Beringer

1869: Jacob Beringer arrives in the Napa Valley and becomes Cellar Foreman for Charles Krug, one of the first commercial winemakers in Napa Valley . Krug's business was right next to the property that would eventually become the Beringer winery.

1875: For $14,500 the Beringer brothers purchase a 215 acre parcel of land. In the early days the Beringer winery was called Los Hermanos, or “The Brothers”.

1876: Beringer Brothers' first crush (approximately 40,000 gallons or 18,000 cases).

1877: The first two floors of the Original Cellar are completed and Chinese laborers begin digging approximately 1,000 linear feet of aging tunnels where the wine will be aged and stored.

1883: Frederick Beringer has his brother's house moved (literally) using horses and logs to make room to build his mansion, the Rhine House (then called Villa Beringer).

1885: The brothers plant the Elm trees that now form a tunnel along the road in front of the winery.

1887: Beringer wines win their first awards at the Mechanics Institute Exposition in San Francisco .

1914: A price list showed Beringer Bros. Cabernet available for 85 cents a gallon.

1920 - 1933: The winery operates through Prohibition by selling sacramental wines under a federal license allowing wine to be made for religious purposes.

1930's: Sparkling Burgundy is one of Beringer's biggest sellers.

1934: Beringer becomes the first winery to offer public tours, thus beginning the area's tourist wine business (tasting was not offered until 1956). To celebrate the end of Prohibition in 1934, Beringer organizes a big festival.

1939: During the Golden Gate Exposition, held on Treasure Island in San Francisco , Winemaker Fred Abruzinni distributes flyers and maps showing “the main highways to Beringer Bros. Winery and other interesting points…”

1940: Hollywood stars, like Carole Lombard and Clark Gable, visit the winery.

1940's: Beringer sells 40,000 cases of wine a year, a respectable figure for the time.

1967: The 91-year old Beringer Winery is named a State Historical Landmark.

1971: Myron Nightingale becomes Beringer's fifth winemaker and develops a special botrytised wine that is still made today at the winery and aptly called “Nightingale”.

1976: Ed Sbragia begins working at Beringer Vineyards as Myron Nightingale's assistant, and launches the Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay programs.

1977: Beringer begins fermenting Chardonnay in French oak barrels.

1979: Bob Steinhauer becomes vineyard manager, replacing Roy Raymond Jr. Bob and Ed go on to create an incredible partnership. “Bob always says he gives me diamonds, and it's up to me to polish them,” Ed often remarks.

1981: First Napa Valley Wine Auction. Beringer enters 19 lots.

1984: Ed Sbragia is promoted to winemaker, becoming only the 6 th winemaker in the winery's history.

1986: Beringer 1986 Cabernet Sauvignon is named #1 Wine of the Year in 1990 by Wine Spectator.

1988: Beringer commissions a fountain celebrating the first grapes planted in Napa Valley 150 years earlier. Sculpted by Ruth Asawa, it can be seen behind the Rhine House.

1989: Beringer becomes the first winery to develop a formal research and sensory evaluation program. Today, more than 250 employees participate in research and sensory trials.

1994: Beringer 1994 Chardonnay is named #1 Wine of the Year in 1996 by Wine Spectator (the first time a white has garnered this coveted award). Beringer now has the distinction of being the first and only winery to have both a white and a red wine named #1 Wine of the Year.

2000: Beringer pledges a gift of $1,000,000 to Copia, the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts in Napa .

2000:Laurie Hook is promoted to Winemaker of Beringer Vineyards. Ed Sbragia remains as Winemaster.

2001: Beringer celebrates its 125 th anniversary and the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating winery in Napa Valley .

2004: Maximus, the world's largest bottle of wine, is certified by the Guinness Book of World Records. The bottle contains 173 bottles of Beringer 2001 Private Reserve Cabernet and sells for $47,500 at a charity auction.