The Charles Krug Winery is a winery founded by Charles Krug in 1861. Historically, Charles Krug introduced innovative ideas in California winemaking. He began making wine using a cider press for pressing, carefully selected rootstocks, varietals and vineyard sites. Today, Charles Krug Winery is under the direction of brothers Marc and Peter Mondavi, Jr., who steward the family business passed to them by their father, legendary Napa Valley wine icon Peter Mondavi, Sr.
Thanks to Peter Mondavi Sr.’s research, it was the first estate to build a cold fermentation room to create the exceptionally crisp, fruity white wines that became the industry standard. Charles Krug was also the first Napa Valley winery to import French oak barrels to age wines, as well as one of the first to promote vintage-dated varietal wines.
In 1999, the family embarked on an extensive vineyard replanting, resulting in carefully chosen clonal varieties matched to the distinct soil and climate conditions of each parcel of land. The results are noble Bordeaux varietals that beautifully express the vineyard’s premium and diverse terroir.
When thinking about the future of the company, their priority is to remain one hundred percent family owned. As explained by Peter Mondavi Jr., to produce great wine you cannot think of the next quarter or year. Success comes with generational views.
They’ve been around as a family business for four generations in Napa Valley - since 1943 - and now they’re one of three wineries that go that far back in the region.
