RIXFORD

Emmett Rixfordwas one of the pioneers of the Santa Cruz Mountains. In 1884 he sourced cuttings from the famed Chateau Margaux in France and planted a 40 acre vineyard in the hills above Woodside which he named "La Questa". He soon established a reputation both as one of the top viticulturalists of his time and as an author, with the publication of "The wine press and the cellar: A manual for the wine-maker and the cellar-man".

Rixford's La Questa Cabernet took a gold medal at the Pan-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco in 1915. He died in 1928, just before Prohibition set in. According to Vineyards In The Sky, Emmett was succeeded by his sons Halsey and Allen, but they lacked the ability and drive of their father and the vineyards were neglected until being taken over by Martin Rayin 1946. Ray managed the vineyard for some years until it was eventually sold and subdivided.Bob and Polly Mullenlater discovered an acre of the original La Questa vines in 1960 and began making wine from them as Woodside Vineyards.