Joseph Heitz; Vintner Pioneered Napa Valley’s Cabernet Sauvignon

Joseph Heitz, a pioneering winemaker who helped turn the Napa Valley into a region known for producing excellent cabernet sauvignon, has died at the age of 81.

The founder and president of Heitz Cellars, Heitz died at a hospital in St. Helena on Dec. 16. The cause of death was believed to be complications from a stroke he suffered in March.

Heitz was born in Illinois, grew up on a farm and studied veterinary medicine in college. But World War II and military service interrupted his eduction.

As an Air Force maintenance crew chief, Heitz was stationed in Fresno during the war. While there, he moonlighted as a cellarman for a local winery and was so taken by the experience that he enrolled in enology at UC Davis after the war.

After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Heitz spent several years working for Gallo and the Beaulieu Vineyards. He also taught at Cal State Fresno.

When Heitz and his wife, Alice, decided to open their own winery in the Napa Valley in the early 1960s, fewer than 20 wineries existed there and banks were reluctant to lend money to open another one. Heitz’s daughter Kathleen, who now runs Heitz Cellars, said friends fronted her father the $5,000 he needed to buy an eight-acre vineyard and winery in St. Helena.

The first few years were difficult for Heitz. He contracted hepatitis soon after the winery opened and was so badly injured in a car accident that he was flat on his back for a year. He feared that he would lose the winery, but friends once again rallied to help--picking grapes to get him through the rough spots.

By the mid-1960s, the business was going strong and Heitz expanded to a 160-acre parcel just east of St. Helena. He later added 350 acres of prime vineyard in the Napa Valley.

In 1965, Heitz started on a path that would bring his greatest success. Using grapes from the vineyard of Tom and Martha May, Heitz began making Martha’s Vineyard cabernet. It became the standard by which all other California cabernets were judged.

Many wine experts considered the 1974 vintage the best of the lot. It was so well regarded that in 1982, the White House took it to France for President Ronald Reagan to serve at a state dinner during the European Summit. The Heitz Cellars is also known for its Trailside Vineyard and Bella Oaks cabernets. It now produces about 40,000 cases a year.

In addition to his wife and daughter, Heitz is survived by two sons, David and Rollie; and four grandchildren, all of St. Helena. He is also survived by his 92-year-old sister, Mildred Dimmick, of Utica, Ill.

The family suggests that donations be made to either the St. Helena Public Library, the Boys & Girls Club of St. Helena or the University of California Bodega Marine Laboratory.

A memorial service is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Jan. 12 at St. Helena Catholic Church.