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Winter / Spring 2006
Hallmark Wines
Hall winery brings together its owners’ varied passions—family, Austria, and überdelicious
wines
By
Kim Olson
Kathryn Hall believes winemaking is a passion that captures
the soul and never lets go. Her parents were grape growers and,
although she and husband Craig would travel the world building
their careers—she as an attorney and diplomat, he as a financier
and investor—she always yearned for the vineyards. “I love being
on the land, and I love the grapes,” she says. “I knew we’d come
back to this someday.”
 Someday arrived in 1995, when Kathryn and Craig purchased prime
vineyards in Napa Valley. They enlisted winemaker Mike Reynolds—formerly
of Stonestreet, Vérité, and Schramsberg—and in 1999 unveiled
the critically acclaimed Kathryn Hall Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon,
made from grapes grown at their small-production winery in Rutherford.
Other Bordeaux-style reds—Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Sauvignon
Blanc—soon followed.
The Hall family’s love of winemaking is equaled by their love
of Austria, where they lived while Kathryn was a U.S. ambassador
under President Clinton, and the couple has infused a taste of
Austria into their Rutherford winery. The caves were built by
Austrian master craftsman Friedrich Gruber (along with St. Helena’s
Alf Burtleson Construction), and the tasting room features a
jaw-dropping Swarovski Austrian crystal chandelier. “Learning
about Austria’s history and traditions affected us profoundly,”
Kathryn says. “Walking through the caves takes us back to an
important time in our lives.”
For their new flagship location, just south of St. Helena, the
Halls have enticed none other than architect Frank Gehry to design
their winery. Although Gehry is often associated with far-out
designs, neighbors can rest assured the winery will be suited
to a rural setting. “The materials will blend into the environment,”
Kathryn says, “but in a creative way, with the dramatic shapes
and spaces that you associate with a Gehry building.” |
