54 WINES&VINES July 2015
winery with tasting room and a
25-acre lake shared with Flora
Springs Winery.
The property also contains a
stream, oak grove and other wild
areas. Sinegal promises to never
develop the oak grove—even
though he says that it is the best
land on the property, not that the
rest is lacking.
The Inglewood Estate began
when Alton Williams bought the
property in 1879 for $7,500. It
was first planted with vines in
1881, and Inglewood Estate's first
harvest was in 1884. Williams
planted 25 acres and built a 24-by-
60-foot frame wine cellar with a
stone foundation that could pro-
duce 20,000 gallons annually.
More recent owners of the
property were William and Lila
Jaeger, who were co-founders of
Freemark Abbey and founders of
Rutherford Hill wineries, who
bought it in 1965. Doug and Jane
Wolf bought the property in 1996.
The Wolfs began producing wine
under the Wolf Family Vineyards
label in 1997.
When Sinegal took over the
estate, he turned to its front door
for its logo. The original lock and
skeleton key inspired the drawing
on every bottle.
WINEMAKING TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT
SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AND SAVE.
Print + Digital Magazine
12 monthly issues a year for $28
winesandvines.com/subscribe
Sinegal enlisted Craig Williams to consult on Bordeaux-style wine blends.
The Sinegals live in a renovated 19th century Victorian home on the property.
"If I have a
question, I can
just go knock
on the door."
—Tony Biagi, winemaker
CREEL
STUDIO
