Hollywood and Wine: Frank Family Vineyards

After a few years of traveling to Napa, an opportunity was presented to him by his friend Koerner Rombauer. Yes, that Rombauer. There was a Tudor home on a vineyard for sale in Rutherford. Rutherford is today one of the most esteemed and respected AVA‘s in the Valley. The views were stunning, the home was modest. He was taken with the location and the panoramic view. The 10 acres of vineyards that were planted on the 107-acre property were intriguing, but not the reason for the buying.  He decided this would be the perfect location for his Napa getaway.

Then the call came. It was not the news he’d hoped to hear.  Another more attractive offer was accepted. It was not to be his. Time passed and he couldn’t get the home out of his mind.  Thinking about what was lost. The view, the property, even the vineyards.  But it was not to be.

In retrospect, that’s what made Napa Valley great.

Four months had come and gone and Rich could still not shake the feeling he had lost something significant.  The Tudor remained in the back of his mind. Late one night, an unexpected call came notifying him the deal on the Rutherford property had just fallen out of escrow.  This time he was not going to lose it.

The land and the vineyards would be called Winston Hill after his cherished Spanish Springer.  The fruit this first vineyard turned out would be sold to eager vintners on other properties. Rich recognized the opportunity. His fruit was in high demand and there was a reason for it. The volcanic and sandstone soils provide the perfect drainage for this fruit along with the steeply terraced vineyards.  The vineyards are strategically positioned to capture the sun of the south and take in the gentle breezes that cool the hillside.  Reaching almost 500 foot in elevation,  it’s a great recipe for outstanding wine.

Phylloxera hit Napa Valley in the early 90’s. They had to plant new vines because the Phylloxera was eating away at the roots.

“In retrospect, that’s what made Napa Valley great,” Rich said. Everyone had to replant. Which really helped Napa turn the corner in vineyard farming. Vines planted by the old Italian and German farmers didn’t always thrive.”  The immigrants planted where they landed. Not a lot of focus was given to weather and terroir in the early days of wine in Napa Valley.

“Up valley (towards Calistoga) where there is heat you want to plant Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Syrah but there was also Chardonnay mixed in. Down valley, in Carneros (which wasn’t even a real region at the time) it was cool and foggy. There were red grapes growing down there. We were smart enough at the time to say if I have to pull this out, let me look at my neighbors to and see what is growing best. So the valley got reoriented over 5-6 years as people pulled out the phylloxera infested vines replanted. So now in the valley, everything is where it should be.”  Rich explained.

“It’s different here. People care about each other. I think it started because our vineyards are all right next to each other, separated by a wire fence in most cases.  That bug who is going to hurt my crop doesn’t know where the fence line is. Everybody has learned to cooperate with each other. People share information.  If you see something amiss you are going to share it right away. It’s not a secret organization. Everything is out in the open. It’s a fun place to be. It’s also a place everyone wants to visit.” Rich Frank on why Napa farmers and vintners work so well together.

I asked Rich when he was first bitten by the wine bug, was it a person, a place or a particular wine that turned him into a wine lover?  He had this to say, “I think my real first exposure to good wines was when I was President of Paramount Television and I would travel all over the world trying to sell our shows to international television networks. When I’d get there we would go out to dinner. They wanted to show off and wanted to buy Paramount shows. So they were very nice to me. With every dinner, we’d have a great bottle of wine. Which they were picking and I got to drink. In those days we didn’t have all the cameras on the phones so I made it a point of asking the Sommelier if I liked the wine to please soak the label and give me the label. When I went back home I would buy a couple of more bottles and I put one in my library and one I would taste again.  I just started really enjoying wines. I enjoyed most in Europe was the Bordeaux as opposed to the Burgundy (Bourgogne) which sort of built my palate for the Cabernet Sauvignon and the grapes we grow up here.”

On Napa Valley and what makes this valley great, Rich said, “We are a microcosm of America today. We have many many immigrants here. We couldn’t run the farming and wine business without them. We realized what the Napa Valley Wine Auction would do for people here. We raised $15-16 million a year. All of that money goes to take care of issues and needs in the valley (from education to community health and beyond). People care about each other up here.”