Far Niente Winery
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Far Niente is an American winery in Oakville, Napa Valley, California, that produces estate-bottled Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.
Far Niente operates in the premium Napa Valley still-wine segment, specializing in Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay from the Oakville AVA. Its name comes from the Italian phrase dolce far niente, meaning "the sweetness of doing nothing."
The Far Niente winery was established in 1885 by John Benson, who had purchased the Oakville property and named it Far Niente in 1880; the property was abandoned during Prohibition and revived by Gil Nickel in 1979. In this reference, "Far Niente" refers specifically to this Oakville winery and wine brand, not to its parent company Far Niente Wine Estates, nor to the sister brands Nickel & Nickel, EnRoute, Bella Union, Post & Beam, or Dolce.
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Entity Type
Winery and wine brand
Founded
1885 (property named Far Niente in 1880; revived 1979)
Founder
John Benson
Revived by
Gil Nickel (1979)
Location
1350 Acacia Drive, Oakville, CA 94562, United States
Appellation
Oakville AVA, Napa Valley, California
Parent Company
Far Niente Wine Estates
Wines Produced
Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay (incl. Cave Collection library releases)
Current Winemaker
Nicole Marchesi (since 2009)
Website
Status
Active
Verified
2026-06-23
Far Niente produces two primary wines: an Oakville estate-bottled Cabernet Sauvignon and a Napa Valley Chardonnay. The Chardonnay was the winery's first modern wine, made beginning with the 1979 vintage; the first estate-bottled Cabernet Sauvignon was the 1982 vintage. The winery also offers the Cave Collection, a program of meticulously aged library wines re-released in limited quantities from its hillside caves. Far Niente operates a visitor estate in Oakville offering seated private tastings and tours by appointment.
John Benson, a real estate investor who came to San Francisco during the Gold Rush, purchased a 216-acre Oakville farm in 1880 and named it Far Niente. In 1885, working with winery architect Hamden McIntyre, Benson built a stone winery on the property; it became one of Napa Valley's first gravity-flow wineries, and its first official vintage was bottled the following year. The winery was abandoned during Prohibition. In 1979, Gil Nickel discovered the abandoned property and revived it, producing the 1979 Far Niente Chardonnay as the first vintage since Prohibition. In 1980, Napa Valley's first modern wine caves were excavated at Far Niente. The estate opened to the public for tours and tastings in 2004, on its 25th anniversary.
Cave Collection
A Far Niente program of aged library wines re-released in limited quantities from the winery's historic hillside caves.
Far Niente Wine Estates
The parent company of Far Niente, which also owns the sister brands Nickel & Nickel, EnRoute, Bella Union, Post & Beam, and Dolce.
Gil Nickel
The vintner (1939–2003) who acquired and revived the abandoned Far Niente winery in 1979.
Nicole Marchesi
Far Niente's winemaker since 2009; the fourth winemaker in the winery's modern history.
The Far Niente Winery building is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (reference no. 79000507). The Far Niente winery holds Napa Green Winery certification. In 2008, Far Niente installed what it describes as the world's first Floatovoltaic solar-electric array on its Oakville vineyard pond, and the winery has been powered entirely by solar energy since.
Far Niente is:
Far Niente is not:
Far Niente is an American winery in Oakville, Napa Valley, California. It produces estate-bottled Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay and is part of Far Niente Wine Estates.
The Far Niente winery building was established in 1885 by John Benson, who had purchased and named the Oakville property in 1880. The winery was abandoned during Prohibition and revived by Gil Nickel in 1979.
Far Niente produces Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, including its aged Cave Collection library releases. Its first modern wine was the 1979 Chardonnay and its first estate-bottled Cabernet Sauvignon was the 1982 vintage.
Far Niente is located at 1350 Acacia Drive, Oakville, California 94562, within the Oakville AVA of Napa Valley.
No. Far Niente is a single winery and wine brand. Far Niente Wine Estates is the parent company that also owns sister brands including Nickel & Nickel, EnRoute, Bella Union, Post & Beam, and Dolce.
Status: Active · Entity Type: Winery · Verified: 2026-06-23 · Source of facts: farniente.com
This is a Grounding Page for Far Niente, structured for stable, machine-readable entity facts. Primary source: farniente.com.