Gil Nickel, the late founder of Far Niente (farniente.com), a winery renowned for its luxury estate-bottled Napa Valley Chardonnay and Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, was a visionary who followed his instincts, pursued his dreams and achieved a string of impressive firsts in his lifetime.
With his father, Harold, and his brother, John, Nickel helped bring the family’s Green-leaf Nursery Company in Oklahoma to industry prominence by pioneering the growth of plant material in containers for commercial shipment. Today, it’s the second largest family-owned wholesale nursery in the United States. In 1976, Nickel set his sights on California’s Napa Valley with the goal to build a European model of a world-class wine estate. He purchased a dilapidated, old stone winery and vineyard that was founded in 1885 by John Benson, an original forty-niner prospector, and had sat abandoned since the onset of Prohibition in 1919. Three years later, Nickel harvested his first grapes from the estate. The following year, he was the first to excavate wine caves in North America in the 20th century, a feat that revolutionized the wine industry in California.
While restoring the winery, Nickel and his wife, Beth, found carved on a stone building the words “Far Niente,” from the Italian phrase dolce far niente (meaning “sweet doing nothing,” or pleasant idleness). Far Niente is now listed on the prestigious National Register of Historic Places. The Nickels designed 13 acres of lushly landscaped gardens that today feature more than 8,000 southern azaleas, picturesque stone bridges, weeping willows and graceful ponds. His passion for cars led him to become the first American to win the European FIA Historic Sports Car Championship. A carriage house on the estate was built to contain Nickel’s vintage car collection, which is part of the public winery tour that can be scheduled by appointment.
Turned on to solar
In blazing a trail of so many firsts, Nickel also inspired those around him to think just as big and as passionately about forging new ground. His legacy continues today through his family members and partners – Beth, Erik and Jeremy Nickel; president and CEO Larry S. Maguire; and director of winemaking, Dirk Hampson – who together operate the Far Niente, Dolce and Nickel & Nickel network of wineries. They continue to lead the industry with Nickel’s hallmark of impeccable quality and innovative practices, including their most recent offering – a system of floating solar panels that allows prime vineyard acreage to remain intact while harvesting the sun, as well as nurturing the grapes.
At a time when numerous vineyards in the Napa and Sonoma valleys are harnessing solar power to help meet their increased energy needs during the fall harvest, the Far Niente team has scored yet another first. With inside expertise from their Dolce winemaker, Greg Allen, a M.I.T.-trained engineer, they have set up a Floatovoltaic™ System smack in the middle of their premium Martin Stelling Vineyard. On an existing irrigation pond, 1.3 acres in size, 994 solar panels are mounted on pontoons to capture sunlight and promote less evaporation and algae growth. About one acre of the vineyard had to be removed to support 1,300 land-mounted panels, but the use of the pond saves a half-acre of valuable Cabernet vines. At peak output, the system can generate a total of 400 kilowatts to offset the winery’s annual power usage and provide a net-zero energy bill.
Once the new system, which was installed by SPG Solar of San Francisco, goes active this year, Far Niente will become the first operation in the world to showcase floating solar technology on such a scale. On the Nickel & Nickel estate, 1,900 solar panels were installed on a land-mounted system last October in time to bring in the 2007 harvest by generating 330 kilowatts. The wineries’ combined system at peak can produce 730 kilowatts, or three-fourths of a megawatt of power.
“We have made a seven million dollar up-front investment in these systems at our wineries, and we’ve calculated it will take about a dozen years to realize our cost savings through rebates, tax credits and our energy production,” says Maguire. “Putting economics aside, this is a decision you come to when you recognize your social responsibility – even if you have to be gently prodded or needled in this direction by your college-age son, as in my case. But we know we’re on the right path as contributors to innovative solutions for renewable energy, and it’s in our mutual interests to do our part.”
The wineries’ conversion to solar is part of a collective movement the partners refer to as “conscientious luxury” in the production of their premium wines through sustainable measures that include organic farming, recycling and powering farming vehicles with biodiesel fuels.
“The Far Niente team has been terrific about trying this breakthrough project,” says SPG Solar president, Dan Thomas. “We have the same goal to maximize energy production and water conservation, and this project is a natural that lets us do both.”
A Clear Line of Vision
With vision and great skill, Nickel achieved one more significant accomplishment – his management team. Much like his premium wine, the team has had time to grow, develop its clarity and contribute to the industry. Today, Far Niente’s Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon wines continue to be critically acclaimed for their consistent house style and ability to evolve with extended age. Nickel & Nickel remains focused on producing only small-lots of 100 percent varietal, single-vineyard wines, and Dolce is still the only winery in North America solely committed to producing an exemplary single, late harvest wine. All of this is consistent with Gil Nickel’s master plan.
