{"nrhp_refnum":"79000507","name":"Far Niente Winery","other_names":["Benson Wine Cellar"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S of Oakville at 1577 Oakville Grade","address_restricted":false,"city":"Oakville","county":"Napa County","state":"CA","lat":38.42568590600007,"lon":-122.40308191399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-02-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-level native fieldstone gravity-flow winery on a knoll south of Oakville Grade in Oakville, Napa County, California, built 1885-1886 for John Benson to designs by Hamden W. McIntyre.","why_significant":"It is believed to be the earliest of McIntyre's stone three-level gravity-flow wineries and served as a prototype for more than a dozen later designs. It remains one of the largest and least altered McIntyre wineries in Napa County. Its setting of terraces, roads and 1880s cork oak plantings is largely intact, and it reflects the late 19th-century Napa wine industry.","narrative":"Far Niente Winery, also known as the Benson Wine Cellar, is a three-level fieldstone winery set into a terraced knoll in the western foothills of the Napa Valley near Oakville. John Benson, a San Francisco financier and horticulturalist, commissioned it in 1885 from engineer and architect Hamden W. McIntyre, with local builders J. Delucchi and Mixon & Son carrying out the stonework and carpentry. A central three-story core with two-story wings lets grapes be crushed at the top, fermented on the middle level and aged below by gravity flow. A redwood subroof under the iron roof limited heat and condensation. It is believed to be McIntyre's earliest stone winery and a prototype for later designs across California. Prohibition ended operations in the 1920s, and the vineyards were later replanted. The stone walls remain sound, and the surrounding terraces, roads and cork oaks keep much of the 1880s setting. Restoration as a working winery was planned at the time of listing.","period_of_significance":"1885-1886 (specific dates 3/1885-7/1886; period box 1800-1899)","architect_builder":"Hamden W. McIntyre (architect/engineer); J. Delucchi (stone) and Mixon & Son (carpentry), local builders","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Unoccupied and undergoing planned restoration; stone walls in excellent condition, interior panelling deteriorated, and the owner plans to restore it as a working winery.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.911661-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/79000507.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860008","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/napa-county/far-niente-winery-79000507/"}