Nearly 20 years after Dreyer’s Ice Cream CEO T. Gary Rogers bought 151 acres in Napa, his family discovered an 1887 winery hidden on the property; they planted vineyards, built a home, and the estate now asks $35 million
A vineyard property in Napa Valley, featuring an 1887 winery that Ellen DeGeneres once had her eyes on, is on the market. The 151-acre property in St Helena, California, is listed for $35 million, according to a report by Mansion Global. The seller is artist Matt Rogers, the son of the late T. Gary Rogers, the former CEO of Dreyer’s Ice Cream and former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. La Herradura Ranch is no longer a working ranch, but it still retains much of its historic character, with about 25 acres of vineyards, a private lake and several structures, including a recently built main house and the restored 1887 stone winery.
A hidden ghost winery
About 20 years ago, Gary Rogers bought the vineyard. He already owned the neighbouring ranch and wanted to combine the two properties to own a square mile of land, Matt told the outlet.After the property was divided, Rogers asked his son Matt, who lived there, to prepare the remaining land for sale. That’s when Matt discovered something unusual. He discovered a hidden 1887 stone winery. The building had been obscured for decades, hidden beneath a 1950s ranch house with an addition that came down around 2008. Little documentation existed about its origins, but the Rogers family traced it back to Mountain Cove Winery, a small vertical operation that likely produced jug wine and supplied local churches during Napa’s early wine era.On Friday, September 18, Erin Lail of Coldwell Banker Brokers of the Valley listed it on the market.“It’s a beautiful, gorgeous firestone cathedral. When you open the big steel doors and play some music and have some friends over, it’s just such a unique, special place. You can just feel the spirit of the valley,” Matt told the publication.Around 2008, the 4,000-sq.-ft. addition to the winery was torn down, revealing the original rustic stone exterior. The structure was restored with new electrical, plumbing, floors and doors, according to the property’s website. The new space can accommodate roughly 100 people, and the Rogers family has hosted everything from fundraisers to comedy shows within those stone walls. The space became less about wine production and more about creating moments, a versatile backdrop for the social calendar of Napa’s wine country elite.After the restoration, the family decided to sell La Herradura, and the property grabbed the attention of Ellen DeGeneres. “Our big exciting day was when Ellen DeGeneres and Portia came up to look at it. They didn’t like the fact that there was cattle on the property,” Matt said. The couple were vegans at the time.
What the buyer gets
Beyond the restored winery, the property has been substantially developed in recent years. A new main house was completed in 2024. The nearly 2,500-sq.-ft. home has an open-plan layout, with three bedrooms and three bathrooms. A small cabin sits along the property’s private lake, outfitted with bunks, a fireplace, indoor plumbing and an outdoor shower, serving as a getaway spot for fishing and swimming.“You could spend the night and camp out or use it as a getaway. It’s a very rough little fishing cabin, but it makes using the lake much more accessible,” Matt told the outlet. The property also has a two-bedroom cottage north of the main house, along with another, slightly larger two-bedroom residence.Matt and his wife, Amy, redid the entire vineyard. They replanted the vines in 2020, along with a new drainage system. The vineyard now grows Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, with half an acre reserved for Sauvignon Blanc.“Originally, it was the party house. This was supposed to be a buy-it-and-flip. If my dad were still alive and he was still promoting these events we used to do, that would probably keep it going, but it just doesn’t make sense anymore,” Matt said.Rogers passed away in 2017, at the age of 74.
