About Us
A Legacy of Hospitality, Hard Work, and Excellence
Jean Leducq was born in 1919. As a child, he was influenced by his family’s passion for food and wine. After the Second World War ravaged Europe, newlyweds Jean and Sylviane Estachy, who grew up in Provence, moved to Rouen, north of Paris, to reconstruct one of the family-owned linen factories practically destroyed by the war. Jean’s father, who had tried to instill a strong work ethic in his son, wanted to evaluate Jean’s determination. Jean successfully rebuilt the plant that became one of the family’s most successful businesses.
Collaborating with talented people ignited Jean’s passion for entrepreneurship. For 50 years, Jean and Sylviane built a successful international business around the supply and care of linens and uniforms in Europe and North America.
Not only were Jean and Sylviane savvy in business, but they also had a talent for connecting with people. They treated everyone they worked with like family and everyone they met on their travels with kindness and respect.
Their genuine interest in others, no matter their background or status, was apparent when they hosted meetings and gatherings. Sylviane went out of her way to make others feel comfortable and was at ease having lunch with a head of state or a worker at the winery. After selling their business in the late ’90s, these core values continued to guide them when they became philanthropists and created the Leducq Charitable Trust that today owns Ehlers Estate.
Jean's enterprising spirit brought him and Sylviane to the United States in the early 1980s to expand their linen business in Virginia. Jean also became interested in making wine. He had the opportunity to buy a legendary Châteaux in France, but he decided to start a winery in Virginia, which he named Prince Michel, instead. Jean was disappointed with the quality and decided to look West to a region he and Sylviane loved visiting, Napa Valley.
There lay the potential to find a contiguous estate that would produce wines to rival the best French vintages. They bought some blocks of vineyard land on Ehlers Lane in 1987 and began growing their favorite varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, aiming to create a winemaking legacy like the great Châteaux of Bordeaux. By 2001, Jean and Sylviane acquired the surrounding acres, and the historic stone building to create the estate and restore the Ehlers name.
Historical Reverence
The current Estate has a modern winemaking facility and the 19th-century winery, built of tuff and basalt by Bernard Ehlers, which serves as today’s tasting room. Ehlers was a Sacramento grocer who made his fortune selling tools to miners that had traveled to California in search of gold. In 1885, he relocated his family to Napa Valley and established the winery on Ehlers Lane after buying the property from a viticulturist who had lost his vines to phylloxera. Ehlers replanted the vineyard along with olive trees that continue to bear fruit today. After passing in 1901, Bernard’s wife, Anna Ehlers, continued making wine in the stone building, leading Ehlers Estate onward, much like Sylviane Leducq did over a century later.
Napa Valley Timeline
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1000 BC – 1823
Wappo Indians were the sole inhabitants of the Napa Valley.
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1820
Don Francis Castro & Father Jose Altimura are the first Europeans to explore the Napa Valley.
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1841
Dr. Bale became a citizen of Mexico after marrying the niece of General Mariano Vallejo and was granted Rancho Carne Humana, which comprised the land between present day Rutherford and Calistoga.
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1846
The Bale Grist Mill was completed by Florentine Kellogg, one of the original owners of Ehlers Estate.
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1849
Napa County is formed as one of California's original counties.
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1853
The community of St. Helena was established.
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1864
The Napa Valley Railroad began operation between Vallejo and Calistoga, the rail tracks being the eastern boundary of Ehlers Estate.
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1885
Bernard Ehlers purchases Ehlers Estate from Reverend Alfred Todhunter of St. Helena Grace Episcopal Church.
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1886
Bernard Ehlers completes the stone winery which stands today on Ehlers Estate.
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1901
Bernard Ehlers dies leaving his estate to his wife, Anna Stolls.
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1920
Prohibition becomes law.
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1923
Alfred Domingos buys Ehlers Estate from Anna Stolls.
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1932
Prohibition is repealed.
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1933
The Domingos Brothers, Alfred and Manny, establish the Old Bale Mill Winery on Ehlers Estate.
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1958
The Old Bale Mill Winery closes its doors.
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1970
Ehlers Estate is operated by Conn Creek Winery, Vichon Winery and Stratford Winery.
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1982
Jean and Sylviane establish Prince Michel Vineyards in Virginia.
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1987
Jean and Sylviane Leducq purchase vineyard land on Ehlers Lane.
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1996
Vines get planted in Ehlers Lane.
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1997
The Leducq Foundation is created by Jean and Sylviane Leducq to benefit international cardiovascular research.