In one of Napa County’s oldest books of recorded deeds is a handwritten passage dated July 13, 1857 that describes the sale of 700 acres “more or less” from Salvador Vallejo, brother of General Vallejo and a land grantee from the Mexican government, to Frederick Sigrist and Francis Krance.
The property description begins “at a tree marked on its side ‘T’, said tree being an oak about two feet in diameter” and continues to illustrate a roughly rectangular piece of property bounded on one side by Napa Creek (now known as Redwood Creek) and completely enclosing the existing Hendry vineyard.
In 1939, George W. and Margaret Hendry purchased 120 acres from the Buhman family. This land included 40 acres of the original Sigrist property, and two adjoining parcels. There were only six acres of vineyard. Since 1991, they have added a neighboring 50 acres, and now have vineyard on 90 acres of what was first planted by the Sigrists.
In the early 1990’s the Ranch’s Zinfandel grapes were making Rosenblum’s Hendry Reserve. Its Cabernet was being divided between Opus One and Mondavi’s Reserve. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were finding their way into Mondavi’s reserve programs.
In 1992, nine tons of Zinfandel were withheld to make the first wine under the Hendry label. It was the first Block 7, and was released in 1995. Today, only a few tons of grapes are sold to outside wineries. A little of Block 7 still goes to Rosenblum, and a little cabernet is used in Luc and Genevieve Jensen’s Portfolio. The rest of the grapes are crushed in the Hendry Ranch Winery, which was constructed in 2000, and sits near the middle of the original Ranch property.
Andrew’s son Mike Hendry is the third generation of Hendrys to work in the vineyard.
