Placing new roots

How does someone decide one day to become a farmer? A million visitors come to Napa Valley every year and most see the bucolic country life and lovely wines and think to themselves “maybe someday.” 

For a select few, it happens. Stan and Joan Boyd are two of those people who serve as proof. The two are true Napa residents now, but they were not always so. The Boyd family came to Napa Valley in 1988 as Stan Boyd was developing a career in the hotel industry as a senior vice president of Fairmount while Joan Boyd worked was in the travel industry. 

They had talked about getting the perfect 2-acre vineyard somewhere, maybe Australia, France, or Italy. Then the fateful call came from a friend in Napa, who told them about an old, derelict plum orchard for sale down the road.

The two raced up from San Francisco and – after just a 10-minute walk around the place – they knew it was home. They pulled out the old trees and began replanting the place with grapes. About 20,000 vines were put in, mixed with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec along with some Syrah, Viognier, and Sauvignon Blanc. 

Historically, his grapes have fared well over the years with mountain fruit. There is an intense and often slightly rustic quality in mountainside wines that marries well with Boyd's bright fruit tones. 

Stan Boyd said he has seen time and again that his wines’ pure fruit flavors harmonize well with Coombsville juice to make profound wines. It is possible to make the jump to an agricultural lifestyle, but the changes are hard and there are difficult times in farming. Yet with perseverance and a good foundation of business sense, anyone can be a Napa Valley grape grower.