Peacock Family Vineyard (not to be confused with Peacock Cellars in Arroyo Grande in California’s Central Coast) is located in the beautiful Spring Mountain District, just minutes outside of the town of St. Helena. The 6+ planted acres are located at 1,000 feet at the end of a rolling narrow windy and steep hillside road. Founders Chris and Betsy Peacock moved here in 1991 and purchased the site from the then owners of Raymond Winery. The Peacock’s initially sold the grapes to one of their Spring Mountain neighbors, Barnett Winery (who produced a Peacock Vineyard designate) but then began producing their own wine in 1999 (Cabernet Sauvignon).

Chris (died in 2023) and Betsy are very well traveled and are attracted to a variety of interests besides wine including the spiritual world (Chris went to seminary school where he graduated with a degree in divinity), travel and the arts. Chris also served in the Korean War and later started his own commercial real estate company.

Their home is built of rammed earth and is one of only several vintner homes in Napa Valley that we know of built in this style. Others included Wing Canyon before their home and winery burned down in the 2017 fires, Dyer on Diamond Mountain and the winery building for Long Meadow Ranch. This type of construction uses gravel, sand, silt and a small amount of clay rammed into extremely thick but porous walls (provides excellent insulation).

With Chris and Betsy getting up in years, their daughter Rebecca joined the team in 2013, leaving a career in the world of fashion. For 15 years Rebecca owned and operated Les Deux Copines (translates from French into English as the two girlfriends), a boutique primarily women’s apparel store in Burlingame, California which focuses on French fashion. This store is still in business but under different ownership. Rebecca is often on the road marketing the wine, attending dinners and other events.

The vineyard is perched in a stunning location on the side of a saddle which overlooks the lower part of Spring Mountain as well as onto the Napa Valley floor with views to both the north and south from the property. The vines are planted on steep hillside following the curvature of the slope – wrapping around the property with numerous exposures. Sometimes this is above the fog line and all you see from above is a white ‘pillow’ covering the valley floor. This is prime hillside vineyard real estate located next to other notable vineyards from other wineries. And remarkably, while surrounded by rugged natural hillsides, the vineyard is only located about a 10-minute drive into the town of St. Helena.

Much of the vineyard is planted to a specific clone of Cabernet Sauvignon although individual block replanting’s have introduced additional Cabernet Sauvignon clones. They also make a rare (for a Spring Mountain producer) Pinot Noir, sourced from the Russian River Valley in neighboring Sonoma County. And in more recent years they produce a Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc.