Charles and Helen Bacigalupi’s dream of owning a vineyard became a reality in the early 1950s. After graduating from San Francisco college, they moved to the small town of Healdsburg. Charles worked as the local dentist, and Helen as a pharmacist. Always loving the land, the couple moved onto Westside Road in 1956 and purchased 121 acres. In the humble beginning, Charles began to care for the 16 acres of existing vineyards, which included Zinfandel, Mission, Golden Chaslis, and Muscat.
Charles became friends with Paul Heck through his dental practice when Paul would bring the family in for regular checkups. The two occasionally chatted about grapes and wine, sharing insight and advice. Envisioning the demand for premium wine grapes, Paul encouraged Charles to plant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. In 1964, Charles began planting six acres of each varietal. Eventually, he obtained Pinot Noir bud wood from Karl Wente, the first well-documented plantings of Pinot Noir in the Russian River Valley. Charles remembers Wente telling him the stock had come from France via the family’s old vineyard in Livermore. Charles and his son, John, worked alongside each other, perfecting their viticulture techniques and expanding the vineyards.
The Bacigalupi’s gained recognition as growers during the 1976 Paris tasting, when the 1973 Napa Valley Chardonnay from Château Montelena made with Bacigalupi fruit triumphed over many acclaimed French wines to be declared the undisputed winner. This event was to be the turning point in America’s global wine image. That same block of Chardonnay used to produce this world-renowned wine is still in existence today and carefully tended by the family. With 65 years of experience in grape growing and the wine industry, the family is also known for sourcing fruit to some of Sonoma and Napa’s most sought-after names.
Today, with three generations involved and winemaker Ashley Herzberg leading the winemaking endeavor, the family makes Bacigalupi label wines with ten percent of the grapes they grow and showcases them at their tasting room on Westside Road just outside Healdsburg.
