Wine 101: Quintessa

In 1944, George Mardikian purchased a 280-acre plot of land in the northern Napa Valley as a vacation home for his family. By then, Mardikian was already something of a popular name on the West Coast: He gained renown for surviving the Armenian Genocide, escaping Turkish prison, and opening one of the most influential restaurants in San Francisco.

After Mardikian passed away, his family kept the property in a trust and left it largely untouched. That was until 1989 when a Chilean couple began looking for fertile land in Napa Valley. By then, Napa was well into its heyday, and much of the region had been built up. But Valeria Huneeus, with her background in viticulture, was insistent on buying virgin soil. After just one look at a map, she found the land of her dreams. One year later, Valeria and Agustin Huneeus founded Quintessa on Mardikian’s original plot.

Today on “Wine 101,” host Keith Beavers dives into the last installment of his series on historic American wineries. How were Agustin and Valeria Huneeus able to purchase the idyllic property from Mardikian? Once they acquired the land, how did they become pioneers in California winemaking?

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“Wine 101” was produced, recorded, and edited by yours truly, Keith Beavers, at the VinePair headquarters in New York City. I want to give a big old shout-out to co-founders Adam Teeter and Josh Malin for creating VinePair. Also, Darby Cicci for the theme song. And I want to thank the entire VinePair staff for helping me learn something new every day. See you next week.

*Image retrieved from Quintessa

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