Virgils Vineyard
A micro-production winery located in California’s Napa Valley.
The Smuggler’s Son, our award-winning California Red Blend, is a tribute to Virgil Kipper, family winemaker, and smuggler during Prohibition in Detroit, Michigan.
Virgil’s Vineyard also produces a variety of small-production, hand-crafted Smuggler’s Selection wines, with limited availability through our website or at the vineyard in Napa including:
Estate Grown Pinot Noir
Virgil’s Sparkling Wine
The Smuggler’s Daughter Rosé
Napa Cabernet Sauvignon (future release)
Virgil Kipper was born and raised on the family farm in North Vernon, Indiana, and moved to Detroit, Michigan in the late 1920s during Prohibition to work for his uncle, Peter Holdreith, who owned a prominent Detroit restaurant called the Holdreith Chop House. Virgil worked as a waiter by day and smuggled booze from across the river in Canada by night supplying the restaurant during Prohibition.
Virgil also was a family winemaker who made wine all his life for family and friends to enjoy. The Smuggler’s Son commemorates the family winemaking and bootlegging heritage of the winery’s namesake.
