At one time or another, every
oenophile becomes intoxicated with the idea of owning a vineyard. They dream of
the bucolic bliss of drinking wine made from grapes harvested by their own
hands. However, in the end, most do not have the luxury of time to research and
develop their own vineyard, much less possess the expertise essential to growing
grapes that will yield a superb vintage.
Ceago—an estate wine community under development in Lake
County, Calif., by a scion of one of the leading American wine dynasties—will
soon be making dreams come true.
 Located on Clear Lake, just north of Napa
County, Ceago’s 50 fractional-ownership casitas give buyers a taste of the
vineyard lifestyle. (Click image to enlarge)
Jim Fetzer, whose family owned Mendocino County’s Fetzer
Vineyards—which produced 2.5 million cases of wine annually prior to its 1992
sale to a conglomerate—recently received unanimous approval from the local board
of supervisors for his $150 million plan to expand Ceago, a biodynamic winery,
into a luxury resort.
Located on the northwest shore of Clear Lake, the state’s
largest freshwater lake that includes 108 miles of shoreline, Ceago enjoys a dry
climate with less than 40 inches of rainfall per year. A two-hour drive from San
Francisco or Sacramento, the 163-acre property is situated north of Napa County
and east of Sonoma and Mendocino counties, bordering three of California’s most
influential viticulture regions.
 The winery is one of 30 biodynamic wineries in the
U.S. (Click image to enlarge)
In the next two to five years, Ceago will feature a 50-room
hotel, a spa and a cafe as well as 50 casitas available for fractional
ownership, plus an additional 70 whole-ownership vineyard villas. Sales prices
for a one-eighth ownership of a one- or two-bedroom lakefront casita will be
approximately $300,000, while the 1,500- to 1,800-square-foot villas, which are
set back from the lake and overlook the vineyard, will have asking prices
between $700,000 and $800,000 when they are released for sale within the next
two years. Already attracting 10,000 visitors a year, Ceago is one of only
30 certified biodynamic wineries and vineyards in the United States (there are
200 worldwide). Biodynamics combines organic practices, like the banning of
pesticides and chemicals, along with somewhat mystical ideas, like basing
planting and harvesting schedules on the position of the moon, sun and
stars.
At Ceago, members will have the opportunity to own a portion of
the vines—rather than the whole vineyard. Regardless of how involved they choose
to be in the grape growing, harvesting and production, all of the wine lovers
will get to design their own labels.
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