In 1961, Joe and Alice finally purchased their first vineyard, 8 acres just south of St. Helena. Working out of the small winery attached to the parcel, they put in round-the-clock sweat equity to build their business.

Heitz Wine Cellars rapidly established a reputation as home base for one of the Napa Valley's most innovative and brilliant winemakers, and the unassuming winery soon became a prestigious destination for wine connoisseurs.

Joe Heitz lived with spirit and passion, savoring every year as a Napa Valley winemaker to the fullest extent. Along with Alice, Joe also derived great pleasure in the successful transition of Heitz Wine Cellars to the second generation before his death in December 2000.

Today, Alice Heitz continues to lend support at the winery with her keen palate and quick wit.

At Heitz Wine Cellars, we practice sustainable and certified organic farming in our vineyards in order to preserve our rich agricultural heritage and contribute to a healthy future for everyone who calls the Napa Valley home.

Those prime parcels include the ranch that surrounds the winery property and sweeps the eastern hills of St. Helena, our acreage on Zinfandel Lane and the rich farmland of the Trailside Vineyard in Rutherford. Our majestic Valley Oak Ranch is contiguous to the steep slopes of our Ink Grade Vineyard, and our Linda Falls Vineyard is a tiny jewel on Howell Mountain.

Then there is our original site about a mile south of downtown St. Helena which we all especially treasure — the much-loved vineyard that frames Heitz Cellars' Sales & Tasting Room today.

We have planted grapes on 375 of these acres, carefully selecting areas that convey the incomparable breadth of geography and climate that makes the Napa Valley the ideal place on earth for winegrowing.