Fred McCrea and his wife, Eleanor, stumbled onto a 168-acre goat ranch hidden away on the slopes of Spring Mountain, which they acquired and developed into their dream wine estate that is Stony Hill.
1951
With their love of white Burgundy, combined with the ideal growing conditions of their property, the McCreas built the first post-Prohibition winery in 1951.
1952
The inaugural Stony Hill vintage was released the following year.
Stony Hill’s high elevation and terroir with volcanic mountain soil, a limestone sub-layer, and a northeast-facing hillside made it perfect to craft their preferred style of Chardonnay.
Napa Valley’s first cult wine producer
1972
Fred brought on Mike Chelini as his assistant winemaker and protegee, who would later take over after Fred’s passing in 1977. From then until 2018, Chelini carried on McCrea’s legacy and philosophy of winemaking for over four decades, maintaining the “big little winery” and selling primarily through a hand-selected list of buyers—Napa Valley’s first mailing list.
Over the years...
The McCreas planted more European white varietals including Pinot Blanc, Johannisberg Riesling and later Gewürztraminer and Semillon.
2004
The first Cabernet Sauvignon is planted on the property with the first red wines released a few years later in 2009. This marked the new era of Stony Hill producing some of the most regal high-elevation Cabernet on Spring Mountain.
2020
Stony Hill moved into its next era of producing world-class wines with new ownership by the Lawrence Family. Sustainable farming practices, including regenerative farming, continue the legacy the McCrea Family began so many years ago.
“It is a tremendous honor to be a part of the genealogy of Stony Hill and carry on the tradition of making classically proportioned wines here, started by the McCrea Family.”
