High above the Stag's Leap District in a small sub-appellation of Napa Valley known as Atlas Peak and extending on to Pritchard Hill are the rocky, mountainous vineyards of Krupp Brothers. Krupp Brothers began in 1991 with the vision of Jan Krupp, a physician with a green-thumb and a passion for great wine.
From this humble beginning the venture has grown in both size and reputation, now comprising three distinct vineyards at elevations ranging from 900 to 1,700 feet above sea level. A key figure in this expansion has been Jan's brother, Bart Krupp, an astute businessman who shares Jan's passion for fine wine. The original Krupp Vineyard is joined by Krupp Brothers Vineyard and the highly-regarded Stagecoach Vineyard. Nestled between neighbors Chappellet, Bryant Family, David Arthur, and Dalla Valle, Stagecoach Vineyard's low-yielding mountain vines supply a number of Napa Valley's iconic brands with highly sought after fruit. A small percentage of the select fruit from all three vineyards contribute to the Krupp Brothers' hand-crafted private labels: Veraison, Black Bart, and Krupp Brothers Gold Series.
Jan Krupp proprietor
THE JOURNEY- Enthusiast to Oenophile
From the age of seven, Jan's enthusiasm tending the garden of his New Jersey home with his mother was matched only by the excitement of days spent on his uncle's farm in Virginia. Since then, the location of the Krupp home has been determined almost solely by what one is able to grow outside the doorstep!
Pushing his green thumb aside temporarily, a respectable career in medicine was pursued. After completing his post-graduate education at Stanford University, Dr. Krupp established a practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. Around that time, he felt the first flutter of an infatuation that would become a lifelong passion: the world of fine wine. A deep appreciation for the complexity of well-crafted wines and the synergy present with regional dishes saw him quickly transformed from an amateur enthusiast into a committed oenophile.
In fact, so taken was Dr. Krupp with his new interest, he decided to try his hand at winemaking. For the next 15 years, a tentative balance was negotiated between a thriving weekday medical practice and weekends in the cellar with likewise infatuated friends. The thrill of honing his newly discovered winemaking skills each vintage, encouraged by a slue of first places at local competitions, inspired him to transform this hobby into a career.
In 1991, the first step was taken when Dr. Krupp purchased 41 acres of rocky bush-covered land in the Atlas Peak district, planting the area to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. A return to the green-thumbed days of his youth paid off: Krupp Vineyard quickly developed a reputation in the area with a number of the most prominent producers in Napa Valley sourcing the mountain fruit for their own wines.
Dr. Krupp was still a part-time viticulturist - and a full-time doctor - until four years later when 750 acres on the South side of Pritchard Hill appeared for sale. Several suitors had passed on this scrubby swath of barren chaparral, but the Krupp Brothers saw potential in the red, rocky intense soils, identifying the conditions as perfect for growing superb grapes. Though the odds were stacked against them, with no legal right of access, no power, and no known water, neither brother could be dissuaded.
In the first attempt to find water, the Krupp Brothers went with what they knew and trusted: Science. A geologist had identified locations for several potential wells and instructed them to drill 300 feet, but each time they found nothing but dirt. So, surmounting skepticism, Dr. Krupp hired a water witch. Several days had gone by with no signs from the divining rod. They changed locations the next day. The water witch pointed the divining rod at a patch of ground and recommended drilling there. They did, and drilled directly into a flowing river 400 feet underground. Science had not failed altogether: deeper drilling at the sites identified by the geologist also proved to be successful.
Some 135-legal documents later, they were granted the rights to build a road to the vineyard. After dynamiting and clearing hundreds of thousands of tons of boulders, some the size of Land Rovers, they began to plant 100 acres a year. In the next four years, Stagecoach grew to include another 400 acres. And in 1999, Jan and Bart bought the 50-acre Krupp Brothers vineyard adjacent to Stagecoach. This is also when the dream began to transpire from vineyard into bottle, with the very first Veraison Cabernet Sauvignon produced in 1999. From the very first vintage of their own wine, their goal in winemaking has been to nurture the complex flavors and aromas in the mountain fruit as it evolves to produce wines with unique elegance and finesse.