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History

Grant Street Vineyards is a family-owned business, inspired by both a passion for wine and a devotion to family. In 1990, Jim and Susie Wycoff planted their first vineyard in the backyard of Jim’s parents’ old Victorian home, located in the heart of Calistoga. In 1994, following the unfortunate death of Jim’s mother, Jim and Susie became the new owners of the house and the historic red barn that came with it. Within the next few years, the house and yard underwent some major changes, including the planting of additional vineyards. While tending to his vineyards and perfecting the art of winemaking was foremost in Jim’s heart, it had to come second to his painting business, which supported the family. Having no formal education in winemaking, Jim valued each day’s work and each year’s crush as an opportunity to learn and grow. As the years went by, and the children grew older, the dream of creating wine under their own label grew more and more intense for Jim and Susie. It also became clear to them that, sometimes, success requires a leap of faith.

In 2005, Jim and Susie took that leap and embarked on their winemaking journey. With two of their three children off at college, they found the extra time they needed to make their dream a reality. First came the licensing process, then the label making, and last but certainly not least, the wine. Jim and Susie had known for quite some time what the label and name for their wine would be. The label would feature a sketch of the family home where the dream began. The name of the winery would be Grant Street…to honor the place where their house has stood for the last one hundred years. In bringing these two elements together, they hoped to tie the traditions of the past, embodied by the long life of the family home, with their present dream of maintaining these traditions and making wine in the Napa Valley. With the label well on its way, Jim and Susie had hardly begun their search for a winery when family friend and fellow winemaker, Brenda Lynch, graciously offered up her facilities for Grant Street Vineyard’s first vintage crush. Thus, in October of 2005, Jim and Brenda jointly created the first vintage which has been bottled, labeled, and released as Grant Street Vineyards© 2005 Zinfandel and Grant Street Vineyards© 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon. After all of the years of waiting, and the work it took to get them there, Jim and Susie are finally living their dream!

To the Wycoff family, and to all who know the family, the wine serves as a representation of what is possible when you have the love and support of a family.

Jim and Susie would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people who have supported them on their journey: Brenda and Chris, Dave, Sam, Eddie and Anna, Marcel, Mark, Chuck, Ross and Susan, Dick and Carol and family, the Chicago contingency and Mom and Mauri; it wouldn’t have been possible, and not nearly as much fun, without all of you!