History

Built in 1876, our historic three-story winery was one of the first stone wine cellars in St. Helena, California. After Prohibition the top two stories of this ghost winery were converted into a residence, and in 2002 the cellar of the historic stone winery began its winemaking renaissance as William Cole Vineyards.

Our vineyard and winery is located on 5 acres north of St. Helena on the western slope just north of the Culinary Institute of America. There are 2 1/2 acres planted in Cabernet Sauvignon. The stone winery on the property, built in 1876 as the JC Weinberger Winery, was one of the first stone wine cellars in the Napa Valley. The Weinberger's were one of the first pioneering wine families in Napa Valley and later Hannah Weinberger was one of the first women winemakers who continued, after her husband John's death in 1883, with the winery until prohibition. It has been dormant since prohibition and we recently restored the cellars and crushed the 2005 vintage in the original winery. We have hand-crafted our wine since 1997 at a small local winery to ensure the highest quality.