Glen Carlou Vineyards

About Winery and Wines

Started in 1844, Hess Family Wine Estates is a family-owned, fourth-generation company with a deep commitment to responsible agricultural and business practices. Founded in Bern, Switzerland, Hess Family Wine Estates seeks, develops and mentors businesses worldwide that reflect the company’s values of tradition, quality and sustainability. Hess Family Wine Estates is based on three core areas that comprise the foundation of the company. New world wines, properties & hospitality, and contemporary art. In 1844, Johann Heinrich Hess laid the first cornerstone for Hess Family Wine Estates with the founding of his brewery in Berne, Switzerland. For more than 100 years, beer was the central business. At the age of 20 when his father died, a young but bold Donald Hess took over the company and navigated a steep learning curve in the beer and hospitality industry. In the early 1960s, anticipating the surge of demand for bottled water, he created Valser Water, which would become Switzerland’s leading mineral water company. Always a pioneer and determined to follow his heart’s passion, Mr. Hess embarked on a quest to explore and unite his love of wine and art. In 1978, his purchase of vineyards on Mount Veeder in the Napa Valley started an epic journey that would see vines planted and art museums built across the globe, culminating in the highest vineyard in the world in Argentina.