My family moved to St. Helena in 1991 when my father, Ron, decided he wanted to raise his family in a smaller, quieter town outside of the Bay Area. We quickly became active in the community, my father eventually starting a wrestling program for ages 7 up through high school. My dad's affinity for the sport of wrestling and seeing the impact it has on high school students inspired him to start Engel Family Vineyards. He envisioned it as a way to support and raise money for the sport through donations of wine for auctions and events; and since it was a passion project he could also gift the wines to close friends and family. As a life insurance salesman, he knew very little about the wine industry, but we knew we had a very special piece of land. In 1995, he decided to go ahead and plant some vines, and 1999 marked the first vintage of Engel Family Vineyards.