Northern California Wineries: Frank Family Vineyards
There’s an old winery building in the upper Napa Valley just south of Calistoga on Larkmead Lane, one of the small roads that cuts between Highway 29, which runs up the west side of the Valley, and the Silverado Trail, which runs up the east side of the Valley. The building is on the National Register of Historical Places. It is still called the Larkmead Winery. It’s a fascinating piece of history.
A winery housed in a wooden building was originally established on the site in the late 1800s by Lillian Hitchcock Coit, the grande dame of old San Francisco who was also responsible for Coit Tower, the well-known landmark on Telegraph Hill. The winery was sold to Felix Salmina, a Swiss immigrant who had settled in Napa in the mid 1800s, not long before the turn of the century, and it is he who is responsible for building the stone building that is now on the National Register. The Salmina family sold the winery after Prohibition. At some point, the vineyards themselves and the winery building appear to have parted ownership. As far as I can determine, the Solari family, owners of Larkmead Winery, own the vineyards on the Valley floor. However, the winery building became a part of the Hans Kornell Champagne Cellars. That was a great winery to visit in the 70s and 80s when old Mr. Kornell, was still alive. He was a very formal person but took the time to carefully explain how champagne was made. This was when the bottles were still riddled by hand! He made the driest champagne I have ever tasted, Sehr Trocken (which I also think was his best), from Reisling grapes – highly unusual. Eventually, Mr. Kornell died; there were financial problems with the winery (bankruptcy); and it was acquired by Rich Frank and Koerner Rombauer (Rombauer Vineyards) and, eventually, renamed the Frank Family Vineyards. I believe that the Frank Family is now the sole owner. http://www.frankfamilyvineyards.com/index.jsp
The tasting room is not in the old stone winery building as it was in the days of Mr. Kornell. I believe that the stone building is being restored. The tasting rooms, actually there are two, are in a farmhouse adjacent to it. Since Rich Frank is an ex-Disney executive who is still involved in the industry, there is a lot of movie memorabilia on display in the tasting rooms. 
Champagne is still made at the winery under the Frank Family label. Most of the champagnes are quite dry. I don’t know if that is in keeping with the Hans Kornell tradition, but they are very drinkable. However, I’m not fond of rouge champagnes and I don’t make an exception for the Frank Family’s. The winery also makes cabernets, chardonnays, zins and pinot noirs. I think my favorites, outside of the champagnes, are the cabernets.
This is a great place to visit just because of all of the history. However, it can be a very noisy tasting room environment.
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