Beringer Vineyards" in St. Helena in California's Napa Valley was founded in 1876 by Jakob (1845-1915) and Frederick Beringer (1840-1901), two brothers who immigrated from Germany. The "Rhine House", built a little later in 1883 in the half-timbered style of the Rheingau, is now a tourist attraction. A cellar with ideal conditions for winemaking was carved into the rocks below this house. The total vineyard area today is over 1,200 hectares, of which almost 250 are in the Napa Valley. The cellar master since 1984 has been Ed Sbragia. He created the "Private Reserve", now considered the best wine, from Cabernet Sauvignon, which is also available from Chardonnay. Other lines are called California Collection, Founders Estate, Knights Valley, Napa Valley, Stone Cellars and Third Century. After several changes of ownership (for example Nestlé), Beringer became the property of the Australian brewery giant Foster's in 2000, which had already bought the Australian group Mildara Blass in 1996. The huge winery group first traded as Beringer Blass, then as Foster's Wine Estates and was finally spun off as its own company called Treasury Wine Estates in 2011.
As honorary chairman of the Domäne Wachau, it is the easiest and quickest way for me to access the wein.plus encyclopaedia when I have questions. The certainty of receiving well-founded and up-to-date information here makes it an indispensable guide.
Hans-Georg Schwarz
Ehrenobmann der Domäne Wachau (Wachau)