Vintage Beaulieu: The Story of a Historic Napa Vineyard and Winery
Overview and Founding
Beaulieu Vineyard is one of Napa Valley’s longest-standing wineries, a testament to the quality of grapes, winemaking, and business acumen that has produced some of California’s most widely recognized wines for over a century.
The Beaulieu Vineyard Records (D-758) at the UC Davis Library offer a detailed glimpse into the nuanced history of this iconic winery, the wines it has produced, and the people who have been instrumental in this work.
Georges and Fernande de Latour’s Beaulieu Vineyard began with their acquisition of four acres of land and a house near Rutherford, California, in the Napa Valley in 1900. During the early 1900s, Georges imported pest-resistant rootstock from France in response to the devastation of vines by Phylloxera starting in the 1890s. By 1904, de Latour rented a cellar, transitioning his efforts into winemaking in conjunction with importing and selling French rootstock.
Portraits of Georges de Latour and Fernande de Latour, undated.
Fernande is credited with naming the vineyard when the couple decided to purchase the original parcel of Napa Valley land in 1899, proclaiming, “Quel beau lieu!” – “What a beautiful place!”
Georges de Latour was a chemist from Bordeaux, France, who immigrated to the United States in 1883 with his sights set on transitioning into winemaking.
The signed articles of incorporation, complete with the gold seal from the State of California, formalized the creation of Beaulieu Vineyard as a winery recognized by the state.