Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/561374
1 0 0 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | S e p t - O c t 2 015 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m f t e r a m a g n i t u d e 6 . 0 earthquake struck south- ern Napa at 3:20 a.m. on Aug. 24, 2014, there was one particular image in the ensu- ing media coverage that elicited a collective gasp from Napa Valley vintners: Trefethen Family Vine- yards' historic winery building, bowed out at bizarre angles and leaning as if on the verge of col- lapse. Known as the Eshcol win- ery, the wooden structure was built in 1886 and withstood major earthquakes in 1906 and 1989. However, in the first weeks after the 2014 disaster, it was unclear if the building could be saved. While no wine was lost in the q u a k e – p r o d u c t i o n h a d b e e n moved to a modern facility years before and the barrels stored at the old winery had recently been emptied – the building was home to Trefethen's tasting room, barrel storage and offices. Engineers ultimately declared the building salvageable, and Janet Trefethen, who owns the winery with her husband, John, is now immersed in the arduous process of bringing it back to life. This isn't the first time. She helped restore the building four decades ago after her in-laws purchased it, earning the winery a place on the National Register of Historic Places. The daughter of a Sacramen- to Valley rice farmer, Janet Tre- fethen has a history of rolling up her sleeves and facing challenges. After earning a degree in liberal arts/journalism from the University of Nevada at Reno, she moved to St. Helena, Calif., and took a job in 1972 with The Wine Growers Foun- dation. It was there that she met John, who had a dream (and a grad- uate school business plan) to start a winery on the 600-acre property in Napa that his parents purchased in 1968. Janet and John married in 1973, and got to work renovating the dilapidated Eshcol winery that stood on the estate, which hadn't been used in 40 years. In the early 1970s, starting a winery in Napa Valley – which had yet to be established as a world- class winegrowing region – was not considered wise, nor even sane. U n d a u n t e d , t h e c o u p l e f o r g e d ahead, doing most of the work themselves. As the winery grew, Janet took charge of the marketing efforts. This made her one of the Napa Valley wine industry's first female executives, an unenviable position in the male-dominated wine world of the 1970s. Through a combina- tion of persistence and charm, she managed to earn respect and admi- ration from industry colleagues. Nearly a year after the 2014 earthquake, we spoke with Janet about the early days of Trefethen Vineyards, the post-quake recon- struction process, and plans for the resurrected Eshcol winery. Vineyard & Winery Manage- ment [ V&WM ] What was the Napa Valley like in 1973, when you and John started the winery? Janet Trefethen [ J T ] There were fewer than 30 active winer- ies in the Napa Valley. There was no wine industry to speak of, it was a little ray of sunshine on the horizon. When I look back on it, I just hap- Janet Trefethen Trefethen Family Vineyards owner restores her family's historic winery… again BY TINA CAPUTO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF