Heitz Wine Cellars is a California wine producer located within Napa Valley east of the town of St. Helena. An early modern era Napa Valley presence and pioneering exponent of French oak, the estate enjoys a historical renown with the success of its Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, and has also been described as a "master of Grignolino". History The estate was established in 1961 by Joseph (Joe) and Alice Heitz, during a period when the population of Napa Valley wineries had been reduced to the lowest number since the Prohibition, with about two dozen wineries, at what is recognized as the turning point of Napa's wine industry. Joe Heitz Born in Princeton, Illinois, Heitz grew up on a farm and came to California in the 1940s while serving in the Army Air Corps. For most of World War II, he served as a mechanic at an Air Corps base near Fresno. At night and on weekends, he worked various odd jobs which led to work at an Italian Swiss Colony winery setting him on his career path. After the war ended, Heitz began taking classes at UC Davis, achieving bachelor and master's degrees in viticulture and enology as the first seven graduates in this major in 1951. Heitz found employment under the wine industry extremes, first at Gallo, and then under André Tchelistcheff at Beaulieu Vineyard as an assistant winemaker where he worked for near ten years. In 1958, he worked as a professor at the Research Center for Viticulture and Enology program at California State University, Fresno for four years. In 1961, Heitz and his wife Alice bought a small vineyard just south of St. Helena from Leon Brendel named "The One & Only" for $5,000, planted with grignolino, and went into business for himself where his winemaking production preceded Robert Mondavi's emergence in Oakville. In 1963 Heitz bought at an auction several barrels of Chardonnay and Pinot noir wine from Hanzell Vineyards in Sonoma, the last vintages of the deceased owner James D. Zellerbach's pursuit of Burgundian excellence sold off by his widow. Heitz blended the wines with success, achieving lucrative prices for the times. A stated strategy for success was to pay growers "what their grapes were worth", in turn increasing the standard of the product he was receiving. In 1964, Heitz acquired an 1898 stone winery with its ranch property, which became the Heitz winery and