Our Story

The Cinquain Timeline of Patience:

• 2000 – Purchased 20 acres of raw land in San Miguel, CA.
• 2000-2002 – Put in a 700+ foot well, put in power pole to run the well, installed irrigation drippers, posts, rods and everything needed for the grapes to thrive.
• 2002 – Planted 10,000 grapevines, nine different varieties.
• 2003 – The grapevines are growing.
• 2004 – The grapevines are still growing.
• 2005 – Some nice fruit begins to show.
• 2006 – Finally, our first harvest of about 30 tons.
• 2007 – The 1200 sq ft winery building is completed, and the first wines are bottled.
• 2008 – The first cases are sold during the 2008 Paso Wine Festival, and the fun begins!
• 2021 – Now, with more than 600 members in the wine club and a production of 1500 cases annually, we invite you to come on out and taste the bottled poetry!

If you’re interested in knowing more, here you go…

The owner and winemaker, David Nagengast, graduated from the Fresno State University Enology program in 1985 with the dream of someday having his own vineyard and winery. In 2000, the search for the perfect site culminated in the purchase of a small hillside property, overlooking Hog Canyon and the Estrella River basin from 1000-ft elevation, in the Northeast area of the Paso Robles Estrella Appellation. In 2002, the 14-acre vineyard was planted with 10,000 vines including nine different Bordeaux, Rhône, and Port varieties. In 2007, the construction of their simple 1200 square-foot winery was completed.And now, after 34 years of making wines professionally for a variety of small and medium sized wineries in Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Clara County, and Oregon, the culmination of this dream is evident with the establishment of Nagengast Estate Vineyard, Cinquain Cellars and the availability of 1500 cases annually.