Trincheros donate land

Sutter Home and Trinchero Family Estates founders Bob and Evalyn Trinchero have donated over 1,450ha to Napa County Regional Park and Lake Berryessa Resort Improvement Districts.

The action will allow a right of way to previously inaccessible Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land.

Park district director Guy Kay said, ‘It’s an exceptional opportunity that fits perfectly with our goals of preserving the natural environment while providing outdoor recreation for the public.’

Ninety-seven hectares donated to the Lake Berryessa Resort Improvement Districts (LBRID) will help protect water quality.

The future park property, which is located northeast of Napa County’s Pope Valley, includes the 1,012ha Spanish Valley, an expansive meadow and large pond surrounded by oak woodlands, Gray Pine chaparral, volcanic cliffs, and numerous springs and streams.

It includes threee miles of Putah Creek, the biggest river serving the largest watershed in Napa County.

The area is filled with wildlife such as deer, turkeys, otters, black bears and mountain lions.

When asked if the land had potential for viticulture the Trincheros told Decanter.com only about 80ha were plantable and ‘even then it would be somewhat marginal.’

The Trincheros’ charitable activities include the surgical centre St Helena Hospital, the Boys & Girls Club, Napa Valley Museum, and Napa Valley Opera House.

Written by David Furer

David Furer is a Californian wine writer, educator, consultant and speaker, who has worked for over 20 years in the wine trade. He has appeared in publications such as Decanter, Wine Business Monthly in the US and SommelierS Int’l in France. He formerly served on the Circle of Wine Writers’ executive committee and is a sommelier with accreditation from the Court of Master Sommeliers. In his book, Wine Places, he collaborates with photographer Charles O’Rear to capture some of the world’s vineyards, wineries and winemakers.