Arriving in Napa Valley with no winemaking experience in 1999, Jayson Woodbridge quickly showed his aptitude for learning from luminary winemakers – most notably St Helena-based Philippe Melka.
Woodbridge’s ability to make fine wine and understand the importance of terroir – and the substantial fortune that he brought to the valley – enabled him to purchase vineyard land in good locations. He managed it very well and produced consistently high-quality grapes to make his Hundred Acre wines.
Woodbridge chose a slightly obscure name that no one understood at first. Writers have claimed, mistakenly, that ‘Hundred Acre’ is a reference to AA Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh. ‘Not so,’ says Woodbridge; it’s a Zen-like reminder of his youthful days as a long-distance runner speeding through the woods near his childhood home. ‘My own private forest of childhood memories.’
Woodbridge has astutely caught the attention of the media and consumers in a way that has placed Hundred Acre among the best-known wines in California. Though he built his empire on high-priced cult wines, he also created under-$20 wine
