Stay Connected to Vermeil
Receive early access to new releases, special offerings, and select invitations throughout the year.
We value quality over quantity — including in our communication.
The Vermeil family’s connection to Napa Valley began three generations ago with Dick Vermeil’s great-grandfathers, Garibaldi Iaccheri and Jean Louis Vermeil. Both immigrated to San Francisco in the late 1800s, where their friendship eventually led the Vermeil family to Calistoga.
Garibaldi and his wife made a second home in the small town, whose landscape reminded him of his childhood in Lucca, Italy. By the early 1900s, the Iaccheri family owned numerous parcels in Calistoga and founded one of the region’s first wineries, the Calistoga Wine Company.
That same land would later be owned by the Frediani family — longtime friends of the Vermeils and current stewards of the vineyards that still supply Vermeil Wines today.
Legacy is something passed from one generation to the next. Jean Louis Vermeil, Albert Vermeil, and Jean Louis Vermeil II passed down to Coach a deep appreciation for wine.
Coach’s grandfather, Al, made family wine from Frediani Vineyard grapes brought down from Calistoga each harvest by Coach’s father, Coach, and his brother — the same vineyard that supplies Vermeil Wines today. Al used traditional techniques handed down through generations, including moon-phase racking.
With an Italian grandmother and French grandfather, wine was part of nearly every family meal. Coach remembers being asked to share his thoughts on the wine at the table and, on holidays, being allowed a small taste — sometimes straight from his grandfather’s wine thief.
Our project began with one signature bottling, the Jean Louis Vermeil Cabernet Sauvignon, when Coach and winemaker Paul Smith (founder of On The Edge Winery) partnered in 1999.
The name of the wine continues under what is now Vermeil Wines and is a dedication to Coach’s paternal great-grandfather, Jean Louis Vermeil, who brought the family name to San Francisco and to Coach’s father, Jean Louis Vermeil II, who instilled in Coach a love of wine, hard work, and dedication to your passion.
This project is also a tribute to Garibaldi Iaccheri who introduced the Vermeils to Calistoga and the Napa Valley as well as to Coach’s grandfather, Al Vermeil, who showed Coach that wine could be a way a life. Today we proudly make 11 different wines that are some of the best examples of their varietals.
Receive early access to new releases, special offerings, and select invitations throughout the year.
We value quality over quantity — including in our communication.