Fred McCrea and his wife, Eleanor, stumbled onto a 168-acre plot of land hidden away on the slopes of Spring Mountain, which they purchased and later named Stony Hill Vineyard.
1951
With their love for French white wines 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 terroir and climate mirrored that of Burgundy, made of volcanic mountain soil with a limestone sub-layer and a northeast-facing hillside, making it perfect to craft their preferred style of Chardonnay.
America’s greatest white wine estate
1972
Fred brought on Mike Chelini as his assistant winemaker and protegee, who would later take over after Fred’s passing in 1977. Since then, 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.
Over the years...
The McCreas planted more European white varietals including Pinot Blanc, Johannisberg Riesling and later Gerwurztraminer and Semillon.
2009
It wasn’t until 2009 that Stony Hill began producing red wine made of estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
2020
Under new ownership of the Lawrence Family, Stony Hill Vineyard welcomed its newest winemaker, Jaimee Motley. Motley caught the attention of Stony Hill’s managing partner Carlton McCoy, Jr. who admired her style of winemaking, referring to it as “ethereal” and believes she will continue the legacy the McCrea family began so many years ago.
“I look forward to maintaining a deep reverence with the land, honoring the past, and embracing the future of Stony Hill.”
