Munselle Vineyards
Alexander Valley AVA
A family winery that has been generations in the making.
More than 130 years ago, Bill and Bret Munselle’s ancestors arrived in the Alexander Valley with a vision of producing fine wines from the rich soils and ideal growing climate of the prolific land. Shadrach Osborn was the proprietor of Alexander Valley’s first winery (Lone Pine Cellars) and Broder Frellson was the manager and winemaker for the second winery of the region (Red Winery).
As generations passed, the family stepped away from winemaking to focus their efforts towards cultivation of the land. In 1938, Osborn and Frellson’s granddaughter (Ruby Osborn) married Fred Wasson and together they farmed prunes, grapes, tomatoes and watermelons on the family’s land; they even dabbled in dairy cattle for a short period of time. In 1972, Fred Wasson, along with his son-in-law and grandson (Bill and Bret Munselle), decided to convert back to grape growing and for three decades produced premium grapes contributing to a multitude of award winning, notable wines in the Valley.
Now, five generations later, the family comes full circle with a return to winemaking under the Munselle Vineyards label and the 2006 Shadrach Chardonnay celebrates their anticipated, inaugural release. We hope our Gold Plus Wine Club members enjoy the inaugural release of this family winery that has been generations in the making!
