Engel Family Vineyards History
My family moved to St. Helena in 1991 when my father, Ron, decided he wanted to raise his family in a smaller, quieter town outside of the Bay Area. We quickly became active in the community, my father eventually starting a wrestling program for ages 7 up through high school. My dad's affinity for the sport of wrestling and seeing the impact it has on high school students inspired him to start Engel Family Vineyards. He envisioned it as a way to support and raise money for the sport through donations of wine for auctions and events; and since it was a passion project he could also gift the wines to close friends and family. As a life insurance salesman, he knew very little about the wine industry, but we knew we had a very special piece of land. In 1995, he decided to go ahead and plant some vines, and 1999 marked the first vintage of Engel Family Vineyards.
Rock Mountain Vineyard is a small 2 ¼ acre terraced vineyard carved out of a hillside on the Eastern face of the Mayacamas Mountain Range. The super steep terrain and rocky soil stresses the vines, leading to much more interesting, expressive, and concentrated grapes.
Initially, we planted Nebbiolo and Merlot, however in 2006, we decided to graft all of the Nebbiolo and some of the Merlot over to Cabernet Sauvignon, as we realized it grew much better on our vineyard site. We have an annual production of about 200 cases of estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon.
"Life is all about relationships," a sentiment my father has told me time and time again. Engel Family Wines is truly a wine born through our personal relationships. Our vineyard manager, Peter Murphy, is a former teammate of my Dad's from the UC Davis Wrestling Team in the 1970's, and he also helped him start the wrestling program in St. Helena. We are truly blessed to have our friend, Bob Foley, also a UC Davis Alumni, making the wine for us at his winery on Howell Mountain. Bob has a lot of experience with rocky hillside vines, and we have always admired the wines he produces from similar sites. Because of Bob, Peter and our unique vineyard site, we are able to craft harmonious wines that are fruit driven, balanced, and have soft tannins.
In the beginning, we gave most of our wine to family and friends, but over the years we’ve sold in California and on the East Coast. We donate a portion of our proceeds to USA Wrestling and local after school programs in our community. I have since taken over the business so that my father can slow down and enjoy his retirement. What started as a simple side project has evolved into a family business.
Rock Mountain Vineyard is a small 2 ¼ acre terraced vineyard carved out of a hillside on the Eastern face of the Mayacamas Mountain Range. The super steep terrain and rocky soil stresses the vines, leading to much more interesting, expressive, and concentrated grapes.
Initially, we planted Nebbiolo and Merlot, however in 2006, we decided to graft all of the Nebbiolo and some of the Merlot over to Cabernet Sauvignon, as we realized it grew much better on our vineyard site. We have an annual production of about 200 cases of estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon.
"Life is all about relationships," a sentiment my father has told me time and time again. Engel Family Wines is truly a wine born through our personal relationships. Our vineyard manager, Peter Murphy, is a former teammate of my Dad's from the UC Davis Wrestling Team in the 1970's, and he also helped him start the wrestling program in St. Helena. We are truly blessed to have our friend, Bob Foley, also a UC Davis Alumni, making the wine for us at his winery on Howell Mountain. Bob has a lot of experience with rocky hillside vines, and we have always admired the wines he produces from similar sites. Because of Bob, Peter and our unique vineyard site, we are able to craft harmonious wines that are fruit driven, balanced, and have soft tannins.
In the beginning, we gave most of our wine to family and friends, but over the years we’ve sold in California and on the East Coast. We donate a portion of our proceeds to USA Wrestling and local after school programs in our community. I have since taken over the business so that my father can slow down and enjoy his retirement. What started as a simple side project has evolved into a family business.
