Mondavi and Beckstoffer Settle To Kalon Issue

Robert Mondavi and Beckstoffer Vineyards announced today that they have settled their differences over the use of the name To Kalon Vineyard.  As part of the settlement, Robert Mondavi has granted Beckstoffer a perpetual, royalty-free trademark license to use "To Kalon Vineyard" as a vineyard designation on wine made from grapes grown on his portion of the historic Hamilton Crabb To Kalon Vineyard.  Mondavi will also join Beckstoffer in his efforts to establish a Registry of Historic Napa Valley Vineyards that distinguishes and honors the important Napa Valley pioneers' vineyards, such as Hamilton Crabb's To Kalon Vineyard established in 1868.

Each party emphasized that, above all, their goal was to honor the history and tradition of this great name.  Both the Robert Mondavi family and the Andy Beckstoffer family recognize the distinction of this historic vineyard and the need for stewardship of the land and the history of the Napa Valley.  To that end, only wines of the highest quality produced from the To Kalon Vineyard will be given that designation.

R. Michael Mondavi, Chairman of the Board of Robert Mondavi, said "We feel that Andy has a fair right to use the To Kalon Vineyard name to describe the fact that his 89 acres of land in Oakville were part of Hamilton Crabb's historic To Kalon Vineyard.  Our concern has always been that use of the To Kalon Vineyard name as a front label vineyard designation was a trademark usage beyond the scope of fair use rights.  We needed to implement some control mechanism or risk losing our To Kalon Vineyard trademark.  We feel that our trademark license accomplishes this control."

Andy Beckstoffer said, "We are pleased to have reached this agreement with the Mondavis, which recognizes their trademark rights, our ownership of a portion of H.W. Crabb's To Kalon Vineyard and his contribution to the Napa Valley through his stewardship of this special piece of land.  We applaud their promotion of the agricultural history of the To Kalon Vineyard and the Napa Valley.  Our concern has always been the preservation of the Crabb history and his association with this land on which he helped establish the industry here in the Napa Valley.  It is my plan to now establish a detailed Registry of Historic Napa Valley Vineyards, starting with Crabb's, so that not only the names of the Napa pioneers are remembered, but also the specific pieces of land on which they worked."

Schrader Cellars, which was also named in the lawsuit, is pleased that the matter has been amicably resolved and that the case against it has been dismissed.  Vintner Frederick H. Schrader said, "I am proud that the grapes I purchase from Andy Beckstoffer are the first to carry the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard designation."

The To Kalon Vineyard, located in the Oakville District of Napa Valley, California, is famed for both its history in the California wine business and for its ongoing stature as one of the great Cabernet vineyards in the world.  Today, it is owned and operated by two families with a strong tradition of grape growing and winemaking in the Napa Valley - Robert Mondavi and Andy Beckstoffer - along with the University of California at Davis which owns a 20-acre research vineyard in the To Kalon Vineyard.

The To Kalon Vineyard's rich history begins in 1868, when H.W. Crabb, a pioneer of Napa Valley viticulture, began making wine on 359 acres in Oakville that he called "Hermosa Vineyards."  He built his first winery in 1872 and produced more than 100,000 gallons of wine within six years.  In 1874 Crabb adopted the name To Kalon, which translates to "the good" or "the beautiful" in Greek.  By the late 1880s, Crabb was growing close to 400 grape varieties.  He shared his viticultural knowledge and sold thousands of grape cuttings from his To Kalon nursery.  Crabb most probably planted the first commercial Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc in Napa Valley.  He made wine under the To Kalon label, developing a national brand held in the highest regard.

After Crabb's death in 1899, E.S. Churchill succeeded to the property and Churchill's estate owned the winery all the way through and after Prohibition.  In 1943, most of Churchill's To Kalon acreage (335 acres) was acquired by Martin Stelling and became part of the 2,000 acres known generally as the Stelling Estate.  In the same year, 89 acres of the Crabb property was acquired by Beaulieu Vineyards.  In 1966, Robert Mondavi acquired from Stelling 11.6 acres of the Crabb To Kalon Vineyard for his Robert Mondavi Winery.  In 1976, Robert received additional To Kalon acreage in a court settlement with Charles Krug and that acreage, along with further acquisitions, brought Robert Mondavi's portion of the Crabb To Kalon Vineyard to 250 acres.  Over time Robert Mondavi acquired another 300 contiguous acres in Oakville, not owned by Crabb, that are today part of Robert Mondavi's 550 acre To Kalon Vineyard.

In 1993 Beckstoffer Vineyards bought 89 acres of the original Crabb property from Beaulieu Vineyards.  The remaining 20 acres of Crabb's 359 acre vineyard are owned and farmed by U.C. Davis.  This experimental vineyard station is considered one of the world's most important vineyard research sites.