Thomas J. Fogarty - Thomas Fogarty Winery and Vineyards

Thomas Fogarty Winery and Vineyards

In 1969, when he began teaching surgery at the Stanford University Medical Center, Fogarty was first introduced to the wine industry. He helped out a Stanford colleague’s small winery with vineyard and cellar practices. Later on, he purchased land in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He established a cellar there and began making wine with grapes bought from nearby growers. He planted his first vines in 1978 and set up a commercial winery, Thomas Fogarty Winery and Vineyards, in 1981. The estate now consists of three hundred twenty-five acres. Fifteen thousand cases of wine are produced annually.

Fogarty’s basis for winemaking also stems from his explanation that certain elements in the extracts from grape skin relax the blood vessels and lower the affinity for blood to clot.

Of the wines produced in Fogarty’s vineyard, the 2004 SCM Lexington Meritage wine received “double gold” status in the San Francisco International Wine Competition in 2008, and the 2005 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay was the gold medal winner and the “Best Chardonnay of Class” in the 2008 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.