[3] His background was in business and finance – he had consulted for the wine and spirits company Heublein and had managed a Napa Valley vine grafting and root stock business that supplied vines to vineyard owners, which brought him into contact with Napa Valley winemakers.

[4] In 1978, its first year, the company produced 800 cases each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wine, made from purchased grapes — the Merlot from Three Palms Vineyard near Calistoga, the Cabernet Sauvignon from Howell Mountain and the Stag’s Leap District.

[3]: 38 In July 2007 a controlling interest in the company was sold to GI Partners, a private equity firm[5][6][7] which in 2016 sold its interest to TSG Consumer Partners, another private equity firm.

[8][9] The sale included six wineries: Duckhorn Vineyards, Goldeneye, Paraduxx, Migration, Decoy, and Canvasback, and vineyard property in Napa Valley, Sonoma County, Anderson Valley, and Washington State.

[24] In 2014 it sued Trinchero Family Estates for its marketing of a wine called Duck Commander, and Walmart, which retailed it.