Arriving in Napa Valley with no winemaking experience in 1999, Jayson Woodbridge quickly showed his A aptitude for learning from luminary winemakers - most notably St Helena-based Philippe Melka.
Woodbridge's ability to make fine wine and understand the importance of terroir - and the substantial fortune that he brought to the valley - enabled him to purchase vineyard land in good locations. He managed it very well and produced consistently high-quality grapes to make his Hundred Acre wines.
Woodbridge chose a slightly obscure name that no one understood at first. Writers have claimed, mistakenly, that 'Hundred Acre' is a reference to AA Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh. 'Not so,' says Woodbridge; it's a Zen-like reminder of his youthful days as a long-distance runner speeding through the woods near his childhood home. "My own private forest of childhood memories.' Woodbridge has astutely caught the attention of the media and consumers in a way that has placed Hundred Acre among the best-known wines in California. Though he built his empire on high-priced cult wines, he also created under-$20 wine brands Layer Cake, Cherry Pie and If You See Kay (all sold to Vintage Wine Estates in 2018). In the last five years, he established two entirely new wineries: Fortunate Son and Summer Dreams (see p59).
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