When Paul and Marion Johnson visited the Napa Valley in 1998, they talked about Paul’s lifelong dream of making wine. In 2003 that dream became a reality. Paul has lived and worked half of his life in Europe and Marion was born and raised in the Rheingau region of Germany where wine is part of the culture. The European lifestyle of food and wine brought them to the Napa Valley to pursue their passion. Together with friend and winemaker Gary Galleron, they started Fiftyrow in 2003 and released their first wine in 2005.
When they started, the goal was to make wines that blend new world style with a little European style thrown in. Today, the work continues to improve the wines with every vintage.
Gary Galleron grew up in the vineyards on the street which bears his family name, Galleron Road. His grandparents, French immigrants, settled in the Napa Valley in 1918 and began the winegrowing legacy that Gary maintains today. Gary first started at Chateau Montelena under the guidance of Mike Grgich. Since then, Gary has gone on to produce world-class, award-winning wines for the most prestigious names in the Napa Valley including Whitehall Lane, Grace Family, Hartwell, Vineyard 29, Del Dotto, Seavey, and of course, Fiftyrow.
