The History of Leon Brendel

That's right, introducing our namesake, Brendel. Leon Brendel. Not sure if he liked his martinis shaken or stirred, but he liked his wine as Grignolino.

Winemaking was in his blood and before moving to Napa Valley, Leon spent several years in Mexico as the wine chemist for the country’s president, Francisco I. Madero.

After arriving in Napa Valley in the 1930s, he was the founding winemaker at Freemark Abbey and was later described in a Napa Valley Register article as, “one of the county’s best-established winemakers.” Pretty cool right? It's about to get even better.

Because in the late 1940s, Leon planted vines on a small plot of land in St. Helena to start his own winery. He only wanted to make one wine, and he wanted to make it well, and chose a grape that could only be found in Northern Italy. Grignolino. And because he was only making one wine, he called his winery Only One.

And just to bring it full circle, what happened to Leon's winery and vineyard? In 1961, he sold the 8 acres of land to Joe and Alice Heitz who founded Heitz Cellar on the property.

Check out Leon's winery sign advertising Grignoliono when you come to Brendel; it's hanging in our tasting room!