by Susan Hoff, Proprietor
My husband, Duane, and I are native Minnesotans with an extensive background in retail. Between the two of us, we have nearly 40 years of experience as executives with Best Buy, the nation’s largest consumer electronics retailer. I am now Senior Vice President & Chief Communications Officer, and have been with Best Buy for more than 20 years. Duane has been at the company for 12 years, most recently as Vice President of Business Development and Strategy. In 1998, he led the creation of Best Buy’s small market store concept, whose stores now generate more than $400 million in annual revenue.
After many getaway visits to the beautiful Napa Valley, we were bit by the wine bug and started researching opportunities to break into the wine business. Years of soul searching led to the big move to invest in our future. In early 2004, our entrepreneurial dream came to fruition as we opened the doors to our new venture, Fantesca Estate & Winery.
The winery is located near the base of Spring Mountain, just minutes from Main Street in St. Helena. Fantesca produces an elegant estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon from nine acres of mountainside fruit. Although we are a small winery producing less than 800 cases, custom crush clients keep our winery continually busy.
Our winery’s namesake, Fantesca, played the maidservant role in 16th century Italian plays of Commedia dell' Arte. She was a bold and vivacious character who graced the stage at a time when only men were permitted in theatre. Her smart, sexy wit was adored by all, but desired most by Harlequin. It is from her fiery spirit that we draw inspiration for our wine.
Fantesca Estate & Winery calls upon a unique heritage of dynamic women. The estate was originally the dowry of Caroline Bale when she married Charles Krug in 1860, and even then it was recognized as prime mountain vineyard land. A Cabernet Sauvignon from this vineyard made by Hannah Weinberger won one of the first awards for a wine from the Napa Valley in 1889.
With land of such pedigree, we wanted to make sure we surrounded ourselves with talented people who know wine and could help us make the most of our dream opportunity. Kirk Venge and Nils Venge are our esteemed winemakers. We also have a well-seasoned team of professionals who are committed to quality and make sure we have fun while we work to create wine for our customers.
One of the things that is so attractive about wine
is the constant opportunity to learn and grow. We
look forward to the journey, and hope to apply some
of what life has taught us along the way.
Fantesca is so new that it’s not open to the
public, but orders for our wine can be placed through
our website, www.fantesca.com. We are located at 2920
Spring Mountain Road, Saint Helena, California 94574,
Telephone 707.968.9229.
