OUR FAMILY
Seven generations in northern California and winegrowers in the Napa Valley and Acampo/Lodi for more than 44 years, our family has worked the soils of Northern California to produce some of the best wine grapes in the region and we continue those same hardworking ideals with our family-owned and operated winery dedicated to high-quality wines.
Established in 2000, Housleys Century Oak Winery has quickly made a name for itself with our family approach to award-winning wines at affordable prices. We have been fortunate enough to garner scores as high as 96, 95 and 94 points from respected competitions around the country and been awarded more than 200 medals overall, many of them gold.
Our 37-acre Acampo estate vineyard in the Mokelumne River AVA continues to provide highly sought after Cabernet Sauvignon Grapes due to the amazing sand a loam soil. We also source from a small Old Vine Zinfandel plot and Petit Sirah Vineyard in the area that provides intense, high-quality fruit that help us make incredible wines.
Each harvest is crushed, aged and bottled on-site, with the family and winemaker running every step of the process. Our Cabernet Sauvignon, Old Vine Zinfandel, Petit Sirah and Field Blend wines are all aged in new French Oak Barrels for in some cases more than 2 years, depending on the Vintage and style. We also use a few American Oak barrels for our blend and Old Vine Zinfandel. Our best in class Rose and multiple Gold Medal Chardonnay get no barrel time and head straight to our stainless steel tanks after harvest, which allows for an amazing balance of fruit and acidity, without the overbearing wood noted found in some California white wines.
The Napa Valley is where we planted our first vineyard back in 1977 and currently our Housley Cabernet Sauvignon is a fine example of the incredible wines that our valley continues to produce. In the past, we have also made a Napa Merlot, but it's the current Cabernet that gives our winery a unique inclusion and way to marry these great red regions of Northern California. We also source Pinot Grigio grapes from the eastern edge of Napa, as well as fruit from Sonoma Valley.
While overall the winery history now dates back two decades, on the growing side, the family began in the wine industry with a 6-acre Chardonnay vineyard in the Oak Knoll Region and we continue to grow respected vintages in Oak Knoll. Each member of our family has spent considerable time in the fields and have done every type of job that comes along with vineyards and a winery. From suckering, to weeding, to picking...we can now add crushing, pressing, aging, bottling and racking to the wine repertoire. It's been an amazing experience for all of us and one we think comes out in our wines and represented when you visit one of our tasting rooms.
As for our Century Oak name, it comes from the famed valley oak tree that towers over our main vineyard and winery site. Valley Oaks are California's tree and have stood in California's heartland, like the Lodi Appellation, for centuries. Known for their beauty, strength, history, and size, we feel our wines are best represented by California's guardian, the Valley Oak.