Napa Valley's Monticello Vineyards doesn't skimp on quality

By Wendy Marinaccio, Special to the Town Crier

Monticello Vineyards has been growing grapes in Napa County since 1970 and making wine since 1980. Los Altos Hills resident Jay Corley created the vineyard and winery, which now produces more than 15,000 cases a year of Monticello Vineyards and Corley Reserve wine. “We sell wine around the world and we feel we compete with the very best,” he said.

Corley named his winery Monticello after Thomas Jefferson’s estate, in honor of his family’s history in Virginia from the 1640s to the 1740s. “The Corleys in the South are fairly prominent, and every generation has been involved in farming,” Corley said. His wine is also named in honor of Jefferson himself, who “loved wine and food, like I do,” according to Corley, who attempted to grow grapes despite the difficulty of Virginia’s terrain for the crop. Although there is a burgeoning wine industry in Virginia now, Monticello is purely Napa Valley.

Monticello Vineyards occupies several hundred acres in Napa and includes primarily Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Merlot grapes, as well as a limited amount of Cabernet Franc and Syrah. Corley initiated the business by growing grapes, which he sold to other Napa wineries. After 10 years of growing, he had enough mature grapes to begin making his own wine.

“We only make wine from grapes that we grow,” he said. As a result, Monticello is able to use only the very best grapes. “We don’t care how many grapes there are, we care about how they taste.”

Corley said Monticello makes wine that is consistent, in the style of France, where vineyards are farmed and wine is made in the same fashion over a period of years. “Someone who comes to Monticello this year, next year, five years ago or five years from now, will know the kind of style wine that we are making. We make modifications as we learn more every year, but they are subtle.”

Corley grew up in Illinois, and his family has a background in farming. He learned to enjoy wine as an undergraduate at Stanford University in the 1950s. “I put wine and farming together,” he said. Corley settled in Los Altos Hills with his wife, Joan, and is still connected to the Stanford community.

Over time, Corley’s three sons, Kevin, Stephen and Chris, took over management and operation of the business; Joan is also involved. “We really have a family team,” Corley said. He retired from the day-to-day operations approximately five years ago. “I’m now trying to learn how to be retired,” he said.

Monticello has a tasting room that is open to the public seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Next door is the Jefferson House, a building modeled after Thomas Jefferson’s home, available for private events. The Jefferson House is open for tours by request, as are the picnic grounds. Monticello Vineyards also has an active wine club. Its members have access to limited-production wines not distributed publicly.

Contact the Monticello Tasting Room at (707) 253-2802 or www.corleyfamilynapavalley.com.