchant and leader in the development of the California wine industry, Col. Theodore Gier, acquires the property, plants more vineyards and builds the three story winery that currently holds the Hess Collection’s historic barrel chai and art gallery.  Gier’s wines won many awards and medals in American and European competitions.  Gier is a civic leader with the Oakland Merchant Exchange which was instrumental in the development of the Caldecott Tunnel.

1930 - 1986: THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS

The crash of ’29 ended Gier’s operations and in 1930 the property is sold to the Christian Brothers who seek a site for a new novitiate, school and winery.  They expand the winery and begin producing award winning Mont La Salle wines.  Brother John F.S.C. (Stanley S. Hoffman) and Brother Timothy F.S.C. (Anthony G. Diener) contribute considerably to the successes of the winery during this period.  Brother John’s vision and energy initiates the winery’s rise to eminence as one of California’s leading wineries.  Brother Timothy was a world-renowned winemaster greatly enhances the reputation of wines from Mount Veeder and Napa Valley.

1978: DONALD HESS ARRIVES ON MOUNT VEEDER

Donald Hess acquires his first land on Mount Veeder, and completes purchase of 900 acres in 1982.  Over 600 acres are set aside as undeveloped land to support wildlife corridors, fish friendly farming practices and biodiversity.  Vineyard development begins with the direction to “nurture the land and return what you take.”

1986: THE HESS COLLECTION WINERY IS ESTABLISHED

Donald Hess leases the winery buildings from The Christian Brothers in 1986.  The Hess Collection Winery opens to the public in June of 1989, following a two year renovation of the facility which includes 13,000 square feet of Donald Hess’ personal contemporary art collection.  In 1992 Donald Hess leases 125 acres of vineyard from the Brothers, including the historic Brother Timothy vineyard.

1995: SU’SKOL VINEYARD PLANTED

Hess Su’skol Vineyard is developed near San Pablo Bay, where morning fog and afternoon breezes create an ideal climate for growing Chardonnay.

1999: THE WINEMAKING BATON PASSES

Dave Guffy arrives as Director of Winemaking, only the second winemaker to lead The Hess Collection winemaking team.

2002: CODE OF SUSTAINABLE WINEGROWING PRACTICES

The Hess Collection helps develop the Wine Institute’s “Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Practices”, a landmark code of best management practices promoting social responsibility and environmental stewardship.

2007: SUSTAINABILITY CONCEPTS MOVE FORWARD

The Hess Collection sits on Napa Valley Vintners Association steering committee to establish the “Napa Green” program to define best practices for Napa Valley winery facilities.

2008: NAPA GREEN CERTIFICATION

The Hess Collection is among the first ten wineries to receive certification as a Napa Green Winery.  In spring, The Hess Collection purchases 24 goats – all of whom turned out to be pregnant – for ground clearing and underbrush management in our Mount Veeder estate vineyards.  Now, a large herd of goats are released into the vineyards prior to bud break to help with weed control, minimizing the use of tractors and tilling.

2009: QUALITY ENHANCEMENT LAUNCHED

A 10-year vineyard re-development program begins with a goal of improving wine quality

2011: DONALD HESS RETIRES, NEXT GENERATION ASSUMES LEADERSHIP

Donald Hess formally retires from The Hess Collection and Hess Family Wine Estates.  Timothy Persson is named to lead The Hess Collection as Chief Executive Officer, the fifth generation of the Hess family to provide leadership.

2012: WINEMAKERS APPOINTED

Director of Winemaking Dave Guffy welcomes Stephanie Pope and Kate Ayres to his winemaking team.

2013: A WINEMAKING LEGACY

Randle Johnson is acknowledged for three decades of winemaking with the Hess family, the first Hess Collection winemaker, now lead winemaker for Artezin, and consulting winemaker for Colomé, and still a contributing member of the Hess winemaking team.

2014: SOUTH NAPA EARTHQUAKE

Early in the morning of August 24, an earthquake caused extensive damage throughout the winery and Visitor Center, resulting in the loss of Cellar One, several thousand gallons of wine, and ultimately, the renovation of the historic stone building.

2015: WINE, ELEVATED

With the release of the 2012 vintages from Mount Veeder, The Hess Collection celebrates its 30th vintage, establishing a new level of quality driven by a decade-long vineyard redevelopment plan.

The Hess Collection Visitors Center and Art Museum reopens in September following extensive earthquake repairs and upgrades to assure an elevated experience for guests. Plans continue for the rebuilding and re-imagining of earthquake damaged Cellar One.

The Hess Collection’s American Canyon facility and vineyards are for the first time certified sustainable, while the Mount Veeder winery & vineyards are re-certified sustainable by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance.

VEEDER SUMMIT VINEYARD

Our highest estate vineyard was once the site of an old cherry orchard near the summit of Mount Veeder. Donald Hess originally planted the site to Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. However, due to the unique microclimates, the vineyard now is considered to be well suited for early-ripening varietals such as Malbec and Merlot.

VEEDER HILLS VINEYARD

To accommodate the steep mountain slopes, the vines at this site are planted to ridges. We carefully seek out areas with thin soils so the vines are forced to struggle, producing lighter yields with small, intensely flavored berries. We avoid planting in shaded areas to ensure the vines have the best possible exposure to sunlight during the day to achieve optimal ripeness.

SU’SKOL VINEYARD

The Su’skol Vineyard benefits from its proximity to the San Pablo and San Francisco Bays. The vineyard is named for the native Su’skol people who used the site as a meeting place and valued the nearby sources of fish and game.

General Mariano Vallejo offered a portion of Rancho Nacional de Suscol to be used as a capital for the newly formed state of California. Yet, its use as a capital city was short-lived, thus preserving the open land.

ALLOMI VINEYARD

The Allomi Vineyard is located on the eastern base of Howell Mountain in one of the more remote areas of Napa County, Pope Valley. The combination of a long, warm growing season and well-drained soils creates optimal ripening conditions.

The site is named in honor of the original Spanish land grant to which the native Patwin people lent their name—Rancho Locoallomia. This area also was home to one of the first wheat mills in California, which earned it the nickname “Breadbasket of the Pacific,” and also gave rise to a small whiskey industry.

DAVE GUFFY

DIRECTOR OF WINEMAKING

Dave Guffy first became interested in wine as a Food Science student at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He was working in restaurants where he had the opportunity to sample a variety of different wines and wanted to learn more. This inspired him to work a harvest at a small Santa Cruz Mountain winery, and he decided to transfer to Fresno State to be part of the enology and viticulture program.

In 1999, Donald Hess hired Guffy as Director of Winemaking for The Hess Collection after a successful stint at a Central Coast winery. “I have a strong belief in making wine in the vineyard, working each site to absolutely maximize flavors,” says Guffy. “My goal is to make ripe fruit forward California style wines with both power and elegance.”

A California native, Guffy spent many summers with his grandparents on their 500-acre Kansas farm. To this day, Guffy is fascinated by the agricultural elements of winemaking. “The farming aspect of wine has a primal challenge about it, and the same with winemaking,” says Guffy. “You can never know everything. Every year the challenge is to do it better than the year before.”