Historic Napa Winery Clinches the Great Wine Capitals Global Award for Architecture and Landscapes
November 17, 2016—Trefethen Family Vineyards was proclaimed the Global Winner in the category of Architecture and Landscapes at the annual Great Wine Capitals “Best of Wine Tourism” awards ceremony, held at the Sao Bento da Vitoria Monastery in Porto, Portugal last week.
An international panel of judges selected seven global winners from a pool of 359 entrants. Trefethen was the only American winery to win a Global Award.
Great Wine Capitals, the international organization which hosts the awards, had this to say about Trefethen: “With a nearly 50-year legacy of world-class wines crafted from their own grapes, family-owned Trefethen is one of Napa Valley’s classic wine estates. For the first time in their history, the family is now welcoming guests in the Villa Trefethen. This former residence, built in the early 1900s and surrounded by beautiful gardens, is a gorgeous example of the Arts and Crafts Movement in California. The estate also includes an important historic landmark, a three-story wooden winery building originally constructed in 1886, during the first era of viticulture in the Napa Valley. That building, which has stood as a sentinel for the Napa Valley for decades, was damaged by an earthquake two years ago and is expected to re-open to the public in early 2017, after a full restoration.”
Hailey Trefethen, who has overseen the renovation of the two structures said: “We are honored to be caretakers of these gorgeous historic buildings and are delighted to receive this award in recognition of them. It has been heartwarming to welcome guests into Villa Trefethen, my grandparents’ old home. We are looking forward to once again opening the doors and making wine in our historic winery this coming spring.”
The other Best Of Wine Tourism Global Winners were Seppeltsfield Estate in Australia; Viñedos de Paganos in Spain; Château Marquis de Terme in France; Rheinhessenvinothek in Germany; Quinta do Bonfim in Portugal; and Portofino Restaurant in Chile.
About Trefethen Family Vineyards:
In 1968, Eugene and Catherine Trefethen purchased seven farms surrounding a magnificent but run-down 19th-century winery in southern Napa Valley and created Trefethen Family Vineyards. The couple’s intention was to sell all their grapes, but their son John had other ideas. In 1973, aided by his new bride Janet, John produced Trefethen Vineyards’ first commercial wine. Just three years later, the winery’s 1976 Chardonnay earned “Best Chardonnay in the World” honors at the 1979 Gault Millau World Wine Olympics in Paris.
True to the family’s vision of creating an acclaimed wine estate, the Trefethen family has never purchased outside grapes and is a leader in sustainable winegrowing. Today, third generation vintners Loren and Hailey work with Janet and John to continue the family tradition of passion for the land, its people, and the art of crafting exceptional Napa Valley wines. For more information, please visit www.trefethen.com.
About Great Wine Capitals:
Founded in 1999, the Great Wine Capitals Global Network is an alliance of nine internationally renowned wine regions – Adelaide, South Australia; Bilbao-Rioja, Spain; Bordeaux, France; Cape Town/Cape Winelands, South Africa; Mainz-Rheinhessen, Germany; Mendoza, Argentina; Porto, Portugal; San Francisco/Napa Valley, USA; and Valparaiso/Casablanca Valley, Chile. The international Best Of Wine Tourism awards serves as an industry benchmark for excellence and recognizes leading wineries and wine-tourism related businesses within each Great Wine Capital that have distinguished themselves in areas such as innovation, service and sustainable practices. For more information visit www.greatwinecapitals.com.
