Mary Weber Novak 1932-2016
Mary Weber Novak, owner of Spottswoode winery in the Napa Valley and one of the great matriarchs of Californian wine since the 1970s, has died at the age of 84.
Novak led Spottswoode to become one of Napa’s most highly regarded estates, with a particular focus on Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc.
She came to the region when she and husband Jack Novak bought the 1882-founded Spottswoode vineyard and farmhouse in 1972, relocating from San Diego with their family.
‘ The wine craze was just beginning,’ Novak told Linda Murphy in an article in Decanter’s November 2016 issue. ‘ Robert Mondavi had opened his winery and others were following suit. We knew very little about growing grapes or making fine wine, but we planned to study and learn by doing, and we were eager to embrace an agricultural lifestyle in a rural town.’
Jack Novak died of a heart attack in 1977, aged 44, leaving his wife with the choice of whether to move back to San Diego, or carry on with Spottswoode. ‘ I was 45 years old with five young children, and felt settled in the community, with good friends,’ Novak said. ‘ So I did what I had to do and continued the business.’
In 1982, she hired winemaker Tony Soter, who made Spottswoode’s inaugural Estate Cabernet Sauvignon the same year. By 1985, Soter had persuaded Novak to start farming Spottswoode’s Estate Vineyard organically – and a string of highly acclaimed vintages followed.
Two of Novak’s daughters joined the business, with Beth now president and CEO, and Lindy the US marketing director.
Beth Novak Milliken said of her mother: ‘ She had immense inner strength, an amazing spirit and love of life, and a dream that Spottswoode would continue through generations. This has become a part of me, and of my family, and together we embrace carrying her legacy forward by continuing to nurture this wonderful estate property, which we are so fortunate to be a part of.’