Lone Canyon Vineyard on the flank of Mt. Veeder ranges in altitude up to 1,100 feet; some areas are so rugged and steep it’s difficult to stand upright. Ladera’s Howell Mountain property ranges in altitude from 1,600 feet to 1,800 feet: a gently rolling terrain, but set on a broad ridge of the mountain high above the Napa Valley floor.

Lone Canyon Vineyard was once a small part of Mariano Vallejo’s vast holdings, a portion of which was given as a gift to George Yount in the 1830s. He in turn gave a portion of the land to Charles Hopper, who planted his first vines in the area in 1877. Hopper was a trapper and trader who came to California in 1841 with the first immigrant wagon train.

By contrast, Ladera’s Howell Mountain vineyard was considered from the very beginning to be a little piece of France, and was named Nouveau Medoc Vineyard by the men who founded it.

In 1886 Brun & Chaix completed a three-story winery building with thirty inch thick stone walls. “The structure is built entirely of hard, durable stone, three stories in height, roofed with shingles, and being partly dug in the side of a sloping hill, there is easy access by wagons or teams to the three floors... The enterprise and perseverance shown by this firm in demonstrating what our elevated regions can accomplish in the way of grape growing is worthy of all praise