Caymus Vineyards was founded in 1972 by Charlie Wagner Sr., his wife Lorna, and their 19-year-old son Chuck on a Rutherford Bench property the family had worked for generations. Starting with 240 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon, the Wagners built one of the most recognized names in California wine over the next five decades while remaining 100% family-owned and operated. Today Chuck Wagner and his children Charlie and Jenny lead the winery, continuing a tradition of Cabernet grown on Napa Valley floor and mountain sites, with some blocks dry-farmed and planted at high density. The result is a wine known for its ripe, concentrated, fruit-forward style that shows well from release without sacrificing structure for long aging.

History: Four Generations of Rutherford Farming

The Wagner family history in Napa Valley stretches back to the turn of the twentieth century. Lafayette Stice, Chuck Wagner’s great-grandfather, worked as a winemaker at Brun and Chaix (now Cade Winery on Howell Mountain) around 1900. On Lorna Wagner’s side, the Glos family emigrated from Germany and homesteaded on Howell Mountain in the 1880s, clearing land and building a cabin by hand. Charlie Wagner Sr. and Lorna Belle Glos grew up just a mile apart in Rutherford and married in 1934, farming the land together for more than 50 years.

In 1972, Charlie and Lorna asked their son Chuck — then 19 years old — to go all in on creating a commercial winery. Chuck said yes, and the three worked side by side for decades. Charlie Sr. was the quintessential farmer: pruning vines with shears bearing his initials, eating lunches Lorna packed, and showing Chuck what it meant to endure and find joy in simple work. Charlie passed away in 2002 at age 90; Lorna followed in 2013 at 97. Their influence is present in every bottle.

The Caymus Style: Concentrated, Dark, and Fruit-Forward

Caymus is built on a distinct winemaking philosophy: Cabernet Sauvignon that is dark and concentrated but approachable from the day of release. The Wagners achieve this through careful viticulture decisions — some dry farming, high-density planting with select blocks as close as one meter by one meter, deliberate yield thinning, and harvesting at an elevated degree of ripeness. Low-fertility soils on both the Napa Valley floor and surrounding mountain sites concentrate flavor while maintaining vine health.

The Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is the flagship, and each year the best barrels from that wine are set aside for Special Selection — a limited bottling that represents the peak of the estate’s Cabernet. The portfolio also includes a Zinfandel that honors Charlie Wagner Sr. (for whom it was a personal favorite) and, introduced with the 2021 vintage, a California-appellation Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from exceptional sites across the state. Chuck and his family see California’s diverse vineyard land — often in lesser-known appellations — as a source of excitement and potential.

The Wagner Family Today: Chuck, Charlie, and Jenny

Chuck Wagner has led Caymus since co-founding it with his parents in 1972, and his influence on the winery’s style and philosophy is absolute. For Chuck, farming and winemaking are inseparable: the same attention his father gave to vine pruning, he brings to every decision about canopy management, harvest timing, and winemaking technique. What Chuck inherited from Charlie Sr. — humility and an unshakeable work ethic — now flows to the next generation.

Charlie Wagner (Chuck’s son) and Jenny Wagner (Chuck’s daughter) are accomplished winemakers in their own right, having grown up in the vineyards and learned the craft from the ground up. They believe, as Chuck does, that Caymus should outlast any individual — guided by successive generations and grounded in the same farming values that Lorna and Charlie Sr. established when they built their life together on the Rutherford Bench. The winery has expanded its geographic footprint with the Suisun Valley project, but Rutherford remains the spiritual home.

Visiting Caymus Vineyards in Rutherford

Caymus Vineyards welcomes guests at its Rutherford estate on Conn Creek Road, where the family has farmed for generations. Drop-in by-the-glass service runs daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a retail shop open until 5:00 p.m. Seated tastings are available by appointment from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and run approximately 90 minutes at $50 per person — an unhurried format that reflects the Wagners’ preference for genuine hospitality over efficiency.

The estate grounds are modest and deliberately unpretentious — no grand chateau, no theatrical architecture — because the Wagners believe the wine should do the talking. The family considers everyone who visits part of the Caymus story, and that sense of welcome is genuine. Pairing the Special Selection with a great steak is the unofficial house recommendation, and it is hard to argue with 50 years of track record.

Caymus Vineyards: Frequently Asked Questions