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You are here: Home / Archives for Hall Winery

A Perfect Score – A perfect book for a wine afficionado

September 7, 2016 by Janelle Becerra

perfect-score-book

A Perfect Score

A Perfect Score
The Art, Soul, and Business of a 21st-Century Winery

By Craig and Kathryn Hall

On a recent visit to Hall Winery, Joe and I were very impressed with all the art work inside the buildings and outside in the gardens, as well. We had long admired the giant stainless steel Bunny which looks striking when driving along Hwy. 29. At Easter time, the Bunny was cleverly holding a basket of flowers. We found out when reading the book that the Bunny is named Bunny Foo Foo, and is representative of the many rabbits that hop through the vineyards. Kathryn had fond memories of singing about Little Bunny Foo Foo in her parent’s vineyards in Mendocino County.

easter time in the Napa Valley

The Hall Winery with a special Easter basket

“The Perfect Score” is the story of the vast love between Kathryn and Craig and their passion for continually striving to make the best wines possible from the best vineyards on their property. Like many other winery owners, they believe that great grapes will produce great wines if handled expertly by carefully chosen winemakers and staff.

Craig and Kathryn met in 1991. Kathryn was running for Mayor of Dallas and called on Craig’s expertise as Chairman and founder of Hall Financial Group in Dallas. They immediately felt a connection to each other, and when Kathryn lost her bid for Mayor, she decided to show Craig her family’s vineyards in Mendocino County. Craig discovered how much happier Kathryn was walking through vineyards than practicing law.

Before meeting Craig, Kathryn had gotten married, had two children and divorced. She visited her parents once a month to help with the family vineyards. Following the death of her parents, Kathryn and her her siblings eventually split up the estate. Kathryn, with Craig’s urging, decided to look for vineyard property in the Napa Valley they both loved. Their plan was temporarily Interrupted when Kathryn was summoned by the White House to become the Ambassador to Austria.

“The Perfect Score” is a fascinating look at the Halls’ journey from planting small vineyards to the huge success of their current Hall Wines and Walt Wines. You’ll get a bird’s eye view of how much planning went into producing a wine that won a 100-point score from wine critic Robert Parker. You’ll also see how completely the Halls enmeshed themselves into the fantastic wine community of Napa County and the charitable work they do to give back to the community.

tasting room guide

The Hall St. Helena tasting room

A Perfect Score can is available on Amazon. Here is a link to Amazon and the book: A Perfect Score: The Art, Soul, and Business of a 21st-Century Winery

Filed Under: Wine Books, Wine News Tagged With: A perfect score, Hall Winery, Kathryn Hall

Hall Winery in St. Helena

July 25, 2015 by Joe Becerra

 Hall Winery in St. Helena

The beautiful tasting room at Hall winery in St. Helena

Last Wednesday we had the chance to tour and taste at  Hall winery in St. Helena. Our previous visit to Hall was in November 2006. What dramatic changes since our last visit! In 2013, the Hall winery opened a new winery facility and hospitality center. The owners are Kathyrn Hall and Craig Hall, both successful in business, and Kathyrn  once the United States Ambassador to Austria. In short, this dynamic duo have turned the winery they established in 2003 into a very popular tourist center and a state-of-the-art winery, churning out 125,000 cases a year.  The winery is LEED certified and their estate vineyards are organically farmed. There are many attractions at the winery, and most evident is the Hall Family art collection and how it is displayed around the entire winery. Along Highway 29, one cannot miss the silver rabbit as it appears to be jumping out of the vineyards.  In  the Hall winery reception area, entry wine tasters are welcomed by a huge, brilliant quilted medallion. Just about everywhere you turn in the winery, you will find  unusual works of art. This includes the barrel room, fermenting area, restrooms, hallways, and outdoor areas.

On the Hall estate is one of the several so-called Ghost Wineries that are found throughout the Napa Valley. This one is the Bergfeld Winery built in 1885. The Bergfeld structure has been completely restored by the Halls and is used for special events at the winery. It’s a beautiful structure and surely, in the after-midnight hours, one or two ghosts are likely to roam the old winery.

Upstairs is where the tasting room is located. The tasting room is very open and spacious. There is also a large deck where visitors can  taste wine. The tasting room offers some very pretty views of the Hall Estate, including a great view of the Mayacamus Mountains to the west. There are many different taste and tour options for visitors beyond just a regular tasting of wines. A complete list of these options can be found on the Hall Winery Website.  Hall makes many different wines; the server at our tasting mentioned “40 or so.”  Only five of these wines are distributed, so the majority of the Hall wines are available only at the winery or to wine club members.  Hall is open daily from 10am to 5:30pm and is located at 401 St. Helena Highway So. (Highway 29 just south of the town of St. Helena). Get there early in the day on weekends.  It is a very popular spot among wine country travelers.

Hall Winery Slide Show

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Other wineries in the area and travel information

  • Wineries in Highway 29
  • Lodging in St. Helena
  • Dining in St. Helena

Filed Under: Napa Valley, Tasting Rooms, Wine art Tagged With: Bergheld ghost winery, Hall Winery

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