"It all begins with Chateau Souverain. Winemaker Lee Stewart founded the winery on Howell Mountain in 1944, then sold it to the Pillsbury Company in 1970. Two years later, Pillsbury expanded Chateau Souverain, establishing Souverain of Rutherford. By 1976, the "poppin' fresh dough" folks wanted out of the wine business, so they sold Souverain of Rutherford to Bill and Lila Jaeger as part of an investment group. They renamed it Rutherford Hill."
"Rutherford Hill began a new chapter in 1996. That year, the legendary Anthony Terlato - the head of a Chicago-based family of wine importers, marketers and distributors - purchased the winery. (This was their first venture into winery ownership; the family would go on to buy several more wineries around the world, including Chimney Rock in Napa Valley and Sanford in Santa Barbara County.) In the early 2000s, Terlato set about revitalizing Rutherford Hill. He invested millions to improve the producer's winemaking facilities and equipment, and the efforts paid off. Terlato died in 2020, and his son Bill continues on as Terlato Wine Group's CEO. Today, still specializing in Merlot, Rutherford Hill farms 110 acres of estate vineyards across Napa Valley."
Rutherford Hill originated from Chateau Souverain, founded by Lee Stewart in 1944 and sold to Pillsbury in 1970, which later established Souverain of Rutherford. Bill and Lila Jaeger purchased and renamed the property Rutherford Hill in 1976 and focused on Bordeaux-style reds, adopting Merlot as the varietal focus and bottling a varietally labeled Merlot beginning with the 1976 vintage. Anthony Terlato purchased the winery in 1996 and invested heavily in winemaking facilities in the early 2000s. Terlato died in 2020; his son Bill leads Terlato Wine Group. Rutherford Hill farms 110 acres of estate vineyards and features a multilevel terrace with multimillion-dollar views.
Read at The Mercury News
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