Peju Winery founder Tony Peju dies aged 85

Tony Peju, who founded Napa Valley’s Peju Winery forty years ago and successfully championed the right for winemakers and growers to sell wine made from their own grapes, died of natural causes in his Calistoga home on 10 June.

he successfully championed the right of winemakers and grape growers to sell wine made from their own grapes

Born in 1937, Tony immigrated to the United States in the 1950s. He and wife Herta Peju owned successful flower shops and a nursery in Southern California before moving into viticulture.

In 1981 he designed a logo for the Peju brand. He collaborated with architect Calvin Straub, on the winery design, complete with tall towers. Peju and his wife bought a 30-acre property in Rutherford in 1983, moved to Napa Valley to raise their two young daughters, and began making and selling wines out of their garage.

In 2003, Peju completed the tower he envisioned twenty years prior, which became the tallest building in Napa County at the time of opening. In 2023 Peju had been overseeing the final phase of his original design, and the unveiling for the final tower is expected in 2024.

Peju purchased five other vineyards throughout the years, which total over 600 acres in Napa Valley today. The Peju estate celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

“Today we lost a force of nature,” said his wife Herta. “Tony was relentless and had incredible drive and perseverance, which enabled him to overcome all obstacles to make his vision a reality.”