The Story of Hendry Ranch’s 2020 Mission: From 16th Century Roots to Modern California

A Classic Napa Winery

Hendry Ranch Wines is emblematic of the way Napa Valley used to be before so many of California’s wineries were snapped up by mega conglomerate wine brands. Founded in 1939 by George W. Hendry and his wife, Margaret, the family originally sold their grapes to the now-defunct Christian Brothers’ Winery. It wasn’t until 1992 that the winery produced its first vintage under the Hendry Ranch label.  

Current owner George O. Hendry (not to be confused with his father, who was also named George) is the current winemaker at Hendry. His nephew, Mike, who oversees the vineyards, appears poised to step into the role in the future. 

What is the Mission wine grape?

The Mission grape is a red grape that was brought to the United States, Chile, and Mexico by Spanish missionaries in the 16th century. Mission grapes were first planted in Mexico and then later in New Mexico as early as 1629. We don’t normally think of New Mexico as a hotbed for grape growing, but where the missionaries went, so went the Mission grape. Plantings in California, the state now associated with this grape, came later, with the first known plantings happening in 1769.

If you had guessed that the grape was named ‘mission’ because it was planted at California missions by Spanish missionaries, you would have hit the nail on the head!

How did Hendry Wines Get Mission Grapes

There are plenty of vineyards in California that were planted to Mission grapes in the early 20th century or even later. The idea to plant Mission in the Hendry vineyards came much, much later. The family had originally planted one of their vineyard blocks in Cabernet Franc in 2003. Instead of leaning all the way into Cab Franc, in 2012 Hendry decided to graft 80 of the vines to the more esoteric Mission grape. They were so pleased with the wines that were produced that in 2015 they planted 50 more vines.

When it comes to winemaking, 130 vines isn’t a lot. If everything goes according to plan in the vineyard, Hendry is lucky if they get one barrel of Mission wine.

A fun fact about Hendry’s Mission Wine: while the current family plot was not planted to Mission when the family purchased it in the early 1930s, the original owners of the property did have Mission wine grapes planted in the 1850s. Unfortunately, the phylloxera outbreak in the 1880s decimated those vines.

The Hendry Wines Vineyards

Hendry has a total of 113 acres planted to grapes, and just .1 acres of that is devoted to the winery’s Mission grapes. The biggest plantings are devoted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, and a red field blend. 

The vineyards sit right on the southwestern edge of the Oak Knoll District, next to the Mount Veeder AVA. While the grapes are not organically certified – some vintners find the auditing process for organic certification overly expensive – Hendry does use organic farming techniques.