Trefethen Family Vineyards

Trefethen Family Vineyards is a wine producer located in the Oak Knoll region of Napa Valley, California. It produces an array of wines sourced exclusively from the Oak Knoll property, ranging from a dry Riesling to the flagship HaLo Cabernet Sauvignon.

Eugene and Catherine Trefethen moved to Napa Valley in 1968 after Eugene's retirement from the construction industry, where he'd been involved with projects like the San Francisco Bay Bridge and the Hoover Dam. At the time there were fewer than twenty wineries in Napa and most had been neglected since Prohibition. The Trefethens saw the area's potential and purchased six farms, including the 19th century Eschol Winery. They originally intended to sell the grapes to other producers, but their son John had other plans and made the first commercial vintage of Trefethen in 1973.

The Oak Knoll sub-AVA is located in the southern part of Napa, and is significantly cooler than northern regions such as Calistoga and Saint Helena due to the coastal influence from the San Francisco Bay. The Trefethen vineyard is planted to both cool- and warm-climate varieties, including Riesling, Chardonnay, Viognier, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

As well as its award-winning Chardonnay and HaLo Cabernet Sauvignon, Trefethen makes a wide range of wines. These include one of the only dry Rieslings in Napa, and a popular blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon called Dragon's Tooth. Other wines are produced from Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir.

Trefethen was one of the wineries severely affected by the earthquake in Napa County in 2014. Parts of the foundation of the historic winery buckled and had to be rebuilt.