The Frog's Leap Story
The story of Frog’s Leap begins with John Williams. Born in Western New York, he attended Cornell University on a Scholarship. Intent upon studying dairy sciences, Williams was waylaid by a fortuitous work study program at the nearby Taylor Wine Company. John fell in love with wine, and on a spring break trip his senior year, he was seduced by California.
In 1975, the new graduate returned to Napa Valley on a Greyhound Bus and sought out the brother of a college friend. He pitched his tent on the ramshackle farm just north of Saint Helena and caught his next big break. Dr. Larry Turley (the brother) was an emergency room physician and an alumni of St. Johns College. Knowing his new friend needed work, Larry recommend Williams to fellow “Johnnie” Warren Winiarski, who had recently moved his family to the region and established Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in 1972.
These were heady days in this part of the world. The first American wine to be served at a White House Dinner (ever!) was a bottle of Schramsberg Blanc de Blanc in 1972. In 1975, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars put the Napa Valley on the world wine map when a bottle of their 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon won the Paris Tasting — beating out numerous prestigious French entries and turning the wine world on it’s head. At the time (thanks to Larry) John Williams was the only employee of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, and, having helped to bottle the very wine in question, was also the only person available at the winery to sell it when the news broke.