Top of the Hill en Caspar Estate!

Back in 1958, the sweeping views of the Napa Valley appealed to our grandfather, Caspar Escher and his wife, Virginia. He purchased land on Whitehall Lane in the Mayacamas Mountain range high above the Rutherford Bench.

In 1962, our grandparents built a two-bedroom house with Tommy Church as architect and landscape designer. While “Pops” raised cattle, horses, rabbits, and chickens, Virginia “Vee” oversaw the fruit trees, herbs and vegetable gardens. Pops taught us how to use the tractor, farm the land, fix things, drive the jeep, and tend the property. Vee taught us how to garden and cook. Some days we’d clear trails or hunt for mushrooms with a legendary local specialist.

In the 1980s, we trimmed back our dormant grove of century-old Mission olive trees and planted fruit trees, a vegetable garden and added bee hives. We found that by supplementing the soil with compost and using organic farming practices, we had an ideal site for growing Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2000, we planted our first block of Cabernet Sauvignon, and following several excellent growing seasons, we had our first harvest in 2004.

In 2008, we created our first Caspar Estate Cabernet Sauvignon vintage, and to honor our grandfather we named it Caspar Estate. We then planted Cabernet Franc in a tiny block with spacing too narrow for the tractor, so it is all hand-tended.

By 2015, Caspar Estate was producing terroir-driven ultra-premium wines, and Cultivar was producing popular, award-winning wines. With a desire to share these wines with local wine lovers, we began our search for the best location to open a small tasting room/wine bar/retail spot. Our search started in St. Helena, then moved to Napa and finally to San Francisco, where we opened Cultivar SF in San Francisco’s Marina District: a farm-to-table restaurant where we’ve nurtured a community bonded together by a shared love of wine and food.