Shadow Mountain is an ideal grape-growing location with an elevation of 3,500 feet, and it’s blessed with Pacific Ocean breezes and cool, dry nights. Master vintner Alexander McGeary specializes in award-winning viognier, whites, reds and dessert wines such as merlot, Syrah, cabernet, zinfandel and a muscat cannelli.Shadow Mountain Vineyards is a 3rd generation family estate grape growing & wine making business, which was founded by Agusto & Helen Mase, an Italian couple in 1944. The second generation of the family continued in this family tradition, by planting extensive vineyards in the 1960′s and 70′s.

The Marshall family has deep roots in the Sanger area, tracing their history back to the early 1900s when Hugh M. Marshall purchased 160 acres northeast of Sanger, where the family continues to farm today. Wine lovers who enjoy visiting wineries can appreciate the diverse agricultural legacy of the Marshalls, who have cultivated various crops over the decades, including figs, wheat, table and raisin grapes, plums, and nectarines, before ultimately focusing on wine grapes.

The Marshalls have always been hands-on in the processing of their crops, a commitment that led Hugh M. Marshall Jr. to establish the packing operation H. M. Marshall & Son in 1954, specializing in growing, packing, and shipping tree fruit and various types of grapes.

In the early 1980s, the family resumed shipping wine grapes to the East Coast for home winemaking. Hugh’s son began his journey in the wine grape business by accompanying his father on vineyard inspections, purchasing grapes, and preparing them for shipment. While attending Fresno State, he took on a full-time role in the business, picking, packing, and shipping grapes from those same vineyards.

As his interest in wine and winemaking grew, he began to craft wines from the grapes they had been cultivating for years. Initial attempts were rough, but encouragement from his wife, Jenifer, led him to submit his wines to various state and county fair competitions. His wines soon garnered numerous awards, including gold, silver, and bronze ribbons. Each recognition, as well as setbacks, spurred him to improve his craft. He enhanced his knowledge by taking classes from the UC Davis Extension Enology department and attending seminars at Fresno State and Sonoma State.

In 2012, after years of encouragement from family and friends, Hugh and Jenifer launched their own wine label, Maréchal Vineyards. For them, raising their family in a place with such rich agricultural heritage is vital, and they hope wine lovers will join them in celebrating yet another chapter of their family’s adventure in winemaking.

In 2012, after years of encouragement from family and friends, Hugh and Jenifer launched their own wine label, Maréchal Vineyards. For them, raising their family in a place with such rich agricultural heritage is vital, and they hope wine lovers will join them in celebrating yet another chapter of their family’s adventure in winemaking.

Image - cabernet sauvignon grapes - photographer Randy Caparoso

The first vintage of Tom Eddy Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was 1991, but Tom’s experience in the wine industry goes back farther than that. He earned the U.C. Davis degree in 1974, did his requisite stint in a few big wineries, then settled into the North Coast as general manager and winemaker at Souverain Winery in Geyserville. The accolades for his wines started to follow, for everything from North Coast French Colombard to Sonoma County Zinfandel.