The beginning
In 1873, Jean Laurent, an immigrant from Bordeaux, France, started a winery on what is now the current site of Markham Vineyards. Laurent's first winery was an insignificant wooden structure. In 1879, to meet the demands of growing winery production, he replaced the original structure with a 6,000 square foot stone winery, quarried from nearby Glass Mountain. Laurent was one of the top-ten wine producers in Napa County. In 1890, Laurent died at the young age of 53 and over the next 87 years, the Laurent winery changed ownership many times.

Fast-forward 100 years
Bruce Markham arrived in the Napa Valley almost 100 years after Laurent, also looking to start a winery. Markham bought the Yountville vineyard in 1975, the Calistoga vineyard in 1976, the old Laurent Winery in 1977 and the Oak Knoll vineyard in 1978. With almost 225 planted acres and a winery, Bruce Markham founded Markham Vineyards in 1978 and the old Laurent Winery was reborn.

A new beginning
Markham focused on Cabernet Sauvignon in its early days and introduced the Markham Merlot with the 1980 vintage. Between 1978 to 1988 the winery's production increased from 3,500 cases to 20,000 as did the wine quality and praise from wine critics and consumers.

In 1988, an ambitious four-year multi-million dollar renovation, expansion and vineyard replanting program began. These efforts would be more than double the winery's capacity and make Markham one of the most advanced winemaking facilities in the country. Even through the dust of renovation, Markham was able to produce three of the number-one rated wines from California as judged by Wine Spectator Magazine.

As part of the Markham Vineyards family of wines, Glass Mountain Wines enjoy the benefits of sharing the heritage of the Markham Vineyards and the expertise of its winemakers. With that, you can be assured that quality is the primary ingredient of Glass Mountain Wine.