Charles F. Wagner

1913–2002
Caymus Vineyards, Rutherford

When Charlie Wagner married his high school sweetheart, Lorna Belle Glos, he was helping farm a 70acre property on Rutherford Road, which, in a few years, he was able to buy. The land was in prunes and walnuts. Charlie built a house using what he could of what was left of the old Liberty School on the property, where he and his bride had learned to read and write, and began to develop vineyard.

Charlie’s Alsatian family had come to Rutherford from San Francisco in 1906 and Charlie had grown up farming grapes as well as other crops on the family ranch where he was born (today the site of Honig Vineyard and Winery). Charlie’s father had built a winery there in 1915 and was developing a bulk wine business when Prohibition ended that venture. For his own vineyards, Charlie planted Pinot Noir, Riesling, Gamay, Burger, and Petite Syrah with the guidance and help of his neighbors Laurie Wood and André Tchelistcheff, who held the same high opinion of Rutherford’s winegrowing conditions as Charlie did.

Charlie sold his grapes to several wineries, but always kept a portion for his own home wine. In the 1960’s he replaced his Pinot Noir with Cabernet Sauvignon using budwood from Nathan Fay, who was glad to share it with Charlie and let him cut his own. In 1971, in a turnabout from selling his ranch, Charlie started Caymus Vineyards with his wife and his son, Chuck. George Duer initially helped with their winemaking, then Robert Stemmler, and in 1975, Randall Dunn joined the team. Randy left in 1986 to concentrate on his own Dunn Vineyards as Chuck took over winemaking and then general operations, which he has expanded throughout the state. Today, Charlie’s grandsons Charlie and Joey and his granddaughter Jenny are all involved with Wagner Family Wines.

Dick says he pummeled Charlie with questions at Caymus as they talked outside about winemaking—both commercial and homemade. Charlie seemed most at home on his tractor, “With a sombrero for shade, what a guy!”