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The W.S. Keyes Vineyard Estate enfolds a rich history that began more than 120 years ago. This estate traces its origins back to the 1880s when W.S. Keyes began producing award winning wines from the volcanic soils on top of Howell Mountain. At the 1900 Paris Exposition, Keyes’ Liparita Claret garnered a gold medal that catapulted Howell Mountain wines into world-wide recognition. Another gold medal at the 1904 St. Louis Exposition sealed the vineyard’s stellar reputation.
W.S. Keyes’ background as a renowned geologist gave him insight that the terroir of his Howell Mountain vineyard was extraordinary. It evoked memories of similar soil types that he had seen on the island of Lipari of the Aeolian archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea off Sicily. He labeled his wine Liparita-La Jota: Liparita (Little Lipari) after the largest volcanic island in that archipelago; and La Jota, after the Mexican land grant that once encompassed his vineyards.
W.S. Keyes was no stranger to winemaking. His father, Civil War General Erasmus D. Keyes (1810 to 1895) came to California after the war to be the first US Commandant of the Presidio in San Francisco. Upon his retirement E.D. Keyes bought Edge Hill Winery in St. Helena which, in the 1880s, became one of the largest wineries in Napa Valley.
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Yet, it was another very famous man in California’s early history — Judge Serramus Clinton Hastings — that enabled W.S. Keyes to secure some of the finest land on Howell Mountain for his vineyards. Judge S.C. Hastings was the first Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court and, later, served as California's Attorney General. He founded the renowned Hastings Law School in San Francisco in 1878, making it the first public law school in California and the oldest in the western United States. Hastings' vast land holdings included sections of the Howell Mountain’s La Jota land grant, which were to become W.S. Keyes Vineyard Estate, as well as thousands of acres in Napa, Lake and Mendocino counties. La Jota was one of the first land grants in Napa Valley, given to George Yount by General Vallejo of Mexico.
William. S. Keyes married Hastings' daughter, Flora, and the story of our W.S. Keyes Vineyard Estate begins. Hastings supplied the land for the venture and Keyes added his expertise. Using his geological background, Keyes sought out the finest slopes of the land to begin his vineyard plantings in 1881. When you hear about this vineyard terroir, you’ll understand why his wines soon earned international acclaim. That same terroir gives our W.S. Keyes Vineyard Estate Merlot its award winning quality.
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