Freemark Abbey stands as one of the most historically significant wineries in Napa Valley. Founded in 1886 by Josephine Tychson, one of California’s earliest female vintners, the estate at 3022 St. Helena Highway North has witnessed nearly a century and a half of Napa wine history. The stone winery, constructed in 1899 from hand-hewn Glass Mountain rock, still anchors the property today. Owned by Jackson Family Wines since 2006 and now celebrating its 140th anniversary, Freemark Abbey continues to produce classically structured Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay under winemaker Kristy Melton.

A Legacy That Begins with Josephine Tychson

In 1886, an intrepid widow named Josephine Tychson built and operated the original redwood cellar on the property that would become Freemark Abbey. She produced Zinfandel, Riesling, and Burgundy-style wine from the estate, making her one of the first recorded female winemakers in Napa Valley history. After phylloxera devastated the vineyard, the property passed to Antonio Forni, who constructed the hand-hewn stone winery in 1899 from rock quarried at nearby Glass Mountain. That structure still stands today.

The name “Freemark Abbey” was born during Prohibition’s aftermath in 1939, when three Southern California businessmen purchased the dormant Lombarda Cellars and combined their names: Charles Freeman, Marquand Foster, and Albert “Abbey” Ahern. They reopened the winery and established the foundation that seven partners would build into a Napa institution in 1967, an era so generative that the winery earned the nickname “University of Freemark” for the future stars of Napa Valley winemaking it helped train.

Freemark Abbey has been producing classically structured Napa Valley Cabernet from the same stone winery since 1886, building a legacy that includes the Judgment of Paris and one of California’s first vineyard-designate wines.

The Judgment of Paris and Cabernet Bosché

Freemark Abbey’s national profile surged in 1976 when the winery was one of 11 American producers selected to compete in the Judgment of Paris, the blind tasting that would upend the world’s assumptions about California wine. Freemark Abbey was the only American winery to have both a red and a white wine chosen to compete.

The wines that made this reputation were built on single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1970, Freemark Abbey produced the first vintage of Cabernet Bosche, one of California’s earliest vineyard-designate wines and still among the winery’s most coveted bottlings. By 1989, Wine Spectator was calling it “the truest embodiment of Rutherford-style Cabernet,” praising its elegance, depth, and longevity. In 2017, a 1969 Freemark Abbey Cabernet took first place at the Judgment of Tokyo, further confirming the wines’ capacity to age and improve over decades.

The Wines: Single-Vineyard Cabernet and Classic Chardonnay

Freemark Abbey’s portfolio centers on classically structured Cabernet Sauvignon from distinct Napa Valley sites. Cabernet Bosche from the Rutherford Bench remains the winery’s flagship, joined by the Sycamore Vineyard Cabernet, first sourced in 1980. In 2021, the estate added Colline Cabernet from the Colline Vineyard in the southern Oakville AVA, offering dark fruit, graphite character, and excellent aging potential from one of the newest additions to the Freemark portfolio.

Chardonnay remains a signature white variety at Freemark Abbey, reflecting the winery’s roots in producing structured, site-driven whites that age well and reward patience. The food pairing principle at work here is tannin and acid: structured Cabernet needs protein and fat to show at its best, while the winery’s Chardonnay, with its restrained oak and natural acidity, pairs beautifully with richer seafood or roasted poultry. Winemaker Kristy Melton, who took the lead role in 2020 after Ted Edwards’s legendary 40-year tenure, continues the tradition of letting terroir and restraint define the house style.

Visiting Freemark Abbey in St. Helena

The Freemark Abbey tasting room occupies the historic estate at 3022 St. Helena Highway North, where the original stone winery built in 1899 creates an unmistakably storied setting for tasting. The estate underwent a major renovation completed in 2016 that preserved the century-old stone structure while introducing modern hospitality features.

Guests at Freemark Abbey experience wines from one of Napa Valley’s founding institutions, in a setting that reflects nearly 140 years of continuous winemaking. The winery offers curated tastings that move through the range of single-vineyard Cabernets and estate whites, pairing each with the history that makes them meaningful. For visitors drawn to the roots of Napa Valley wine culture rather than its newest projects, Freemark Abbey is an essential stop.

Freemark Abbey Winery: frequently asked questions