Perhaps Lorna’s prodding paid off – both she and Charlie approached Chuck in 1971 about helping them begin a winery – putting to use their family’s decades of farming knowledge and time in the wine business. It is this broader perspective that Chuck has brought to Caymus over the years which would ultimately fuel the growth and expansion of Caymus Vineyards to areas much further afield than Napa Valley. He recalls a number of farmers ‘just getting by’ and remembers at times his mother telling his father to get a real job like some of her family had at Mare Island (a shipyard to the south of Napa in the city of Vallejo) – with job security and benefits.Ĭhuck also remembers people’s perspectives were often just limited to their immediate surroundings and neighbors – a product of the times whereas today there is a greater perspective fueled in part by technology and ease of travel. Farms were planted to prunes and walnuts rather than wine grapes. And it is with a certain element of nostalgia that he talks about his formative years. In 1941, Charlie purchased seventy acres in Rutherford, the site of Caymus Winery and tasting room.įast forward to the 1960s Chuck remembers a much different Napa Valley then – a childhood often accompanied by his dog, a gun or a fishing pole. Chuck’s father Charlie grew up in Rutherford attending school in the small wooden Liberty Schoolhouse later he would use wood from this old school in the construction of his own home and it would inspire the name of their second label, Liberty School. In January of 1919 Prohibition became reality when it was signed into law, and this destroyed their young bulk winery business. The Wagners moved to Napa in 1906 from San Francisco, purchased 70 acres and by 1915 began a winery on what is now their neighbor’s property, Honig Winery. Lorna’s grandfather actually made wine in Napa in the late 1800s at an old stone winery called Brun & Chaix (later Chateau Woltner, then Ladera and today known as Cade at 13th Vineyard), located on Howell Mountain. Her Stice relatives first came to Napa in 1857 as part of a wagon train following a route across the country from Bible Grove, Missouri. Her Glos grandparents first came to Napa in the mid 1880s having homesteaded 150 acres up on Howell Mountain. Lorna’s grandparents were the Glos and Stice family. The winery begins with Chuck’s parents – Charles (Charlie) Wagner (passed away in 2002 at age 90) and his wife Lorna Belle Glos Wagner (passed away in 2013 at age 97) but their family history in Napa Valley extends much further. Today Chuck Wagner (and his children) continue to grow and expand the company he founded with his parents. ![]() They are farmers with strong historical ties to the land, helped in part by timing who have followed a formula of hard work, perseverance and creativity to build a thriving business literally from the ground up. There are numerous reasons why Caymus and its affiliated brands have become the go to wines for many people – the quality and price point of the wines are certainly a very important reason, but it is the Wagner family story that is so appealing. ![]() From the ‘midpoint’ of Napa Valley at their home in Rutherford (the winery is located near the “T Intersection” of Rutherford Road and Conn Creek Road), their story is one of extremely hard work they are one of Napa Valley’s true success stories. Caymus Vineyards is one of Napa’s older family owned and operated wineries.
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